Set your fees from your own capacity, not from the cheapest online accountant in your search results. A sole practitioner has a fixed number of hours, and every underpriced client uses some of them up.
That's more urgent this year. Making Tax Digital for Income Tax turns one return into five submissions a year for clients in scope. If your fee still assumes one return, you've agreed to do more work for the same money.
The short version
- Your rate comes from your costs and your chargeable hours.
- Published UK fees run from £24.50 a month at the online end to about £300 a month. Treat them as context.
- Price MTD as its own piece of work. Don't absorb it.
- ICAEW's Code says your fee basis must be in writing. It's also where many practices slip.
- An individual engaging you remotely can have a 14-day right to cancel. Sole traders buying for their business usually won't.
What published UK fees look like
No independent survey I could find gives a reliable UK fee table for small practices. Here's what's published, and who's saying it.
| Service | Published figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Sole trader, online monthly plan | £24.50 to £60 a month plus VAT | ExpertSure, prices checked September 2026 |
| Limited company, online monthly plan | From £39.50 a month plus VAT | ExpertSure |
| Limited company, annual fee | £150 to £599 | ExpertSure |
| VAT return | £29 to £30 each | ExpertSure |
| Confirmation statement | £39 to £85 | ExpertSure |
| Limited company, general guide | £100 to £300 a month | Accounts OS, a vendor |
| Hourly rate | £50 to £150 | myPOS, a vendor |
| Qualified accountant, hourly | £100 to £200 | Accounts OS |
| Bookkeeper, hourly | £25 to £40 | Accounts OS |
I saw no method or sample behind any of these. I'd expect the low end to be volume online providers, which work differently from a local practice.
My view is that you shouldn't try to match the bottom of that table. A client choosing on price alone is usually the first to leave on price.
Work out the rate you need
You need what you want to earn, what the practice costs to run, and how many hours you can charge.
Worked example: a sole practitioner in Kendal (made-up figures)
Marsden Tolley Accountants is an invented practice. Swap in your own numbers.
| Line | A year |
|---|---|
| What the owner wants to pay themselves | £48,000 |
| Software and insurance | £4,700 |
| Everything else: subscriptions, supervision, phone, website, marketing, CPD | £5,500 |
| Subtotal | £58,200 |
| 10% buffer | £5,820 |
| Total to recover | £64,020 |
Hours: 46 working weeks at 37.5 hours is 1,725. At 55% chargeable, that leaves about 949.
Divide £64,020 by 949 and the answer's about £67 an hour, before VAT.
That's a floor, not a target. It pays the owner and keeps the lights on. At £45 an hour, those same 949 hours bring in about £42,705, which is £21,315 short.
Chargeable hours matter most
The 55% is my assumption. Chasing records, answering "quick questions", onboarding and admin all eat the week, and in January the mix changes completely. Track two normal weeks and two busy ones, then use your own figure.
| Share of hours you can charge | Hours a year | Rate needed |
|---|---|---|
| 45% | 776 | £82 |
| 55% | 949 | £67 |
| 65% | 1,121 | £57 |
Moving from 45% to 65% takes £25 an hour off the rate you need. So chasing documents isn't a side issue. It's a pricing issue.
Price Making Tax Digital as its own work
Clients with qualifying income over £50,000 have been in since 6 April 2026. The threshold drops to £30,000 from 6 April 2027 and £20,000 from 6 April 2028. Quarterly updates fall due on 7 August, 7 November, 7 February and 7 May.
In a TaxCalc survey of 215 accountancy professionals in autumn 2025, 47% said they planned to raise prices for MTD clients, and 48% said they had more clients than they could manage. That's vendor research with a small sample. It still fits what you'd expect.
Worked example: one sole trader client (made-up figures)
At £67 an hour, before VAT:
| Work | Hours | Fee |
|---|---|---|
| Annual accounts and final return | 6 | £402 |
| Four quarterly updates, 45 minutes each | 3 | £201 |
| Total | 9 | £603 |
That's about £50 a month before VAT. If the old fee was £402, the extra work has gone up by half, and so should the fee.
At nine hours a client, 949 hours is about 105 clients of this type. So capacity is a real limit. If you're near it, a higher fee is a better answer than a longer January.
There are clients for whom you might charge less: those whose records are clean and in the software every week. A fee tied to record quality rewards good behaviour, and it gives you an honest reason for the difference. That's my preference, not a rule.
