Keep private lesson income separate from any employed teaching role. Record gross fees, cancellations, refunds and platform charges, including cash lessons. Explain the working arrangements before assuming every tutoring payment is self-employed income.
Separate school employment from private work
A tutor may be paid through PAYE by a school and receive separate private lesson fees. The employment income belongs with the employment records; genuine self-employed activity needs its own business calculation.
An agency calling you self-employed does not, by itself, settle employment status. Keep the contract and explain who sets the work, controls the arrangement and pays you if the position is uncertain.
Record the full lesson income
Keep a schedule of fees, cancellations, refunds and amounts received through platforms. Platform charges may be deducted before payout, so retain statements showing the underlying lesson income and fees.
If a parent pays for a block of lessons, note what the payment covers and any refund conditions. The accounting method affects timing; do not move receipts between tax years simply to match school terms.
Review business costs carefully
Relevant teaching materials, platform charges, insurance and a reasonable business portion of certain running costs may be deductible where the rules are met. Private costs and mixed-use equipment need review rather than a blanket percentage copied from another tutor.
Travel also needs checking. A journey related to tutoring is not automatically deductible under every working arrangement, and the rules differ from an employee expense claim.
Prepare for the correct tax year
For a 2025/26 online return, gather records covering 6 April 2025 to 5 April 2026; the usual filing deadline is 31 January 2027. Summer holidays and the academic year do not change those tax-year boundaries.
Tell TaxSimba about employment, private pupils, agency contracts and platform income. The accountant can then confirm the scope and review the information needed for your return. If gross self-employment income grows, check MTD separately instead of waiting until the next annual filing season to consider it.
Check the home nation used for your tax calculation
Tell the accountant whether you live in England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland, and about any moves during the tax year. Scottish rates differ for wages, pensions and most other taxable income; savings and dividends use UK rules. Welsh rates are set separately. Use the rules for the relevant year and your actual taxpayer status.
See Scottish Income Tax and Welsh Income Tax. These differences do not make a London address or an England-only earnings example appropriate for everyone.
Reconcile tutoring platforms with private lessons
Illustrative preparation example.
Keep platform statements, direct lesson fees, cancellations and refunds together, but distinguish any employed teaching role. Gross fees and net platform payouts answer different questions. A full appointment record helps identify cash lessons missing from bank deposits.
Check: Can lesson income be reconciled across platforms, direct clients and employment?
| Check | Practical action |
|---|---|
| Employment or self-employed tutoring? | Provide contracts and actual working arrangements for each source. |
| How do fees, blocks and refunds reconcile? | Keep the booking and payment trail without duplicating each delivered lesson. |
| Do exports match the tax year? | Check dates and accounting method rather than using a school-year total. |
Can I report only the platform payout?
Keep the gross lesson and fee breakdown so income and expenses can be reconciled correctly.
Does an agency's self-employed label settle my status?
No. The real working arrangements matter. Provide the contract and relevant facts.
Download a checklist for this guide
- List PAYE, private, agency and platform work.
- Record lesson fees, block payments and refunds.
- Reconcile platform fees and payouts.
- Collect teaching-material and other business-cost evidence.
- Check tax-year coverage and accounting method.