First-year tax pack for private hire and taxi drivers in Scotland
For drivers in their first year or two of driving self-employed, with a first Self Assessment return coming up. The pack is a printable PDF covering your first-year dates, a receipts routine, what drivers usually claim, renting your car through your firm, a rental agreement checklist and pensions, plus a one-page checklist for the fridge. The dates section is free below, in full.
Your first-year dates
If you drive self-employed, the money side runs on the tax year, 6 April to 5 April, not the calendar year. GOV.UK's deadlines page gives the last tax year as 6 April 2025 to 5 April 2026.
| When | What |
|---|---|
| 5 October | Tell HMRC you need to file, if it's your first return. For the tax year to 5 April 2026, that was by 5 October 2026. Register after that and you could get a penalty. |
| 31 October | Paper return deadline: 11:59pm on 31 October 2026 for the tax year to 5 April 2026. Most drivers file online instead. |
| 31 January | Online return deadline, and the deadline to pay: 11:59pm on 31 January 2027 for the tax year to 5 April 2026. |
| 31 July | Second payment on account, if you have to make them. |
From Register for Self Assessment, Self Assessment deadlines and payments on account, GOV.UK, read 4 November 2026.
Payments on account: the one that catches new drivers out
Payments on account are payments towards your next tax bill, and include Class 4 National Insurance if you're self-employed. Each is half of the tax you owed last year, due by 31 January and 31 July. You don't make them if last year's tax was less than £1,000, or if you paid more than 80% of it outside Self Assessment, for example through a tax code.
The same page gives an example: a £3,000 bill with no payments on account the year before means £4,500 due by 31 January, the £3,000 plus a first £1,500 towards the next year, with the second £1,500 on 31 July. That's why a first January bill can be about one and a half times what a new driver expects. A balancing payment later squares up what you've paid against what you owe, also due by 31 January.
A worked example: Sam started in January 2026
Sam got a private hire badge and started driving self-employed in January 2026. That falls in the tax year 6 April 2025 to 5 April 2026, so Sam's first return covers just those few months. These are the dates Sam faces under the GOV.UK rules above.
| Date | What Sam does |
|---|---|
| 5 April 2026 | Sam's first tax year ends. |
| 5 October 2026 | Deadline to register. If Sam missed it, the thing to do is register now: registering late could mean a penalty. |
| 31 January 2027 | Online return and tax for 2025 to 2026 due. If the bill is £1,000 or more, the first payment on account for 2026 to 2027 is due the same day. |
| 31 July 2027 | Second payment on account for 2026 to 2027, if Sam has to make them. |
| 31 January 2028 | Return for 2026 to 2027, Sam's first full year, due with any balancing payment and the first payment on account for 2027 to 2028. |
Dates from Self Assessment deadlines, Register for Self Assessment and payments on account, GOV.UK, read 4 November 2026. The 2027 and 2028 dates follow the same pattern GOV.UK describes; check them again nearer the time.
If you started after 5 April 2026, your first tax year is 6 April 2026 to 5 April 2027. On the same pattern, you'd register by 5 October 2027 and file and pay online by 31 January 2028. GOV.UK's deadlines page only gives the current year's dates, so check it before then.
Further off, HMRC is bringing in Making Tax Digital for Income Tax. If your self-employment and property income before expenses on your 2025 to 2026 return is over £30,000, you use it from 6 April 2027 (GOV.UK, updated 16 October 2026). The free income tracker explains the stages and keeps a running total by tax year.
Paid product · PHV Scotland's own pack
The full pack: the rest of your first year, ready to print
- The dates above, as a page you can keep.
- A receipts routine: what to keep, for how long, one folder filed as you go and a five-minute monthly check.
- What drivers can usually claim, from licence fees and phone to the small things, and actual costs against the flat mileage rate, each point sourced to GOV.UK or HMRC.
- If you rent your car through your firm: what you can and can't claim, kept cautious and general.
- A rental agreement checklist: what the rent covers and what to ask before you start.
- Pensions when you're self-employed, and how the tax top-up works.
- A one-page checklist for the fridge.
A4 PDF, 10 pages plus the one-page checklist, checked on 4 November 2026.
Sold and delivered by Payhip as a download. The income tracker stays free, with no sign-up.
This isn't tax advice
This page and the pack are general information drawn from GOV.UK and HMRC's own pages. Neither tells you what you'll owe or what's right for your situation. If you're unsure, speak to an accountant or HMRC.
Sources
- Self Assessment tax returns: deadlines — GOV.UK (no date shown; read 4 November 2026)
- Register for Self Assessment — GOV.UK (no date shown; read 4 November 2026)
- Understand your Self Assessment tax bill: payments on account — GOV.UK (no date shown; read 4 November 2026)
- Using Making Tax Digital for Income Tax for the first time — GOV.UK (updated 16 October 2026; read 2 November 2026)