If you are self-employed on the tools, every quid you spend on kit, workwear and running the van can chip away at your tax bill – but only if you claim it properly. Plenty of tradespeople either miss legitimate expenses and pay more tax than they need to, or throw everything through the books and get a nasty surprise if HMRC ever looks closely. This is a plain-English guide to what a UK sole trader can actually claim, written for people who would rather be on site than reading tax manuals.
One thing up front: this is general information for the 2026/27 tax year, not tax advice for your specific situation. Rates and thresholds change, and your circumstances matter. If in doubt, run it past an accountant – the good ones save you more than they cost.
The one rule everything hangs on
HMRC lets you deduct costs that are incurred “wholly and exclusively” for your trade. That is the whole test. If you buy it purely to do the work, it is almost certainly allowable. If it has a private use as well – the van you also use for the school run, the phone you also use for WhatsApp – you can only claim the business share, and you need to be sensible about how you split it.
Anything with no business purpose at all is out, no matter how much you would like it to count. The grey area is mixed-use, and that is where keeping decent records earns its keep.
Tools and equipment
Tools are the easy win for tradespeople. Consumables and smaller tools – drill bits, blades, hand tools, a new impact driver – are normally claimed as an everyday business expense in the year you buy them. That comes straight off your profit.
For bigger, longer-lasting kit, HMRC treats it as capital rather than a day-to-day cost, but you still get relief through the Annual Investment Allowance (AIA). The AIA lets you deduct the full cost of qualifying plant and machinery – which covers the vast majority of trade tools and equipment – up to a very generous annual limit of one million pounds. For a sole trader that limit is effectively no limit, so in practice you can write off the full cost of that mitre saw, track saw or SDS drill in the year you buy it.
The practical upshot: keep every receipt, whether it is a three-pound pack of blades from Screwfix or a five-hundred-pound cordless kit. It all counts, and it all reduces what you owe.
Workwear – where a lot of people get it wrong
This is the expense HMRC is strictest on, so it is worth getting right. The rule is simple once you see it: protective clothing and genuine uniform are allowable; ordinary clothes are not.
You can claim safety boots, steel toecaps, hi-vis, hard hats, knee pads, waterproofs, gloves, ear defenders and overalls – anything that is a physical necessity because of the job. You can also claim clothing that clearly carries your business name or logo. If you have to launder that kit yourself, a reasonable proportion of your washing costs can go through too.
What you cannot claim is everyday clothing – work jeans, plain t-shirts, a fleece with no branding, trainers – even if you genuinely only wear them on site and would never choose them otherwise. HMRC is blunt about this: ordinary clothing is not deductible, full stop. If you want the fleece or the polo to count, get it branded with your logo.
The van and getting about
For most trades the vehicle is the second biggest cost after the tools, so it matters. You have two broad routes, and you generally pick one and stick with it for that vehicle.
Actual costs
You add up what the van really costs you – fuel, insurance, road tax, servicing, repairs, breakdown cover – and claim the business-use share. If the van is purely for work, that is effectively all of it. If you also use it privately, you apportion it and only claim the business slice. On top of the running costs, buying the van outright usually qualifies for the Annual Investment Allowance, so you can write off the whole purchase price against that year’s profit – again, adjusted for any private use.
Simplified mileage
The alternative is HMRC’s flat mileage rate: you claim a set amount per business mile and forget about tracking fuel and repairs separately. The long-standing rate has been 45p per mile for the first 10,000 business miles in the year and 25p per mile after that, covering running costs but not the purchase of the vehicle. Note that these mileage rates were under review during 2026, so check the current figure on GOV.UK before you rely on it. Whichever method you choose, keep a mileage log – a note of the job, the date and the miles is enough, and it is the first thing an inspector asks for.
The trading allowance – simple, but an either/or
If your self-employed income is modest, there is a shortcut. The trading allowance lets you knock a flat one thousand pounds off your gross self-employment income instead of adding up actual expenses. If you turn over less than a grand, you may not need to declare it at all.
