One 2026 fee guide puts a sole trader's tax return at £200 to £350 plus VAT. Most householder plumbing is outside CIS, so card takings, merchant receipts and the van usually drive the price more than CIS does.
There is no official price list. The figures below come from firms' own fee guides and price pages, and from ByteStart, a publisher that works with partner firms, checked on 18 October 2026. They have a commercial interest, so treat them as the going rate, not a quote.
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What plumbers are quoted
| Source and date | What it covers | Price as published | Including VAT at 20% |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleek fee guide, updated 11 September 2026 | Sole trader return | £200 to £350 + VAT | £240 to £420 |
| Accotax fee guide, 17 August 2026 | Basic return: one or two income sources, organised information | £150 to £300 + VAT | £180 to £360 |
| Accotax fee guide, 17 August 2026 | Freelancer or contractor return; CIS named as a price factor | £200 to £500 + VAT | £240 to £600 |
| ByteStart cost guide, updated 25 September 2026 | One-off return | £150 to £300, VAT not stated | Not stated |
| ByteStart cost guide | Basic monthly package | £25 to £50 a month, VAT not stated | Not stated |
| Gorilla Accounting, MTD Comply, checked 18 October 2026 | Software, quarterly updates and the tax return; listed as ideal for sole traders and non-VAT registered businesses | From £49 + VAT, sold as a fixed monthly fee | From £58.80 a month |
Sleek says a single self-employed income stream with clean bookkeeping usually lands around £200 to £250, and that disorganised records or missing receipts add £100 to £300. For a plumber, that gap is mostly about how your takings and receipts reach the accountant.
What drives the price for a plumber
| What you have | Why it adds work |
|---|---|
| Card takings | A card payout may arrive with the fee taken off. Where you only know income after costs, GOV.UK says to find the full amount and record income and costs separately, so each payout is split. |
| Merchant receipts | Every trip to the merchant is a record with an amount, a date and a category. Once you are in Making Tax Digital, if your turnover is under £90,000, GOV.UK lets you record each one simply as income or an expense. |
| The van | On the cash basis, GOV.UK lists vans among business items claimed as allowable expenses. The other route is the flat rate: for 2026-27, 55p a mile for the first 10,000 business miles, then 25p, kept for as long as you use that van. It is not open for a van you have already claimed capital allowances for or included as an expense. |
| Work for builders | CIS 340 says private householders are not contractors, but a builder paying you for covered work on a householder's job must operate CIS. A contractor that takes a deduction must give you a statement within 14 days of the end of each tax month. |
| Nearing the VAT threshold | You must register once taxable turnover for the last 12 months goes over £90,000, or if you expect it to in the next 30 days alone, which adds VAT returns. |
| Making Tax Digital | Over £50,000 of qualifying income (income before costs) in 2024-25 meant starting on 6 April 2026; over £30,000 in 2025-26 means 6 April 2027; over £20,000 in 2026-27 means 6 April 2028. Quarterly updates are then due every 3 months for each business. |
| Late years | Sleek puts each missed year at £150 to £400 plus VAT, because each year needs its own records and its own return. |
Which jobs are inside CIS is in does CIS apply to plumbers and heating engineers.
Fixed fee or a share of your refund
If all your work is for householders, no CIS deductions are taken, so there is no CIS refund to share. If builders do take deductions, GOV.UK says you record pay before deductions as income and the deductions as CIS deductions on your tax return, and HMRC pays back any refund due. Once you are in Making Tax Digital, HMRC adds the CIS deductions it holds to your MTD tax return, and any refund is requested separately through HMRC online services, so it is not paid automatically. A percentage fee grows with that refund. GOV.UK says you do not need an agent to claim a tax refund.
Can you claim the fee back?
Partly. GOV.UK says accountancy fees can be allowable when you hire an accountant only for business reasons, but you cannot claim the cost of preparing and submitting your Self Assessment tax return. HMRC's manual allows the normal recurring cost of preparing your business accounts. It says the cost of completing a tax return is not allowable, though the extra personal cost is likely to be minimal if your other tax affairs are straightforward. In our reading, if one fee covers both, only the business accounts part counts. GOV.UK also lists bank and credit card charges as allowable.
Gas Safe registration is separate. GOV.UK allows trade body or professional organisation membership related to your business, but does not name Gas Safe; the trade scheme fees guide explains how such fees are judged.
What this means for you
In our reading, if you work mostly for householders, are not VAT registered and keep card payouts and receipts tidy, a fee near the bottom of the ranges above is realistic. If you also subcontract for builders, are close to £90,000 or have years to catch up, expect the upper end or a monthly package. Either way, the figures on your return are your responsibility.
If you would rather hand it over, our Trades Tax plan is £35 a month including VAT. The founding offer for the first 500 trades clients is £5 a month for your first 3 months, then £35 a month. Cancel any time. We'll remind you before it changes. Our tax plans start once our HMRC registrations are complete. Until then you can join the waitlist, and no payment is taken.
Steps to get a fair price
- Use the free MTD check to see whether and when MTD starts for you.
- Work out how much of last year's work was paid by householders and how much by builders.
- Download your card provider's statements, which show full takings and fees.
- Gather merchant receipts and a mileage log, or van costs.
- Ask at least two firms for a written yearly price in pounds, including VAT.
- Check the price covers your quarterly updates once MTD starts.
The trades section has more guides for plumbers.
Hold your place on the trades waitlist
We’ll email you when Trades Tax opens, with the founding offer while places last. No payment is taken.
Questions people ask
How much does an accountant charge a plumber for a tax return?
Sleek's 2026 fee guide puts a sole trader return at £200 to £350 plus VAT, which is £240 to £420 with VAT at 20%. It says a single self-employed income stream with clean bookkeeping usually lands around £200 to £250. These are a firm's own figures, not an independent survey.
Does CIS apply to plumbing work for homeowners?
No. HMRC's CIS 340 guide says private householders are not counted as contractors, so a homeowner paying you direct takes no CIS deduction. If you do covered work for a builder who is working for a householder, the builder must operate CIS on what they pay you.
How do I record card payments that arrive with the fee taken off?
GOV.UK's Making Tax Digital guidance says that if you only know your income after costs, you find out the full amount, then record the income and the costs separately. In our reading, a card payout works the same way: record the full takings and the fee as an expense.
Can I claim my accountant's fee as a business expense?
Partly. GOV.UK says accountancy fees can be allowable when you hire an accountant only for business reasons, but you cannot claim the cost of preparing and submitting your Self Assessment tax return. HMRC's manual allows the normal recurring cost of preparing your business accounts, but not the cost of completing a tax return.
Is my Gas Safe registration an allowable expense?
GOV.UK lists trade body or professional organisation membership as allowable if it is related to your business. It does not name Gas Safe, so in our reading a registration you pay only to carry on your trade is judged by the usual test: was it paid only for the business?
Sources
- Use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax: Submit your tax return (GOV.UK, checked 18 October 2026)
- Construction Industry Scheme: a guide for contractors and subcontractors (CIS 340), sections 2.3 and C.2 (GOV.UK, checked 18 October 2026)
- What you must do as a CIS subcontractor: Get paid (GOV.UK, checked 18 October 2026)
- What you must do as a CIS subcontractor: Pay tax and claim back deductions (GOV.UK, checked 18 October 2026)
- Use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax: Create digital records (GOV.UK, checked 18 October 2026)
- Find out if and when you need to use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax (GOV.UK, checked 18 October 2026)
- Use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax: Send quarterly updates (GOV.UK, checked 18 October 2026)
- Simplified expenses if you're self-employed: Vehicles (GOV.UK, checked 18 October 2026)
- Cash basis: How to record income and expenses (GOV.UK, checked 18 October 2026)
- Register for VAT: When to register (GOV.UK, checked 18 October 2026)
- Expenses if you're self-employed: Subscriptions (GOV.UK, checked 18 October 2026)
- Expenses if you're self-employed: Legal and financial costs (GOV.UK, checked 18 October 2026)
- BIM46450: Professional fees, taxation account and negotiations (HMRC manual, checked 18 October 2026)
- How to choose a tax agent (GOV.UK, checked 18 October 2026)
- Accotax: How much do accountants charge for tax returns in the UK? (17 August 2026, checked 18 October 2026)
- Sleek: How much do accountants charge for Self Assessment in 2026? (updated 11 September 2026, checked 18 October 2026)
- ByteStart: How much should you pay for an accountant if you're self-employed? (updated 25 September 2026, checked 18 October 2026)
- Gorilla Accounting: MTD packages (checked 18 October 2026)
This is general information to help you understand the rules. It isn't tailored to your circumstances, so check your own position before acting on it.
Righto Tax is a trading name of NJG Consultancy Ltd, registered in England and Wales, company number 16095900. Registered office: Jubilee House, East Beach, Lytham St Annes, FY8 5FT.
What happens next
- Use the free Making Tax Digital checker to see your own start date and deadlines.
- See what Righto Tax for Trades does for you, and join the waitlist.
- Questions about this page? Email hello@rightotax.co.uk.