How to register as self-employed (UK gig workers)

Summary

The 2025-26 numbers that matter for a new UK gig worker are: £12,570 personal allowance, £1,000 trading allowance, and Class 4 National Insurance at 6% between £12,570 and £50,270 and 2% above that.

These sit on top of your platform earnings from Uber, Deliveroo, Amazon Flex, Just Eat, Stuart, Gophr or private hire, which HMRC treats as self-employed trading income once your gross gig income goes over £1,000 in the tax year.

A realistic Uber driver on £42,000 turnover with £8,000 expenses in 2025-26 will face income tax and Class 4 NI of several thousand pounds, which is why saving a percentage of every payout and understanding the law from day one matters more than any TikTok "hack".

Key facts (UK 2025-26)

• Tax year: runs from 6 April 2025 to 5 April 2026 for income tax and National Insurance.
• Personal allowance 2025-26: you can earn £12,570 before income tax; reduced once income exceeds £100,000, and nil at £125,140+.
• Income tax bands 2025-26 (England, Wales, NI): 20% basic rate on taxable income £12,571 to £50,270, 40% higher rate on £50,271 to £125,140, 45% additional rate above £125,140.
• Trading allowance 2025-26: remains £1,000 of gross trading income per person per tax year; if your gross gig income is over £1,000, you fall into Self Assessment territory.
• Class 4 National Insurance 2025-26:
  • Lower profits limit: £12,570.
  • Upper profits limit: £50,270.
  • 6% on profits between £12,570 and £50,270.
  • 2% on profits above £50,270.
• Class 2 National Insurance 2025-26:
  • Small profits threshold: £6,845 of self-employed profit.
  • Rate: £3.50 a week voluntary; profits at or above £6,845 are treated as having paid Class 2 and give a qualifying year for state pension.
• Personal tax thresholds frozen: the personal allowance £12,570 and main bands are frozen until April 2028, so 2025-26 uses the same core thresholds as previous years, dragging more gig workers into tax as pay creeps up.

Legislation, case law, regulation

• Income Tax (Trading and Other Income) Act 2005 (ITTOIA 2005): main Act on trading income, profits and allowable deductions for self-employed gig work.
• Income Tax Act 2007: general framework for income tax, including the personal allowance and how taxable income is calculated.
• Finance Acts and regulations: update the income tax bands and personal allowance figures, reflected each year in HMRC's Income Tax rates and allowances tables.
• Income Tax (Trading and Other Income) Act 2005, s.783A and supporting regulations: underpin the trading allowance, with HMRC guidance "Tax-free allowances on property and trading income".
• Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992 and NIC regulations: set the Class 2 and Class 4 National Insurance structure and tie in to HMRC's "Rates and allowances: National Insurance contributions".
• Taxes Management Act 1970: establishes Self Assessment, including how HMRC collects income tax and Class 4 from self-employed gig workers.

How it actually works

1. From gig income to taxable profit

For HMRC, your gig work (Uber, Deliveroo, Amazon Flex, Just Eat, Stuart, Gophr, private hire) is trading income:

1. Start with gross income, everything the platforms pay you before your own expenses.
2. Take off allowable expenses (mileage or fuel, insurance, repairs, kit, phone costs, platform-related costs etc.) to get profit.
3. That profit is what you put on the Self Assessment self-employment pages for 2025-26.

If your gross income from all gig work is £1,000 or less in 2025-26, the trading allowance can cover it and you might escape Self Assessment entirely; above £1,000, you are into registration territory.

2. Income tax calculation in 2025-26

HMRC uses the 2025-26 bands from GOV.UK:

• Add together all your taxable income: wages (PAYE) plus gig profits and any other taxable income.
• Subtract the £12,570 personal allowance (unless you are over the £100,000 income limit, which phases it out).
• Tax the slice £12,571 to £50,270 at 20%, £50,271 to £125,140 at 40%, and any excess at 45%.

Tax on gig work is not separate. HMRC calculates one big total, so gig profits can push wages that used to sit tax-free into the 20% or 40% bands.

