Tax for private tutors

One-to-one, online, or through a tutoring platform — if you tutor on the side or full-time, the income is taxable, and it's simpler to sort than you'd think.

Tutoring is self-employment, even if you also have an employed teaching job taxed through PAYE. If your tutoring income tops £1,000 in the year — the trading allowance — you'll need to file a return for that side.

How much tax will you actually pay?

You're taxed on your profit — your income after allowable costs — not on everything you take. For the 2026/27 tax year:

• The first £12,570 is tax-free (your personal allowance).
• 20% income tax on profit between £12,570 and £50,270.
• 6% Class 4 National Insurance on that same slice — Class 2 is treated as paid automatically.
• Above £50,270 it steps up to 40% tax and 2% National Insurance.

A worked example. Say your tutoring profit after costs is £16,000 and it's your only income. Nothing on the first £12,570, then 20% tax on the £3,430 above it (£686) and 6% Class 4 NI (£206) — about £892 for the year.

If you also have an employed job, that salary usually uses your personal allowance first, so more of your self-employed profit is taxed — we work out both sides together. Our how-much-tax guide has the full breakdown.

Costs you can usually claim

• Teaching materials and resources — worksheets, past papers, printing and stationery.
• Books and subscriptions — textbooks and revision or resource platforms.
• DBS check and any registration you need to tutor.
• Tutoring-platform commission — the cut sites like Tutorful or MyTutor take.
• A share of home used for lessons and admin, or HMRC's flat rate.
• Travel to students — 55p per mile for the first 10,000 miles.
• Laptop, webcam and software for online tutoring, plus your phone.

How to file, step by step

• 1. Register with HMRC for Self Assessment by 5 October after the tax year you started. You'll get a UTR (Unique Taxpayer Reference). Here's how →
• 2. Keep records through the year — what you earned, and receipts for what you spent.
• 3. File your return online by 31 January (or on paper by 31 October). The dates that matter →
• 4. Pay what you owe by 31 January.

Making Tax Digital

Making Tax Digital is already here: since 6 April 2026 it applies if your gross self-employment and property income — your turnover, before expenses — was over £50,000. The threshold drops to £30,000 in April 2027 and £20,000 in April 2028. It means keeping digital records and sending HMRC a short update every quarter — 7 August, 7 November, 7 February and 7 May — on top of your year-end return. We keep the records and file them so you can focus on your students.

Common questions

Do private tutors pay tax? Yes — tutoring is self-employment, so if your tutoring income tops £1,000 in a tax year you file a Self Assessment return and pay tax on your profit — even if you also have an employed teaching job.

I tutor alongside a teaching job — how does that work? Your salary is taxed through PAYE and usually uses up your personal allowance; your tutoring profit goes on Self Assessment and is taxed on top. We sort both sides together.

What can tutors claim as expenses? Teaching materials and resources, books and subscriptions, a DBS check, tutoring-platform commission, a share of home used for lessons and admin, travel to students, and a laptop, webcam and software for online tutoring.

This guide is general information, not personal tax advice. Figures are for the 2026/27 tax year and can change at each Budget — always confirm the current numbers on GOV.UK or ask us to check your situation.