Accountant vs doing your own taxes: which is right for you?
Doing your own taxes is free and fine for a genuinely simple return, but an accountant pays for itself the moment there is real judgement involved. Here is how to tell which side of that line you are on, what each route actually costs, and the point where most people switch.
Doing your own taxes vs an accountant: the short answer
If your tax affairs are simple - one income source, no complicated reliefs, tidy records - you can file yourself on GOV.UK for nothing, and you probably should. As soon as there is complexity or risk, an accountant tends to save more than the fee. In short, the decision is not about how much you earn; it is about how much judgement your return needs.
When doing your own taxes makes sense
Filing yourself works best when the return is predictable and you are comfortable with the online form. That usually means:
- A single, straightforward income - one employment, or one small self-employed trade.
- No rental property, capital gains, or foreign income to report.
- Clean records you keep through the year, ideally in software.
- Time to file early, well before the 31 January deadline.
Because HMRC's own service is free, a simple sole trader or an employee with a bit of side income can genuinely save the fee by doing it themselves. See do I need an accountant for the situation-by-situation view.
When an accountant pays for itself
An accountant earns the fee when your return stops being mechanical and starts needing decisions. Therefore the strongest reasons to hand it over are:
- A limited company. Statutory accounts and a Corporation Tax return follow strict formats, and the penalties for errors are higher.
- Several income sources. Employment plus self-employment, dividends, rent or foreign income all add judgement about what is taxable and what you can claim.
- Capital gains or a big change. Selling a property or business, or a first year of trading, are exactly where mistakes get expensive.
- Reliefs you are unsure about. If you do not know what you can claim, you are probably leaving money on the table.
In these cases the tax saved plus the penalties avoided usually beats the cost. Our guide to what an accountant costs sets out the ranges.
What doing your own taxes really costs
Free is not quite free. Filing yourself carries three hidden costs that are easy to overlook until they bite:
- Time. A first return can take a full day to understand, and longer if your records are messy.
- Missed reliefs. Allowances and expenses you do not know about are money you overpay, quietly, every year.
- Risk. Errors and late filing bring HMRC penalties and interest, and the accuracy is entirely on you.
None of that means you should never file yourself. It means the honest comparison is not "free versus GBP 300" - it is "your time and risk versus a fixed fee and someone accountable for the numbers".
What an accountant costs
So you can weigh it up, here is what the professional side of the comparison typically runs in 2025-26:
- A Self Assessment return is usually GBP 150-400.
- A limited company's annual accounts and Corporation Tax run GBP 750-2,000 a year.
- A full small-business package, bundled monthly, is often GBP 100-300 a month.
Those are fixed fees, not hourly rates, so you can get a firm quote before you commit and compare it directly against the value of your own time.
How to decide
Run a simple test. First, could you file this return confidently and correctly yourself within a reasonable time? Second, is there any part where a wrong answer would be costly? If the answer to the first is yes and the second is no, do it yourself. Otherwise, the fee is buying accuracy, reliefs and your time back - and it usually wins.
If you do decide to hire, do not choose on price alone. "Accountant" is not a protected title in the UK, so before you pay, confirm the firm is supervised for anti-money-laundering and on the public record.
Find a verified, AML-supervised accountant near you →
Frequently asked questions
Is it worth doing your own taxes or using an accountant?
For a simple Self Assessment - one income source, no complex reliefs - filing yourself on GOV.UK is free and perfectly reasonable. An accountant is worth it once there is judgement involved: multiple income sources, a limited company, rental property, capital gains, or a first year of self-employment, where the tax saved and errors avoided usually exceed the GBP 150-400 fee.
Can I do my own tax return in the UK?
Yes. Anyone can file their own Self Assessment directly with HMRC online, and company directors can file company accounts and the Corporation Tax return themselves too. There is no legal requirement to use an accountant. The question is whether the time and risk are worth the saving.
How much does an accountant cost compared with doing it yourself?
Filing yourself costs nothing but your time. An accountant charges roughly GBP 150-400 for a Self Assessment return, or GBP 750-2,000 a year for a limited company. In return they typically find reliefs you would miss and take on the accuracy risk, which often recovers the fee.
When should I stop doing my own taxes and hire an accountant?
The usual triggers are incorporating a limited company, crossing the VAT threshold, taking on staff, adding rental or foreign income, or simply finding the return takes longer and worries you more each year. When a mistake would be expensive, the accountant fee stops being a cost and becomes insurance.