3. National Insurance in 2025-26

For a pure gig worker (no PAYE job):

• If profits are below £6,845, you do not automatically "pay" Class 2 but can pay voluntary Class 2 at £3.50 a week to protect your pension record.
• If profits are £6,845 or more, Class 2 is treated as paid. That year becomes a qualifying year towards the 35 needed for a full state pension.
• If profits are over £12,570, Class 4 bites at:
  • 6% on profits between £12,570 and £50,270.
  • 2% on profits above £50,270.

If you also have a PAYE job, you additionally pay Class 1 on wages based on 2025-26 employer thresholds, and HMRC uses the NIC rules (and sometimes deferral) to cap over-payment.

4. Trading allowance, the key threshold

The trading allowance is where lots of "side hustle" advice goes wrong.

• For 2025-26, the allowance is £1,000 of gross trading income.
• If your total gig income is under £1,000, you can keep it outside tax and usually don't need to register.
• If you go over £1,000, you must either:
  • use the allowance and pay tax on the profit above £1,000, or
  • opt out of the allowance and calculate income minus expenses in the normal way.

But either way, above £1,000 gross you are normally into Self Assessment territory.

5. Why 2025-26 matters for the next few years

Several things about 2025-26 carry through to 2026-27 and 2027-28:

• Personal allowance and bands are frozen until at least April 2028, so a Deliveroo rider or Uber driver whose income rises with prices will drift into higher tax even if allowances stay at £12,570.
• National Insurance Class 4 limits (£12,570 and £50,270) also stay put for now, with 6%/2% rates confirmed for 2025-26 and 2026-27 in HMRC and secondary guidance.
• Trading allowance remains £1,000, but there are hints of simplified reporting for £1,000 to £3,000 ranges in future years, so the £1,000 line remains critical even as reporting methods shift.
• For Making Tax Digital (MTD) in 2026, 2027 and 2028, HMRC will use your 2024-25, 2025-26 and 2026-27 income figures to decide when you are dragged into quarterly reporting, so getting 2025-26 right matters beyond one year.

Worked example

Uber driver, £42,000 turnover and £8,000 expenses (2025-26)

Assume:

• Uber and Amazon Flex gross turnover: £42,000 in 2025-26.
• Allowable expenses (fuel, insurance, repairs, phone, etc.): £8,000.

Step 1, profit

• Profit = £42,000 minus £8,000 = £34,000.

Step 2, income tax (England, 2025-26)

• Personal allowance: £12,570.
• Taxable amount: £34,000 minus £12,570 = £21,430.
• All within basic rate band £12,571 to £50,270, so taxed at 20%.
• Income tax: 20% of £21,430 = £4,286.

Step 3, National Insurance (Class 4, 2025-26)

• Class 4 applies on profits above £12,570; here the band is £34,000 minus £12,570 = £21,430.
• 6% of £21,430 = £1,285.80.
• No 2% slice, as profits are below £50,270.

Step 4, total core bill (ignoring Class 2 treatment, student loans etc.)

• Income tax: £4,286.
• Class 4 NI: £1,285.80.
• Total core Self Assessment liability from gig work: £5,571.80 for 2025-26.

What that means per week If the driver worked 48 weeks:

• Weekly turnover: £42,000 ÷ 48 = about £875.
• Weekly profit: £34,000 ÷ 48 = about £708.
• Weekly tax + NI: £5,571.80 ÷ 48 = about £116.

A realistic "tax pot" rule for this driver is 25% to 30% of each Uber/Amazon Flex payout into a separate pot; at 25% of gross (£219 a week), they build around £10,500 across the year, covering tax, NI and a safety margin.

Deliveroo rider, £180 a week on an e-bike (2025-26)

Assume:

• 19-year-old Deliveroo rider makes £180 a week over 48 weeks = £8,640 gross.
• Expenses (bike repairs, battery, helmet, hi-vis, bag, phone costs): £860.

Profit: £8,640 minus £860 = £7,780.

Tax and NI:

• Profit below £12,570, so no income tax and no Class 4.
• Profit above £6,845, so treated as having paid Class 2, so they get a qualifying year for the state pension without an extra weekly Class 2 bill.

But:

• Gross income £8,640 is over the £1,000 trading-allowance line.
• They must register for Self Assessment, file a return, and keep records even if the final income tax bill is zero.

What Reddit, TikTok and forums get wrong

1. "If you earn under £12,570 in gig work, you don't need to tell HMRC." Wrong. The key trigger for small traders in 2025-26 is the £1,000 trading allowance, which is gross trading income, not the personal allowance.

