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Quick answers

The questions everyone asks, answered in 30 seconds.

Short, straight answers for UK sole traders and limited company directors. Checked by a qualified accountant, updated for 2026/27.

All
Expenses
Paying yourself
Deadlines
VAT
Getting started
Expenses

Can I claim for working from home?

Sole traders can use a flat rate of £10 to £26 a month, depending on hours worked at home, or claim a fair share of actual bills. Limited company directors: your company can pay you £6 a week tax-free.

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Expenses

How much can I claim for business mileage?

45p a mile for the first 10,000 business miles in the tax year, then 25p. Your regular commute to a permanent workplace doesn't count.

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Paying yourself

Can my company give me a gift tax-free?

Yes, as a trivial benefit: up to £50 per gift, not cash or a voucher that converts to cash, and not a reward for work. Directors of small companies are capped at £300 a year.

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Expenses

Is the Christmas party tax-deductible?

Yes, up to £150 a head per year for an annual event open to all staff. Go even £1 over and the whole amount becomes a taxable benefit.

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Expenses

Can I claim for clothes?

Only uniforms, protective wear or costumes. A suit you could wear anywhere else doesn't count, even if you only wear it for client meetings.

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Expenses

Can I put my phone through the business?

A mobile phone contract in the company's name is a tax-free benefit (one per employee). Sole traders can claim the business-use share of their bill.

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VAT

When do I have to register for VAT?

When your taxable turnover goes over £90,000 in any rolling 12 months, or you expect to pass it in the next 30 days alone. Registering voluntarily can make sense too.

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Paying yourself

What if I borrow money from my company?

That's a director's loan. If it isn't repaid within 9 months of the year end, the company pays a temporary 33.75% tax charge on it. Loans over £10,000 can also be a taxable benefit.

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Paying yourself

Can I pay my partner through the business?

Yes, if they genuinely do work for the business and the pay is reasonable for that work. HMRC can challenge salaries that look like income splitting.

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Deadlines

When is Corporation Tax due?

Payment is due 9 months and 1 day after your company's year end. The CT600 return itself is due 12 months after the year end.

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Deadlines

What are payments on account?

If your Self Assessment bill is over £1,000, HMRC usually asks for two advance payments towards next year's bill: on 31 January and 31 July.

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Getting started

Do I need a separate business bank account?

Limited companies: yes in practice. The company's money isn't yours. Sole traders: not legally required, but it makes your records and Making Tax Digital far easier.

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Didn't see your question?

Send it in. We'll answer it here and on Instagram, without using your name. General information only, based on 2026/27 rules.

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Legal

Privacy policy

Last updated: 13 November 2026

This policy explains how Duna Accountancy & Tax collects, uses and protects your personal data when you use our website or our services. We take your privacy seriously and aim to explain things in plain English.

1. Who we are

Duna Accountancy & Tax is a trading name of Upscale Consultants Limited, a company registered in England and Wales (company number 08774883). Our registered office is 170 Kennington Lane, London SE11 5DP. Upscale Consultants Limited is licensed by the Association of Accounting Technicians (AAT) as an AAT Licensed Accountant, licence number 1002228.

We are the data controller for the personal data described in this policy. To contact us about your data, email hello@dunatax.com. [ICO registration number: to be added once registration is complete.]

2. The personal data we collect

  • Contact details: your name, email address, phone number, business name and address.
  • Identity and compliance information: documents and details we need to verify who you are and meet anti-money laundering requirements.
  • Financial and tax information: bank and transaction data, invoices, receipts, payroll details, VAT records, tax references (such as your UTR and VAT number) and other records needed to prepare accounts and tax returns.
  • Engagement and billing information: the services you have chosen, fees, payment records and our correspondence with you.
  • Website and technical data: your IP address, device and browser type, pages visited and how you reached our site, collected through cookies and similar technologies (see our cookie policy).
  • Marketing preferences: whether you have chosen to receive updates from us.

If your accounts include information about employees, directors or other individuals, we will also process that information for the purposes of providing our services.

3. How and why we use your data

We only use your personal data when UK data protection law allows us to. The main reasons we rely on are set out below.

  • To provide our services (contract): preparing accounts, tax returns, bookkeeping, VAT and payroll, filing with HMRC and Companies House, and communicating with you about your work.
  • To meet legal obligations: carrying out client due diligence and anti-money laundering checks, keeping records, and complying with tax and company law and our professional body requirements.
  • For our legitimate interests: running and improving our business, keeping our systems secure, preventing fraud, handling complaints and understanding how our website is used, where your interests do not override ours.
  • With your consent: sending marketing emails and using non-essential cookies. You can withdraw consent at any time.

4. Who we share your data with

We do not sell your personal data. We share it only where needed, with:

  • HMRC, Companies House and other authorities, when we file on your behalf or are required to by law.
  • Our professional body (AAT) and other regulators, where we are required to provide information.
  • Service providers that process data for us, including accounting and tax software (such as Xero, QuickBooks Online and TaxCalc), Microsoft 365 and SharePoint for email and file storage, website hosting and forms (Webflow), and analytics and advertising platforms (such as Google Analytics, Google Tag Manager, Meta and TikTok) as described in our cookie policy.
  • Professional advisers, insurers and auditors, where necessary and under a duty of confidentiality.
  • Your previous or future accountant, when you ask us to provide or request professional clearance or handover information.

All of our service providers are required to protect your data and to use it only for the purposes we have instructed.

5. International transfers

Some of our providers are based outside the UK, including in the United States. Where your data is transferred outside the UK, we make sure appropriate safeguards are in place, such as the UK International Data Transfer Agreement or Addendum, an adequacy decision, or another lawful transfer mechanism.

6. How long we keep your data

  • Client records: generally for at least six years after the end of the relevant accounting period or tax year, in line with tax record-keeping rules and our professional obligations.
  • Identity and anti-money laundering records: for five years after our relationship with you ends.
  • Website enquiries from people who do not become clients: for up to 24 months.
  • Marketing data: until you unsubscribe or ask us to stop.

When we no longer need your data we delete it or anonymise it securely.

7. How we protect your data

We use appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect your personal data, including access controls, encryption of data in transit, multi-factor authentication on our key systems and restricted access to client files. No system is completely secure, so if we become aware of a breach that affects you we will tell you, and the Information Commissioner's Office where the law requires.

8. Your rights

Under UK data protection law you have the right to:

  • access the personal data we hold about you;
  • have inaccurate data corrected;
  • ask us to erase your data, although we may need to keep some records to meet legal obligations;
  • ask us to restrict how we use your data;
  • object to processing based on our legitimate interests or for direct marketing;
  • receive your data in a portable format where it is processed by automated means on the basis of consent or contract; and
  • withdraw consent at any time where we rely on it.

To use any of these rights, email hello@dunatax.com. We will respond within one month. We may ask you to confirm your identity first.

9. Marketing

We will only send you marketing emails if you have asked us to or have given your consent, or where you are an existing client and the messages relate to similar services. You can always opt out, and every marketing email includes an unsubscribe link.

10. Links to other websites

Our website may link to other sites, such as HMRC and Companies House. We are not responsible for their privacy practices, so please read their policies.

11. Complaints about how we use your data

If you are unhappy with how we have handled your personal data, please contact us first at hello@dunatax.com so that we can put things right. You also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) at ico.org.uk or on 0303 123 1113.

12. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. The latest version will always be on this page, with the date it was last updated shown at the top.