Choose how you'll charge
| Method | Best for | Watch out for |
|---|---|---|
| Fixed annual fee | Most compliance work | A fixed fee must be honoured, so state what's covered |
| Monthly fixed fee | Spreading cost, steady income | Clients may assume it covers everything |
| Hourly | One-off advice, clean-up work, enquiries from HMRC | Clients feel the clock, and it punishes you for being efficient |
| Fee by record quality | MTD clients | You need a clear definition of good records |
ICAEW's fee helpsheet makes a useful point about standing orders and direct debits. They can raise an expectation that payments cover everything, even when they only spread the cost. So say which it is. If there's a dispute, be ready to show what the payments covered.
Put the basis in writing
This is where accountants differ from most small businesses. It isn't only good practice.
For ICAEW members, paragraph 330.4 of the Code of Ethics says you should explain the basis of fees and give an estimated initial fee where applicable, at the earliest opportunity. Paragraph R330.5 says you must give fee quotes or the basis of fees in writing, before the engagement starts or as soon as possible after. If you belong to another body, check its own rules.
ICAEW's Practice Assurance monitoring report for 2025 says that in 2024, 179 practices hadn't told clients the basis of their fees, their complaints procedure, or both. ICAEW recommends an engagement letter and makes it compulsory only for audit, but its monitoring still checks those two things. AAT's licence conditions go further and require engagement and disengagement letters for all clients.
Say clearly if a figure is an estimate. ICAEW's helpsheet warns that if a quote or estimate will be exceeded, you should tell the client in advance.
Cancellation rights and subscriptions
Check this for clients who aren't in business
The Consumer Contracts Regulations protect an individual acting wholly or mainly outside their trade, business, craft or profession. If you agree terms with one at a distance, say by email without meeting, they usually have 14 days to cancel, and you must tell them so.
An employed director's personal return or a retired client's tax affairs could fall inside this. A sole trader engaging you for their business probably doesn't. That's my reading, so take advice on mixed cases such as private landlords.
New subscription contract rules under the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act are due on 1 January 2027, with regulations laid on 19 October 2026 and still needing approval from both Houses when I checked. If you sell a rolling monthly plan to private individuals, ask whether it's caught.
ICAEW's helpsheet also covers a notice to consumers about alternative dispute resolution, so read that part. This is general information, not legal advice. Your body's helpline is the right next call.
Put fees up without a fight
- Review every client once a year, on a set date.
- Show the reason: the extra MTD submissions, or the time spent on poor records.
- Tell the client before the work, not on the invoice.
- Let your lowest-margin clients go if they won't move. Follow your body's rules on disengagement.
- Send a fee proposal fast. Our follow-up guide explains why.
Our text templates include proposal follow-ups you can copy.
Questions accountants ask
What should a small practice charge for a self-assessment return?
I can't give you a reliable UK average. ExpertSure lists prices from about £50, while I'd expect a local practice with a real conversation behind it to need far more. Start from your hours and your rate.
Should I publish my fees on my website?
I would, at least as "from" prices. People want a range before they call, and it filters out poor fits.
Should I charge extra for MTD?
Yes, if it's more work. There are up to five submissions a year where there used to be one return. A client whose records are already in order may take little extra time, so price by the work.
Can I charge for a first meeting?
You can. Many practices don't, and I wouldn't for a short call. Keep it to 20 minutes, and charge for any real advice after that.
Can I keep a referral fee from an adviser?
Only with care. ICAEW says commission belongs to the client unless they consent to you keeping it. Our directories guide covers this.
David Bell, founder of Real Business Systems
David helps small UK businesses get found, answer every enquiry and keep customers coming back. We sell some of the services mentioned here, and we say so where they come up.
Sources
- ExpertSure, accountant costs (prices verified September 2026)
- myPOS, accountant costs (vendor)
- Accounts OS, accountant costs (vendor)
- MoneyWeek, TaxCalc survey (2026, 215 accountancy professionals, vendor)
- GOV.UK, Making Tax Digital dates
- ATT, missed quarterly updates (20 October 2026)
- Xero, pricing MTD services (vendor)
- ICAEW, fee information (reviewed 18 August 2025)
- ICAEW, Practice Assurance monitoring report 2025
- ICAEW, if you haven't issued an engagement letter (updated 19 August 2025)
- AAT, licence conditions
- Gowling WLG, subscription rules (2026)
Prices and rules change. Check the source before you rely on a figure. This is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice.