BIRDS ACCOUNTANTS
BIRDS ACCOUNTANTS
Lash & brow technicians · home studios · mobile · UK-wide
What to tell HMRC, what you can claim and how much to put aside, whether lashes are your full-time job or a side hustle.
Written by Nicola Bird, CIMA-qualified accountant. Last checked 10 November 2026.
If your lash income is over £1,000 in a tax year before costs, you need to register for Self Assessment as self-employed. This applies even if you also have a job. The deadline to register is 5 October after the end of the tax year you started in. Under £1,000, you usually do not need to tell HMRC.
If you work from a room at home, you can claim a share of heating, electricity and similar bills based on the space and time used for the business. Or you can use HMRC's flat rate: £10 a month for 25 to 50 hours of business use, £18 for 51 to 100 hours and £26 for 101 hours or more.
Travel to clients can be claimed at 45p a mile for the first 10,000 business miles in the tax year and 25p a mile after that. Keep a simple log of dates, clients and miles.
Your tax is worked out on profit, which is your takings minus your allowable costs. A simple habit is to move a set percentage of every payment into a separate savings pot. If your bill is over £1,000, HMRC may also ask for payments on account, so read payments on account explained.
These are the rates for England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Scotland has its own Income Tax bands, but National Insurance and the allowances are the same.
| 2025/26 | 2026/27 | |
|---|---|---|
| Trading allowance (gross self-employed income) | £1,000 | £1,000 |
| Personal Allowance (tax-free income) | £12,570 | £12,570 |
| Income Tax basic rate (£12,571 to £50,270) | 20% | 20% |
| Income Tax higher rate (£50,271 to £125,140) | 40% | 40% |
| Class 4 National Insurance on profits £12,570 to £50,270 | 6% | 6% |
| Class 4 National Insurance on profits over £50,270 | 2% | 2% |
| Class 2 small profits threshold (Class 2 treated as paid above this) | £6,845 | £7,105 |
| Voluntary Class 2 if profits are below the threshold | £3.50 a week | £3.65 a week |
Making Tax Digital for Income Tax: if your qualifying income (self-employment plus property, before expenses) was over £50,000 in 2024/25, you have had to use it since 6 April 2026. Over £30,000 in 2025/26 means you start on 6 April 2027, and over £20,000 in 2026/27 means you start on 6 April 2028. Sources: GOV.UK National Insurance rates, GOV.UK Income Tax rates, GOV.UK Making Tax Digital.
Yes, if your lash income is over £1,000 in a tax year before costs. You register for Self Assessment with HMRC and file a tax return each year.
Refresher and advanced courses that build on skills you already use in your lash business can usually be claimed. Your first course, taken to start the business, usually cannot.
Yes. Products you use on clients are day-to-day business costs and can be claimed in full.
Yes. Equipment such as a lash bed, lamp or trolley can usually be claimed in full in the year you buy it.
A share of household bills based on the space and time used for your business, or HMRC's flat rate of £10 to £26 a month depending on how many hours you work there.
For 2026/27, most people pay nothing on the first £12,570. Above that, Income Tax is 20% and Class 4 National Insurance is 6% on profits up to £50,270 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
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Related: Accountant for beauticians and lash techs · What's new for beauty · Tax Buddy app
This page is general information, not tax advice. Get in touch about your own situation.
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