Finance and accounting

Statutory family pay rises again in April 2027 and the Employment Rights Act brings three new protections for parents during the year. Here is what employees, employers and the self-employed need to know.

From 1 April 2027 the National Living Wage rises to £13.21 an hour and every other minimum wage rate goes up by the same 3.9%. Here are the new rates by age, what a full-time worker will cost you once National Insurance and pension are added, and the checks that keep you out of HMRC’s underpayment list.

From April 2027 the full new State Pension rises above the tax-free Personal Allowance for the first time, and a new Pension Tax Allowance stops that creating a tax bill for people who live on it alone. Pensions also enter the inheritance tax net in the same month. Here is what the 2027 changes mean, including for the self-employed.

HMRC treats paper and electronic VAT invoices equally, provided they carry the same details and you can prove they are genuine. Here is what the rules say about customer agreement, digital records and storage periods, and how the two formats compare for a sole trader or a small limited company.

An e-invoice is not a PDF sent by email. It is structured data that travels from your software straight into your customer's accounts. In the UK it is still optional for most businesses, but public bodies already have to accept it, and it becomes compulsory for VAT invoices from April 2029.

E-invoicing becomes mandatory for VAT invoices from April 2029, and Making Tax Digital for Income Tax is reaching more sole traders each year. Here is what changes, when, and how to get ready.

Universal Credit can provide valuable financial support for self-employed individuals in the UK. However, eligibility and payment levels are influenced by specific rules, including the Minimum Income Floor (MIF), which can significantly affect entitlement when business profits are low.

The self-employed don't receive Statutory Sick Pay when illness stops them working. Instead, the main safety net is New Style Employment and Support Allowance (ESA). Here is who qualifies, how much you can get and how to apply.