SA103S · Box 9
Turnover
Lesson fees received in the year, including through tutoring platforms. gov.uk lists tutoring among the services whose income counts.
Source: Check if you need to tell HMRC about your income from online platforms — gov.ukSelf Assessment · TutorsLive — Available now
Tutor tax return: private tuition income, VAT and your SA103S
Private tutors file an SA103S, with an SA102 alongside it if they also teach on PAYE. Tuition by an individual teacher in a subject taught in schools or universities is exempt from VAT, and gov.uk names tutoring among the services that count towards the £1,000 trading allowance. ac-co drafts the SA103S from your bank feed.
HMRC-recognised · drafted from your bank feed · pay only when you file
What we fill in first
WHAT WE FILL IN FOR YOU
A tutor's SA103S, and the job beside it.
Many tutors are also employed teachers. The tutoring is the SA103S; the school or agency job is a separate SA102 entry on the same return.
SA103S · Box 10.1
Trading income allowance
Up to £1,000 instead of real expenses. It cannot be used for tutoring income paid by your employer or the employer of your spouse or civil partner.
Source: Tax-free allowances on property and trading income — gov.ukSA102 · Box 1–2
Pay and tax taken off
Your school, college or agency job on PAYE — its own entry, from your P60. You can be employed and self-employed at the same time.
Source: Employment status: self-employed and contractor — gov.ukSA103S · Box 12
Car, van & travel
Travel to pupils' homes or venues — by flat-rate mileage or real costs. Travel from home to your employed workplace does not count.
Source: Simplified expenses: vehicles — gov.ukSA103S · Box 18
Phone & office costs
Printing, stationery, teaching software with regular renewals, and the business share of phone and broadband.
Source: Expenses if you're self-employed — gov.ukSA103S · Box 19
Other allowable expenses
Training, professional body membership and insurance — the costs with no box of their own.
Source: Expenses if you're self-employed — gov.ukWHAT A TUTOR CAN CLAIM
Resources, travel and training — and what is not allowable.
A tutor's costs are modest, which is why the £1,000 allowance often beats them. Keep both figures before you choose.
Usually allowable
- Teaching materials, printing and stationery. Stationery, printing, printer ink and postage are allowable expenses.
- Software and subscriptions. Software with regular renewals, and trade or professional body membership related to the work.
- Travel to pupils. Public transport, parking and mileage, by the flat rate or real costs. The flat rate is 45p a mile for the first 10,000 business miles up to 5 April 2026, 55p from 6 April 2026, then 25p.
- Training and CPD. Courses that improve skills you use, keep you up to date, or develop skills related to changes in your field.
- A room at home used for teaching. A fair share of home costs by rooms or time, or the monthly flat rate if you work at least 25 hours a month at home.
- Business insurance. Any insurance policy for the business, such as public liability.
Usually not allowable
- Expenses and the trading allowance together. You use the £1,000 allowance or your real costs, never both.
- Training to start a new business. A course to retrain for an unrelated trade is not a tutoring expense.
- Your commute to a school you are employed by. Travel between home and your normal workplace is not claimable, whether tutoring or not.
- Everyday clothing. Ordinary clothes you teach in are everyday clothing.
- Your own tax return fee. gov.uk lists the cost of preparing and submitting your Self Assessment return among the costs you cannot claim.
WHAT YOU GET
Everything this return files, keeps and tells you.
Files for you
Sent to HMRC, with a receipt you keep.
- SA100 with an HMRC receipt
- SA103S for the tutoring, and an SA102 entry for a PAYE job
Keeps for you
Every box traceable to the bank line behind it.
- The bank feed and books behind every box
- Your SA302 calculation
Tells you
Your figure before you file, not after.
- Which is bigger — the £1,000 trading allowance or your real costs
- Your estimated tax before you file
THREE THINGS PEOPLE GET WRONG
Tutor tax returns — the small print that costs money.
VAT
Private tuition is exempt — for an individual teacher
Tuition by an individual teacher working in a personal capacity, in a subject taught regularly in a number of schools or universities, is exempt from VAT. If you take on other teachers to help, you must apportion exempt and taxable supplies or treat it all as taxable, and goods or services sold alongside tuition that are not integral to it are standard-rated.
Source: Education and vocational training (VAT Notice 701/30) — gov.uk (opens in a new tab)Employer
The trading allowance fails for income from your employer
You cannot use the £1,000 trading allowance for trading income from your employer or your spouse's employer. If the school that employs you pays you separately for extra lessons, that income is outside the allowance. Everything else you earn from tutoring is added together towards the £1,000.
