For a sole trader, the accountancy fee is anchored to one core job: preparing and filing your Self Assessment tax return. Everything else (bookkeeping, VAT, advice) is added around it. That makes sole trader fees among the most straightforward to understand, but the range is still wide, because the time a return takes depends heavily on what you bring to the accountant.

If you have not yet registered, GOV.UK covers setting up as a sole trader. For the broader picture across all business types, start with our pillar guide on what an accountant costs a small business.

The core job: your Self Assessment return

At minimum, an accountant for a sole trader prepares the accounts of your trade, completes the Self Assessment return, calculates what you owe and files by the deadline. A simple return with one trade, tidy records and no other income is quick work. Each complication adds time, and time is what you are paying for. We break down return-specific pricing in what an accountant charges for Self Assessment.

What moves a sole trader fee up or down

  • Your records. This is the big one. HMRC expects you to keep business records as a self-employed person, and the state they arrive in dictates the accountant’s hours. A reconciled digital ledger takes a fraction of the time a carrier bag of receipts takes.
  • Bookkeeping. If you want the accountant to do the recording as well as the return, that is a recurring service on top. Many sole traders split the difference: they keep digital records themselves and the accountant reviews and corrects.
  • VAT registration. Once registered, quarterly returns and digital filing add regular work through the year rather than a single annual job.
  • Extra income sources. Rental property, employment alongside the trade, savings and investment income, or foreign income each add pages and checks to the return.
  • Subcontracting in construction. Industry deduction schemes bring statements, reconciliations and refund claims into scope.
  • Advice. Questions about expenses, equipment purchases or whether to incorporate take time; some firms bundle reasonable queries, others bill them.

Digital records change the economics

Making Tax Digital has pushed sole traders towards software-kept records, and this genuinely changes what you pay. When your bank feeds into cloud accounting software and transactions are categorised as you go, the accountant starts from clean data. That shows up in the fee, and it also means fewer errors and no January panic. If you currently keep records on paper or in spreadsheets, ask any firm you approach whether moving to digital record-keeping would change their quote. It usually does.

A realistic scope for a sole trader package

A typical ongoing arrangement for a sole trader might cover: annual accounts for the trade, the Self Assessment return prepared and filed, checks on your expense claims, reminders ahead of deadlines, and a defined level of query support during the year. VAT returns and bookkeeping are added for those who need them. What it will not usually cover without discussion: fixing years of backlog, HMRC enquiry work, or returns for a partner or spouse.

Questions to ask before you agree a fee

  • Is the return filed for me, or prepared for me to file?
  • What happens to the fee if my records arrive in poor shape?
  • Are questions during the year included, or billed each time?
  • If I register for VAT mid-year, how does the fee change?
  • What do you need from me, and by when, so the deadline is met comfortably?

Our fees page shows how we answer these for our own clients, and our sole trader accountancy service sets out a typical scope.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need an accountant at all as a sole trader?

Legally, no: you can file your own return. An accountant earns their fee when your affairs stop being simple: multiple income sources, VAT, significant expenses, or simply the risk and hours of doing it yourself.

Is a sole trader cheaper to look after than a limited company?

Almost always, because a company adds statutory accounts, a Company Tax Return and Companies House filings. The comparison matters if you are weighing up incorporation, so see what an accountant costs a limited company before deciding.

Will an accountant charge more in January?

Some firms apply a premium for returns delivered close to the deadline, because the work lands in their busiest weeks. Sending your records early in the tax year avoids this entirely.

Can an accountant help if I have never filed a return?

Yes. Late registration and overdue returns are common work, priced by how many years are involved and what records survive. The sooner it is tackled, the smaller the job.

Does using cloud accounting software reduce my fee?

Generally yes, if you use it consistently. Sporadic or miscategorised entries can take as long to fix as paper records take to process, so the habit matters more than the tool.

Get a fee that matches your actual setup

Two sole traders can need very different amounts of work, so a meaningful price needs a short conversation about your income sources and records. Request a quote and we will set out exactly what your fee would cover.