Most self-employed tutors in the UK claim far fewer expenses than they are entitled to. HMRC allows you to deduct any expense that is “wholly and exclusively” for the purpose of your tutoring business from your taxable income — and for tutors, that covers more than most people realise. This guide covers every legitimate expense category, what qualifies, and what does not.
How expenses reduce your tax bill
Allowable expenses reduce your profit, and it is profit that is taxed. If you earn £30,000 from tutoring and have £3,000 of allowable expenses, you pay tax on £27,000. At the basic rate of 20%, that £3,000 in expenses saves you £600 in income tax plus National Insurance contributions. The more you legitimately claim, the less you pay.
You do not need receipts for expenses under £10, but HMRC expects you to keep records of all expenses and be able to justify them if questioned. A simple spreadsheet with date, description, and amount is sufficient for most tutors.
Teaching materials and resources
Any material you purchase specifically for tutoring sessions is an allowable expense:
- Revision guides, textbooks, and workbooks (e.g., CGP books, Oxford Study Links)
- Past paper packs and mark schemes
- Stationery: pens, highlighters, rulers, graph paper, sticky notes
- Whiteboards and dry-erase markers for in-person sessions
- Printed worksheets (ink and paper costs)
- Subscription resources: Hegarty Maths, Mathswatch, Seneca Learning, or similar platforms used for student work
If a textbook is used 90% for tutoring and 10% for personal reference, you can claim 90% of the cost. Keep it proportional and honest.
Technology and equipment
Online tutoring equipment
- Webcam and microphone— if purchased specifically for online tutoring, fully claimable.
- Graphics tablet— used for writing equations during online sessions; fully claimable if used for tutoring only.
- Ring light or desk lamp— if used for online sessions; claimable for the tutoring proportion.
- Headset— fully claimable if used for sessions.
Laptop and devices
A laptop used partly for tutoring and partly for personal use is claimable on a proportional basis. If you use it 60% for tutoring, you can claim 60% of the cost as an expense (or as a capital allowance under Annual Investment Allowance). A laptop used exclusively for tutoring is fully claimable.
HMRC allows you to claim the full cost of equipment through Annual Investment Allowance in the year of purchase, rather than deprecating it over several years. For most tutors, this is the simpler approach.
Software and subscriptions
- Video conferencing software (Zoom paid plan, Microsoft Teams) — claimable
- Online whiteboard tools (Miro, Jamboard, Bitpaper) — claimable
- TutorLab or other tutoring management software — claimable
- Antivirus software for a work device — claimable
- Adobe Acrobat or similar for creating worksheets — claimable for the work proportion
- Cloud storage (Google Drive paid, Dropbox) — claimable for the work proportion
- Canva Pro if used for creating tutoring materials — claimable
Working from home costs
If you tutor from home (in-person at your house or online), you can claim a proportion of your household running costs. HMRC offers two methods:
Simplified flat rate (easiest)
HMRC's simplified expenses allow you to claim a flat rate based on the number of hours per month you work from home:
- 25–50 hours/month: £10/month
- 51–100 hours/month: £18/month
- 101+ hours/month: £26/month
For a tutor doing 20 hours of online sessions plus admin per week from home, that is roughly £312 per year with no calculation required.
Actual costs method (potentially higher)
Alternatively, calculate the proportion of your home costs that relate to tutoring. If you use one room as a dedicated tutoring space, and that room is 10% of your home's floor space, you can claim 10% of mortgage interest (not capital repayment), rent, council tax, utilities, and broadband — but only for the hours that room is used for work.
The calculation is: (room proportion) × (hours tutoring / total hours in a year) × annual household cost. For most tutors, the flat rate is simpler and the difference is small.
Note: If you are a homeowner and claim a room as exclusively for business use, this can create a capital gains tax liability on part of your home when you sell. Most tutors avoid this by using the room for personal use too and claiming only the proportional working hours.
Travel costs
If you travel to students' homes for in-person sessions, travel costs are claimable:
- Car mileage:HMRC's approved mileage rate is 45p per mile for the first 10,000 miles per year, 25p per mile thereafter. Keep a simple log of each journey: date, start point, end point, purpose, and miles. This covers fuel, insurance, and depreciation.
- Public transport: Train, bus, and tube fares to travel to students are fully claimable. Keep tickets or bank statement records.
- Parking: Fully claimable when travelling to students.
Your regular commute from home to a fixed place of work is not claimable. But tutors who travel to students' homes have no “fixed place of work” in the traditional sense — each student's address is a business destination.
Professional development
- Courses and training:Anything that develops your tutoring skills is claimable — subject update courses, training in SEND support, online courses on pedagogy.
- Books about education, teaching, or your subject:Claimable for the work proportion.
- Professional memberships:Membership of the Tutors' Association, the Chartered College of Teaching, or subject associations is claimable.
- Exam board training: CPD events run by AQA, Edexcel, or OCR are fully claimable.
General education that is not directly related to your tutoring subject is not claimable. A maths tutor taking an art history course cannot claim it, even if they find it personally enriching.
Marketing and professional costs
- Tutor marketplace subscriptions (First Tutors, TutorPages, etc.) — fully claimable
- Website hosting and domain registration — fully claimable
- Business cards — fully claimable
- Professional headshot photography — claimable for the business proportion
- Advertising spend (Google Ads, Facebook Ads) — fully claimable
Insurance, DBS, and professional fees
- Public liability insurance premium — fully claimable
- Professional indemnity insurance — fully claimable
- DBS check fee — fully claimable
- Accountant fees for preparing your Self Assessment — fully claimable
- Bank charges for a business account — claimable
What you cannot claim
Personal clothing.Clothing is not claimable unless it is a uniform or protective equipment specific to work. A tutor who “dresses professionally” for sessions cannot claim their clothing as a business expense.
Food and drink. Day-to-day meals are not claimable. If you attend a tutoring conference and there is an overnight stay, subsistence can be claimed for that trip, but not for routine eating at home.
Entertainment. Taking a student and their family to a celebratory dinner is not claimable. HMRC does not allow entertainment costs, even when the purpose is maintaining a client relationship.
Capital costs of property. Mortgage capital repayments are not claimable. Only the interest element of a mortgage on a room used for work is claimable, and only proportionally.
Keeping records HMRC expects
Keep records for six years after the end of the relevant tax year. For each expense: date, amount, supplier, and what it was for. Receipts, bank statements, and digital records are all acceptable. A spreadsheet with one row per expense works perfectly well.
For the broader tax picture — registering as self-employed, filing Self Assessment, and what income to declare — read our complete guide on tax, DBS, and insurance for self-employed UK tutors.
If your finances are becoming complex (income over £30,000, multiple income streams, ambiguous expenses), an accountant who specialises in sole traders is worth the fee — and that fee is itself claimable.