One of the most common questions we hear from sole traders is some version of: “My accountant charges me X — is that normal?” It’s a fair question, and the honest answer is that sole trader accountant fees vary more than they probably should. We’ve seen straightforward self-assessments quoted at anywhere from £350 to over £700 for what is, in practical terms, the same job.

That range isn’t entirely arbitrary. Complexity, location, software, and the level of year-round support all play a part. But so does the fact that fee transparency in accountancy is, frankly, not great. Some firms price to the work; others price to what they think the client will pay.

In this post we’ll walk through what typical sole trader accountant fees look like right now, what legitimately drives costs higher, and how Making Tax Digital — now in force for sole traders with turnover above £50,000 — is adding a new layer to the pricing picture.

For a straightforward self-assessment — sole trader income, standard expenses, no property, no foreign income, no unusual complexity — you’d expect to pay somewhere in the region of £350 to £550 per year. That’s the realistic market range for a competent firm doing the job properly.

At the lower end, you’re likely looking at a smaller or newer practice, or a fixed-fee service built around high volume and efficient software. At the upper end, you’re often paying for more experienced hands, a longer relationship, or a firm that includes some level of advisory alongside the compliance work.

What’s less defensible is being charged £700 or more for a basic return with no complexity and no proactive input. That happens — we hear about it regularly — and it’s usually a sign that fees haven’t been reviewed since the client first signed up, or that the firm is relying on client inertia rather than genuine value.

Some accountants offer a bundled annual package that covers financial accounts, the self-assessment return, and ongoing support for around £500 a year. For most sole traders, that kind of all-in arrangement tends to represent better value than paying ad hoc for each piece of work.

Not all complexity is invented to justify a higher fee. There are genuine factors that make a sole trader’s affairs more involved — and therefore more expensive to handle properly.

Multiple income sources

If you have employment income alongside your self-employment, rental income, dividend income, or capital gains to report, each additional source adds time and care to the return. That’s a fair reason for a higher fee.

Poor record-keeping

If your records arrive as a shoebox of receipts and a rough spreadsheet, your accountant is doing bookkeeping as well as tax preparation — and that costs more. Clients who use cloud accounting software like Xero or FreeAgent and keep records tidy throughout the year typically pay less at year end, because the number-crunching is already largely done.

CIS or VAT

Sole traders in construction who operate under the Construction Industry Scheme have additional compliance obligations. Similarly, if you’re VAT-registered, quarterly VAT returns add to the workload and the fee. Neither is unusual, but both should be factored into any quote.

Advisory support

An accountant who proactively reviews your position during the year, flags tax planning opportunities, and helps you make better financial decisions is worth more than one who simply files your return in January. If you want that kind of relationship — and most business owners benefit from it — expect to pay for it.

From April 2026, Making Tax Digital for Income Tax (MTD for ITSA) applies to sole traders and landlords with combined turnover above £50,000. Instead of a single annual self-assessment return, these individuals now need to submit quarterly updates to HMRC via MTD-compatible software, followed by a final year-end declaration.

This is a meaningful change to the workload involved in keeping a sole trader compliant — and it’s starting to show up in the quotes people are receiving.

We’ve seen accountants quoting around £150 plus VAT per quarterly submission, which would put the total annual cost for MTD compliance alone at roughly £750 plus VAT. That’s on top of the year-end work. Whether that represents fair pricing or an opportunity to restructure fees around new obligations is a conversation worth having with your accountant.

Our view is that MTD, done well, should be absorbed into a monthly retainer or annual package rather than charged as four separate line items. The quarterly submissions shouldn’t take long if your bookkeeping is up to date — and if your accountant has set you up on the right software, it’s largely automated. Charging heavily per quarter for what is a short data submission feels like a stretch.

If your turnover sits below £50,000, MTD doesn’t apply to you yet — the threshold drops to £30,000 from April 2027, so it’s worth planning ahead rather than being caught off guard.

The traditional model — pay your accountant once a year when you need your return filed — is increasingly being replaced by monthly retainers that spread the cost and include year-round support. We think that shift is largely a good thing, for a few reasons.

First, the tax return is easier and more accurate when your accountant has been involved throughout the year, not parachuted in during January. Second, you’re more likely to pick up tax planning opportunities — allowable expenses you didn’t know about, timing decisions around income — when someone is looking at your numbers regularly rather than retrospectively.

Third, and perhaps most practically, a monthly fee of £50 to £100 is easier to absorb into your cash flow than a single £600 invoice in January. Both figures are in the same ballpark annually, but the rhythm matters.

That said, if your affairs are genuinely simple and you’re disciplined about record-keeping, a well-priced one-off arrangement with a responsive firm isn’t a bad option. The key question isn’t really monthly versus annual — it’s whether your accountant is adding value beyond just filing the return.