Source: Tax-free allowances on property and trading income — gov.uk (opens in a new tab)Two
A teacher who tutors files two pages, not one
You can be both employed and self-employed in the same tax year, for example working for an employer in the day and running your own business in the evenings. The job is the SA102; the tutoring is the SA103S, on one return. That pairing is the Simple tier.
Source: Employment status: self-employed and contractor — gov.uk (opens in a new tab)No sign-up — try it right here
See your side-income tax — no sign-up.
Enter your tutoring income and costs and get a labelled estimate of the tax, with the £1,000 allowance against your real expenses.
An estimate from the figures you enter — your real bill comes from your filed Self Assessment return.
PRICING
One fee per return. No subscription.
A self-employed return with no employment page is the Complete tier; with a PAYE job it is Simple.
50% off until 14 January 2027
Simple
One supplementary page
£29£59/ return
A PAYE job (SA102) and your self-employment page (SA103S) — SA100 with two supplementary pages.
Start a returnComplete
Every income type
£65£129/ return
Self-employment with no employment page, or three or more pages — every supplementary page included.
Start a returnA tutor's return, three ways.
| Row | HMRC online | An accountant | ac-co |
|---|---|---|---|
| £/return | £0 | £150–£400 [Sleek — accountant fees for Self Assessment, UK, 2026-09-13] | £29–£65 |
| Drafts turnover and expenses from your bank feed | No | If you send them | Yes |
| A PAYE teaching job and tutoring on one return | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Accountant fee dated 2026-09-13 — check their own quote.
ANSWERS
Ready when you are.
Do I have to declare private tutoring income?
If your gross trading income is more than the £1,000 trading allowance in the tax year, yes. gov.uk lists tutoring as a service whose income counts and says to add it to your other trading. Over £1,000 you must register for Self Assessment by 5 October after the year, even if you end up owing no tax.
Is private tuition subject to VAT?
Often not. Tuition by an individual teacher working in a personal capacity, in a subject taught regularly in a number of schools or universities, is exempt from VAT. If you take on other teachers, apportion or treat it all as taxable. Goods or services sold with the tuition that are not integral to it are standard-rated.
I teach at a school and tutor privately. How do I file?
One return. gov.uk says you can be both employed and self-employed, so your school job goes on an SA102 entry and your tutoring on the SA103S. If the school pays you separately for extra lessons, that income is from your employer and the £1,000 trading allowance does not apply to it.
What tutoring costs can I claim?
Stationery, printing, software with regular renewals, travel to pupils, training that improves skills you use, professional body membership related to your work, business insurance, and the business share of home costs. You can claim real costs or use the £1,000 allowance, not both. Training to start a new business does not count.
How much does a tutor's return cost?
Our fee is per return, with no subscription. The Simple tier (£29) is for a return with an employment page plus at most one other supplementary page; any other return is Complete (£65). The tier is set by the pages on your filed return.
KEEP READING
Everything else you’ll need.
Self Assessment
The full hub →
Calculator
Try the full calculator page →
Guide
HMRC Form SA102: Employment Income, P60 & P11D Guide →
Guide
The £1,000 Trading Allowance: Rules and When to Use It →
Guide
Side Hustle Tax UK: Hobby or Trade, and the £1,000 Rule →
Guide
How to Register for Self Assessment: Who Must and By When →
Guide
The £1,000 trading allowance →
Also for you
Employees →
Also for you
Content creators →
Also for you
First-time filers →
Sources
Rules and rates on this page were checked against these gov.uk pages on 12 October 2026. Tax rules change; check the page itself for the tax year you are filing.
- Check if you need to tell HMRC about your income from online platforms — gov.uk
- Tax-free allowances on property and trading income — gov.uk
- Education and vocational training (VAT Notice 701/30) — gov.uk
- Employment status: self-employed and contractor — gov.uk
- Expenses if you're self-employed — gov.uk
- Self-employed expenses: training courses — gov.uk
- Simplified expenses: vehicles — gov.uk
- Self Assessment: self-employment (short) (SA103S) and notes — gov.uk
- Check how to register for Self Assessment — gov.uk
GUIDES & ARTICLES
Read before you file.
HMRC’s September MTD Sign-up: What to Do If You Have Not Enrolled
HMRC says it will start signing up eligible 2026/27 MTD for Income Tax users from September 2026. Learn what that means and how to get your records ready.
31 March Year End? Set Calendar Periods Before Your First MTD Update
HMRC says businesses with a 1 April to 31 March accounting period must choose calendar update periods before their first MTD for Income Tax quarterly update.
Starting or Stopping an Income Source Under MTD for Income Tax
HMRC’s 2026 guidance explains what happens when an MTD for Income Tax user starts or ceases a self-employment or property income source.
Put your lessons and your day job on one return.
Connect your bank, add your P60, review the draft, file when you're ready.