Can I claim materials I buy for jobs as a sole trader?

Yes. Materials you buy for customer jobs are an allowable cost. Under the cash basis, the standard method since 6 April 2024, you claim them in the tax year you pay for them, even if some are unused.

GOV.UK lists "goods for resale (stock)", "raw materials" and "direct costs from producing goods" as costs the self-employed can claim. For a tradesperson that is the cable, pipe, timber, plaster, paint, fixings and fittings that go into the work you do for customers. HMRC's helpsheet HS222 includes goods you "use in providing a service" in the cost of goods you can claim. What you cannot claim is goods or materials bought for private use. This page follows GOV.UK and HMRC's manuals as checked on 17 October 2026.

Materials and the two ways of keeping accounts

The cash basis is the standard way for sole traders to keep accounts. GOV.UK says that with the cash basis you only record income or expenses when you receive money or pay a bill, and you "only count the expenses you've actually paid". HMRC's Business Income Manual says cash basis expenses are those paid during the tax year, and the tax return notes say allowable expenses include "the amount paid for stock", with the cost of stock used only under traditional accounting. In our reading, that means materials still on the van or in the lock-up at 5 April are claimed in the year you paid for them, not the year you use them.

Traditional accounting is different. The tax return notes say you "need to make adjustments for opening and closing stock", and HMRC's helpsheet HS222 says cost of sales is the cost of materials and goods "which you used during your accounting period". In our reading, unused materials at the year end are carried forward as closing stock and claimed when they are used. GOV.UK suggests traditional accounting may suit a business with high levels of stock. Our cash basis guide explains how to choose.

Charging the customer for materials

The tax return notes define turnover as the total amount your business receives (cash basis) or earns (traditional accounting) before taking off any expenses. In our reading, when you invoice a customer for labour and materials, the whole amount is your takings and the materials you bought are a separate cost, so you should not net the materials off the invoice before recording it.

If you work under the Construction Industry Scheme (CIS), the contractor does not take the CIS deduction from the cost of materials you paid for directly. Our guide on whether CIS applies to materials explains how that works. If a contractor supplies the materials and pays for them, in our reading they are not your cost and you do not claim them.

Materials you use at home

HMRC's manual says that when a trader using the cash basis takes goods from the business for personal use, there is no need to count their value as income; instead a "just and reasonable adjustment" is made, such as disallowing the cost. The tax return notes put this in box 60, goods and services for your own use: the cost under the cash basis, or the normal sale price under traditional accounting. Materials you buy specifically for your own house are private from the start and are not claimed at all.

A worked example

A self-employed electrician on the cash basis receives £42,000 from customers in 2026-27, including the materials charged on each job. Over the year the electrician pays £6,400 at the trade counter. Of that, £300 was bought to rewire their own garage, and £500 of cable and fittings is still on the van at 5 April 2027.

The £500 left on the van is included in the £6,100, because it was paid for in 2026-27, and it is not claimed again when it is used. Under traditional accounting, the claim for the year would be £5,600 (£6,100 less the £500 of closing stock, assuming no stock at the start of the year). This is an example only.

What this means for you

Materials can be a large part of a tradesperson's costs, so recording every purchase matters, unless you take the £1,000 trading allowance instead of claiming expenses. Under Making Tax Digital (MTD), GOV.UK says each digital record of an expense needs the amount, the date and a category, and you still keep original records, such as invoices and bank statements, or copies of them. A trade-counter account statement shows what you paid, and the receipts show what each purchase was.

Steps to claim materials

1. Keep every trade-counter receipt, invoice and account statement, and note the job each purchase was for.
2. Separate anything bought for your own home and leave it out of your business costs.
3. Record the full amount each customer pays you as takings, materials included.
4. Record materials under "Cost of goods bought for resale or goods used", box 17 in the notes to the 2025-26 full self-employment pages.
5. If you take business materials for your own use, add back the cost in box 60, or the normal sale price under traditional accounting.

The free MTD check shows when Making Tax Digital starts for you, our list of expenses for tradespeople covers the other costs, and the trades section has more guides.