The catch is that it is one or the other: you either take the flat thousand-pound allowance, or you claim your real expenses – never both. For anyone with a full kit, a van and workwear, your genuine costs will almost always beat a thousand pounds, so you claim actual expenses. The trading allowance mainly helps the side-hustle sparky or the weekend joiner who spends very little.
Other costs worth claiming
Beyond tools, clothing and the van, plenty of running costs are allowable in proportion to business use. Your mobile and broadband, the business share of your home costs if you do quotes and paperwork from home, public liability and tool insurance, trade body memberships, CSCS card renewals, accountancy fees and job-management or accounting software all count. Advertising, a website, and materials you buy for jobs are allowable too. If you buy something and use it for the business, ask yourself the wholly-and-exclusively question – the answer is usually clearer than you expect.
Keep records or lose the relief
None of this works without evidence. Keep receipts, invoices and a mileage log, and keep them for at least the period HMRC can go back – six years is a safe habit. This is also where Making Tax Digital is heading: more tradespeople will need to keep digital records and report through software rather than a shoebox of receipts, so getting a simple system going now pays off later. A basic accounting app that snaps receipts and tracks mileage takes the pain out of it and means you are not guessing come January.
Quick reference – what trades can claim
The table below covers the expenses that come up most for people on the tools. Treat it as a starting point, not gospel – your own split of business and private use is what decides the final figure.
| Expense | Claimable? | How it usually works |
| Hand tools and power tools | Yes | Full cost – small tools as everyday expense, bigger kit via Annual Investment Allowance |
| Consumables (blades, discs, fixings) | Yes | Straight revenue expense in the year you buy them |
| Protective and branded workwear | Yes | Boots, hi-vis, hard hats, overalls and logoed kit are allowable |
| Ordinary clothes (jeans, plain t-shirts) | No | Not allowable even if only worn for work |
| Van purchase | Yes | 100% via AIA in the year of purchase, or claim depreciation – business share only |
| Van running costs (fuel, tax, insurance, repairs) | Yes | Actual business-use share, OR use the flat mileage rate instead |
| Car used for the business | Partly | Business-use share of actual costs, or the HMRC mileage rate |
| Mobile phone and broadband | Partly | Business-use proportion only |
| Trade subs, tickets and training | Usually | Renewals and updates yes; brand new qualifications are trickier |
Frequently asked questions
Can I claim tools I bought before I went self-employed?
Often yes. Tools you already owned and then brought into the business can usually be claimed at their market value on the day you started trading, through capital allowances. Keep a list of what you introduced and a fair value for each item.
Do I claim the full cost of a new drill or spread it over years?
For most trade tools you claim the full cost in the year you buy it, thanks to the Annual Investment Allowance. You only spread costs over several years in specific cases, which rarely apply to a sole trader buying ordinary kit.
Are my work boots and hi-vis really claimable?
Yes – protective clothing and safety gear are allowable because the job physically requires them. It is only ordinary clothing without any protective or branding element that HMRC refuses.
Should I use mileage or actual van costs?
If you run a thirsty older van and do high miles, actual costs plus the AIA on the purchase often win. If you do lower miles in a cheap-to-run van, the flat mileage rate can be simpler and just as good. Work out both in your first year and stick with whichever suits.
Do I need an accountant for this?
Not legally, but many tradespeople find one pays for itself by catching reliefs you would miss and keeping you the right side of the rules. At the very least, use decent software so your records are clean.
The bottom line
Claim everything you are genuinely entitled to and not a penny more. Tools and consumables, protective and branded workwear, the business share of your van and running costs, and the usual overheads all come off your taxable profit – the trick is keeping the receipts and being honest about private use. Get a simple record-keeping habit going, and the tax side of the trade stops being the thing you dread every January.
This article is general guidance for UK sole traders in the 2026/27 tax year and not personal tax advice. Thresholds and rates change – check the current figures on GOV.UK or speak to a qualified accountant about your own situation.