2. "Self-employed National Insurance is 9% or 10% just like employees." Not for 2025-26. HMRC's rates show Class 4 is 6% on profits between £12,570 and £50,270 and 2% above that; Class 2 is a small weekly amount or treated as paid once you hit the small profits threshold.

3. "They froze thresholds so tax won't really change until 2028." Misleading. Freezing the personal allowance at £12,570 and NIC limits means more of each pay rise is taxed, so a Deliveroo rider or Uber driver whose earnings rise with prices will pay more tax and Class 4 NI each year even though the thresholds look the same.

4. "Trading allowance is £1,000 per platform, you get £1,000 from Uber and another £1,000 from Deliveroo tax-free." Wrong. Both HMRC and LITRG say the £1,000 trading allowance is per individual per year and applies to total gross trading income.

5. "Class 2 is gone so gig work no longer helps your pension." Misleading. From recent reforms, Class 2 is often treated as paid once your profits cross the small profits threshold, which still gives you a qualifying year; below that, you can pay voluntary Class 2 at £3.50 a week.

Action steps for the reader

1. Add up your expected gross gig income for 6 April 2025 to 5 April 2026; if it will exceed £1,000, register for Self Assessment with HMRC.
2. Estimate your annual profit (income minus realistic expenses), then plug it into the 2025-26 bands:
   • deduct £12,570 personal allowance;
   • apply 20% / 40% / 45% tax as needed;
   • apply Class 4 at 6% between £12,570 and £50,270, 2% above.
3. If your profit will be below £6,845, think seriously about paying voluntary Class 2 at £3.50 a week to get a qualifying pension year; above that, check that your Class 2 is showing as treated as paid.
4. If you are already in gig work, compare your real-world figures (like the Uber £42,000/£8,000 example) to these thresholds and adjust how much you save from each payout. For many workers, 25% to 30% of gross is safer than 20%.
5. Bookmark the GOV.UK pages listed below and ignore any TikTok or forum advice that contradicts them without a clear legal reference.

Related tools GigKiln should build

• Gig tax and NI estimator: takes yearly gig turnover and expenses, and outputs 2025-26 income tax, Class 2/4 NI, and a suggested saving percentage.
• Trading-allowance checker: asks about all gig platforms, totals gross income and explains whether the £1,000 line is crossed and what that means.
• Threshold explainer: visual tool showing where a worker's profits sit relative to £6,845, £12,570 and £50,270 and how that changes tax and NI.

Related guides

• "Self Assessment for first-time gig workers in 2025-26"
• "Expenses for Uber, Deliveroo and Amazon Flex drivers and riders: 2025-26"
• "National Insurance, qualifying years and the state pension for gig workers"
• "Making Tax Digital timelines for gig workers: April 2026, April 2027, April 2028"

Sources

Primary

• GOV.UK, Income Tax rates and allowances for current and previous tax years, accessed 18 April 2026.
• GOV.UK, Income Tax rates and Personal Allowances, accessed 18 April 2026.
• GOV.UK, Tax-free allowances on property and trading income, accessed 18 April 2026.
• LITRG, Trading allowance, accessed 18 April 2026.
• GOV.UK, Rates and allowances: National Insurance contributions, accessed 18 April 2026.
• GOV.UK, Self-employed National Insurance rates, accessed 18 April 2026.

Secondary

• Crunch, UK Tax Rates, Thresholds, & Allowances for 2025/26 and 2026/27, accessed 18 April 2026.
• Deloitte TaxScape, Personal tax thresholds frozen until April 2028, accessed 18 April 2026.
• Trueman Brown, National Insurance On Self-Employed 2025/26 Guide, accessed 18 April 2026.
• TaxCalc, Class 2 NIC from 2024/25, small profits threshold and voluntary NIC, accessed 18 April 2026.
• LITRG, National Insurance and the state pension, accessed 18 April 2026.
• YourCompanyFormations, 2025/26 HMRC Trading Allowance Explained, accessed 18 April 2026.
• Merranti Accounting, Using the Trading Allowance in 2025-26, accessed 18 April 2026.
• FSL Accountancy, Understanding the Trading Allowance on Gross Income Tax UK 2025, accessed 18 April 2026.