Do I need to tell HMRC if I move house when I'm self-employed?

Yes. In 2026-27, once you've moved, tell HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) your new personal address, and your business's too if your trading address changes. A VAT business address change has a 30-day deadline; CIS is told separately.

A move to or from Scotland or Wales can also change the Income Tax rates you pay.

This follows GOV.UK as checked on 19 October 2026, and covers moves within the UK.

Two updates, not one

GOV.UK splits your details in two.

GOV.UK says you must tell HMRC if you change your name, business name, or your personal or trading address, and to make sure you've updated your details for all of the taxes and schemes you're registered for.

For many sole traders who work from home, the home address is also the business address, so it's one move but more than one update. If your trading address is elsewhere and isn't moving, the personal update covers Income Tax and Self Assessment, but CIS still needs telling.

If you're VAT registered

If you work from home and your home is the main address of your business on your VAT registration, moving changes it. GOV.UK says you must tell HMRC within 30 days of a change to the main address of your business, and you might need to pay a penalty if you don't. If you're a sole trader and your business address is somewhere else, such as a yard, and it isn't moving, moving house doesn't change your VAT registration. Partnerships are different: GOV.UK says a change to the home address of any partner must also be reported within 30 days, on form VAT2. You update it in your VAT online account, or contact HMRC if you can't use it.

If you're in CIS

Subcontractors must tell HMRC if they change their business, private or registered office address, and contractors if they change address as an individual or business. GOV.UK says the online business-changes service works for all services apart from CIS, so you tell HMRC about CIS changes separately; its CIS guidance points to the CIS helpline.

Moving to or from Scotland or Wales

Income Tax rates on your self-employed profits depend on where you live.

Scotland. GOV.UK says you pay Scottish Income Tax if you live in Scotland, and it applies to your wages, pension and most other taxable income. If you move to Scotland and live there for a longer period than anywhere else in the UK during a tax year, you pay Scottish rates for that year. GOV.UK says you must tell HMRC your new address if you move to or from Scotland, or you may pay tax at the wrong rate. The online Self Assessment return has a box to tell HMRC you pay Scottish Income Tax.

The 2026-27 Scottish rates, with the standard £12,570 Personal Allowance:

Savings interest and dividends are taxed at the same rates as the rest of the UK. If you have a home in Scotland and one elsewhere, for example while working away, GOV.UK says your main home is usually where you live and spend most of your time.

Wales. You pay Welsh rates if you live in Wales for longer than anywhere else in the UK during the tax year. For 2026-27 GOV.UK lists the Welsh rates as 20%, 40% and 45% on the same bands as the rest of the UK outside Scotland, so in our reading a move between England and Wales doesn't change what you pay this year. Still update your address with HMRC.

If you let out your old home

If you keep your old home and rent it out, the rent is new income. If your gross property income for the tax year is £1,000 or less, GOV.UK says you usually needn't tell HMRC. That allowance doesn't apply if, for example, you claim the mortgage interest tax reducer on the property, or the rent comes from your or your spouse's employer or a company you or someone connected to you controls. Otherwise, if you already send a tax return, the rent goes on it and counts towards your Making Tax Digital qualifying income alongside your sole-trade turnover, but not a partnership share. If not, GOV.UK says register for Self Assessment if it's £2,500 or more after expenses or £10,000 or more before, and otherwise contact HMRC. If this is your first property business and it starts part-way through a tax year, GOV.UK says you annualise its income yourself for qualifying income. See how do I tell HMRC I'm a landlord? and how do I pay tax on rental income as an accidental landlord?

What this means for you

Moving house means a few short HMRC updates. Missing one means letters to your old address and, after a cross-border move, possibly the wrong rates.

Steps to take

1. Wait until you've moved, then change your personal address in your personal tax account.
2. If the move changes your business's trading address, update it for every business tax you're registered for. If you're VAT registered and your business address changes, do it within 30 days in your VAT online account.
3. If you're in CIS as a subcontractor or a contractor, tell HMRC about the CIS change separately.
4. If you moved to or from Scotland, check which rates apply for the tax year and tick the Scottish box on your return if you pay Scottish Income Tax.
5. Give your bank your new address. Change your invoices, quotes and Making Tax Digital software only if they show your old home address; a VAT invoice shows your VAT-registered address.

Use the free MTD check to see when Making Tax Digital starts for you, and the trades section or the landlords section for more guides.