Specialist accountants for the self-employed
Whether you're a freelance designer, an electrician, an Etsy seller or a side-hustler earning a second income, being self-employed in the UK means juggling three jobs at once — your actual work, the bookkeeping, and the tax. GoForma exists to take the second two off your plate. Our ACCA and AAT qualified accountants specialise in supporting sole traders and the self-employed, with fixed monthly fees, FreeAgent software included, and direct access to a named accountant.
Self-Assessment, sorted
Your annual SA100 is prepared, reviewed and filed direct with HMRC. We chase the records, calculate your tax bill, claim every allowable expense, and flag the 31 January and 31 July payment dates well in advance. No more dread, no more last-minute panic.
Ready for MTD for Income Tax
Making Tax Digital for Income Tax becomes mandatory from April 2026 for self-employed people and landlords with income above £50,000, and from April 2027 above £30,000. Instead of one Self-Assessment a year, you'll submit four quarterly digital updates plus an end-of-period statement and final declaration — all from MTD-recognised software.
Every GoForma package includes FreeAgent, which is HMRC-recognised for MTD ITSA. We handle the quarterly submissions, the EPS and the final declaration. You keep your records digital as you go and we take care of the rest.
Sole trader or limited company?
One of the most common questions we get is whether to stay sole trader or set up a limited company. The honest answer: it depends on your profit level, your appetite for admin, and what you're trying to do with the business. As a rough guide, sole trader is simpler and usually the right call up to about £40,000–£50,000 profit; above that, a limited company can save you tax through the salary-and-dividends mix.
We review this each year as part of your service. When the maths starts to favour incorporating, we tell you straight, run the numbers, and handle the switch if you decide to go.
What you can claim as a sole trader
HMRC's rule is simple: expenses must be wholly and exclusively for business. The interesting question is what counts. Common allowable expenses for the self-employed include:
- Home office costs (use of home as office, or simplified flat rate)
- Business mileage and vehicle running costs
- Tools, equipment, computers and software
- Training, courses and professional subscriptions
- Accountant, legal and consultancy fees
- Business insurance and bank charges
- A reasonable proportion of phone and broadband
- Marketing, advertising and website costs
What you can claim varies by trade. A photographer's gear is different from a tradesperson's tools, which is different from a consultant's training. As part of your package we walk through the categories specific to your work and the records HMRC expects you to keep.
What's not included by HMRC by default
Self-employment is the only working status where you genuinely have to manage your own tax position. There's no PAYE doing it for you, no employer pension contribution, no statutory sick pay, no employer NI top-up. That makes specialist support more valuable, not less. We'll help you build a pension, model the tax saving, and make sure you're not overpaying simply because nobody's looking.
Freelancers and creatives
