Self-Employment Tax: Register to Submit / Lesson 4 of 12
Records you must keep
HMRC can ask to see your records going back years. Most people cannot find last month.
The short answer
- ✓ Keep records for at least five years after the 31 January filing deadline
- ✓ The burden of proof is yours, so a claim without evidence is a weak claim
- ✓ A separate business bank account is not required but transforms the work
- ✓ Photograph receipts immediately, because thermal paper fades to blank
What the law actually requires
You must keep records of all your business income and expenses. HMRC does not prescribe a system, a piece of software or a format. It prescribes that the records exist, that they are accurate, and that you can produce them.
Self-employed records must be kept for at least five years after the 31 January filing deadline for that tax year. In practice that means a return filed in January is backed by records you keep until roughly six years after the income was earned.
What counts as a record
| Keep | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| All sales invoices and receipts issued | Proves your income figure |
| Receipts for every purchase you claim | The burden of proof is on you, not HMRC |
| Bank statements covering business activity | Ties the two together |
| Mileage log: date, journey, purpose, miles | A claim without a log is very hard to defend |
| A note of any private-use split you applied | Explains an apportionment years later, when you have forgotten |
The realistic minimum
You do not need accounting software in year one. What you do need is a system you will actually maintain when you are busy, because the failure mode is not choosing the wrong tool, it is abandoning the right one in month three.
One bank account used only for the business
One folder, one subfolder per tax year
Photograph every receipt the day you get it
One spreadsheet: date | description | in | out | category
Fifteen minutes, once a week, to reconcileThe bit HMRC does not spell out
A separate bank account is not legally required for a sole trader. It is still the single highest-value thing you can do, because it turns your bookkeeping from an act of memory into an act of copying. When every business transaction is in one place, the statement is your record, and the annual panic disappears.
The second thing nobody mentions: photograph receipts immediately. Thermal till receipts fade to blank, sometimes within a year. A faded receipt is not evidence, and the expense it supported is the one HMRC will ask about.
Common mistakes
- Keeping only what supports big claims. Small claims are still claims, and still need backing.
- Relying on bank statements alone. A statement shows a payment, not what it was for or whether it was business.
- Binning everything once the return is filed. The five-year clock starts at the filing deadline, not at filing.
- Mixing personal and business in one account. Legal, but it turns a fifteen-minute job into a weekend.
Try it on your own numbers
This is the same calculator as the full tool page, using 2026/27 rates.
Add an expense
Log business expenses. They're saved in your browser only - nothing leaves your device.
Total claimed
of items
allowable after business-use apportionment
- Gross logged (inc. VAT)
- VAT included
- Net of VAT
- Allowable (business %)
Estimated tax saving
allowable × marginal rate
avg / month
recurring / month
Estimate only. Apportionment and allowable rules vary - check HMRC guidance.
By category
No expenses match the current filters.
Logged expenses
items
No expenses yet - add your first on the left.
Saved summaries
| Summary | Items | Allowable | Tax saving | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Key takeaways
- ✓ Keep records for at least five years after the 31 January filing deadline
- ✓ The burden of proof is yours, so a claim without evidence is a weak claim
- ✓ A separate business bank account is not required but transforms the work
- ✓ Photograph receipts immediately, because thermal paper fades to blank
Check you have got it
3 quick questions. No score is kept, and you can change your mind.
1. How long must a sole trader keep business records?
2. Is a bank statement on its own enough evidence for an expense?
3. Is a separate business bank account legally required for a sole trader?
Sources
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