Your tax return. Filed yourself.
A.X.E.L works out your 2025-26 Self Assessment the way HMRC does, to the penny, and files it with your own Government Gateway login. Free to prepare, £35 when you file, £25 if you file your company's CT600 with us. Filing is open now for the 31 January 2027 deadline.
Your own return
Sole traders, landlords, anyone with a return to file
Answer the questions, see your tax worked out to the penny as you go, and pay only when you send it. If HMRC refuses it, correcting it and sending it again costs nothing.
- ✓Self-employment, including CIS deductions
- ✓Employment, benefits and job expenses
- ✓UK rental income, including Rent a Room and jointly owned lets
- ✓Savings, dividends and pension contributions
- ✓Student loans, Class 2 and Class 4 National Insurance
- ✓Payments on account worked out for you
Director's return
When you file your company's CT600 with us
Your salary and dividends come straight from your company's figures in your tax cockpit, so nothing is typed twice, and you see the company's tax and your own side by side.
- ✓Everything in your own return
- ✓Salary and dividends from your companies, filled in
- ✓Company and personal tax in one view
- ✓Close company and director questions handled
On a job management plan
For trades who run their books in A.X.E.L
Your return is prepared from the jobs, invoices, expenses and CIS deductions you already keep in A.X.E.L, and filing it is part of the plan.
- ✓Prepared from your books
- ✓Income, expenses and CIS deductions totalled for you
- ✓Filing included in the plan
Free on GOV.UK, £150 to £400 + VAT with an accountant. Why £35?
HMRC's online return is free, and for a simple return it does the job. An accountant does it for you, at a typical £150 to £400 + VAT, and the figures are still yours to answer for. A.X.E.L is a working draft rather than a form you fill in once, for a fraction of the accountant's fee.
| Your return | GOV.UK | Typical accountant | A.X.E.L |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | £150 to £400 + VAT | £35, or £25 with your CT600 |
| Your tax, worked out | When you check your calculation | When they send you the return | On every answer, as you type |
| Salary and dividends from your company | You type them in | If they also do your company | Filled in from your CT600 |
| Company tax and yours in one view | Not offered | Usually separate jobs | Side by side, all year |
| Trying a what-if | Change the return and look again | Ask them and wait | Ask your AI, or try it yourself |
| Who answers to HMRC for the figures | You | You | You |
Accountant fees are typical published prices for a Self Assessment return, checked October 2026: about £150 to £250 + VAT for an employee with one extra income, £200 to £350 for the self-employed and £250 to £400 for a company director.
A draft you can play with
Start a return any day and keep it open. Every answer works the tax out again to the penny, so you can try a figure, watch your bill or refund move, and put it back. Nothing goes to HMRC until you say so, and you pay only then.
Your companies and you, worked out together
Your company's CT600 and your own Self Assessment run off the same figures. Your salary and dividends land in your return without retyping, and the tax cockpit shows corporation tax, your income tax and National Insurance side by side, down to what the next £1,000 of profit costs as a dividend, salary or pension contribution.
Your AI, with the whole picture
Connect Claude or ChatGPT and it works on your real drafts, with the same engine that files them. Ask what another £5,000 of dividends before 5 April does to your tax, or have it fill in the return from your records. It shows you the figures. You decide, and you press Submit.
Checked before you pay
Seven questions say up front whether your return fits. You read it on HMRC's own forms before you pay, and if HMRC refuses it, correcting it and sending it again costs nothing.
What it covers
Covered
The SA100 with its employment (SA102), self-employment (SA103S and SA103F) and UK property (SA105) pages: wages and benefits, CIS deductions, trading losses, rental income with mortgage interest relief, Rent a Room relief, jointly owned lets, replaced furniture, and property losses and unused mortgage interest carried forward, savings, dividends, pension contributions, Gift Aid, student and postgraduate loans, Class 2 and Class 4 National Insurance, Marriage Allowance, the High Income Child Benefit Charge and payments on account.
Not yet, so see an accountant
Capital gains, foreign income, partnerships, trust income and life policy gains, anyone not UK resident for the whole year, accounts that do not end around 5 April, and transition profit from the basis period change. Seven quick questions at the start tell you straight away, before you type anything else or pay.
How it works
Check it fits
Seven yes or no questions say whether we can file your return, before you spend any time on it.
Fill it in, see the tax
Plain questions, with your tax bill or refund updating as you go. Directors get their salary and dividends from the tax cockpit; trades on a plan get theirs from their books.
File it with HMRC
Read the return on HMRC's own forms, pay, and send it with your Government Gateway login. You get HMRC's receipt and a copy to keep.
Making Tax Digital: what's changing
Making Tax Digital for Income Tax Self Assessment means moving from one annual return to quarterly digital submissions to HMRC, followed by a final declaration at the end of the tax year.
Income over £50,000
Tradesmen and sole traders earning more than £50k will need to follow MTD ITSA from April 2026.
Income over £30,000
The next phase starts in April 2027 for those earning more than £30k.
What it means for tradesmen
Instead of one tax return per year, MTD introduces quarterly updates during the year, then a final declaration to complete everything at year end.
How A.X.E.L handles it
A.X.E.L keeps your income and expenses as digital records all year, in the form MTD asks for. Quarterly updates from A.X.E.L are not available yet (see the questions below), and the annual Self Assessment return stays fully supported.
Questions
What is Making Tax Digital?
Making Tax Digital is HMRC's move toward digital record-keeping and more frequent tax reporting. For Income Tax Self Assessment, that means quarterly updates instead of relying only on one annual return.
Am I affected by MTD for Income Tax?
If your qualifying self-employed or property income is over £50,000, HMRC's MTD ITSA rules are due to apply from April 2026. If it's over £30,000, the next phase starts from April 2027.
Does A.X.E.L support quarterly MTD submissions?
Not yet for the 2026/27 tax year. HMRC closed new production access for MTD for Income Tax software on 10 August 2026 and reopens applications for 2027/28 in early 2027. A.X.E.L keeps your records in the digital, MTD-compatible format HMRC requires and prepares your annual Self Assessment today and files it to HMRC directly. If you must send 2026/27 quarterly updates, use HMRC-recognised software such as Xero or QuickBooks through our integrations, and we will add direct quarterly filing as soon as HMRC grants access.
Can't I file it free with HMRC?
HMRC's online return is free, and for a simple return it does the job. An accountant typically charges £150 to £400 plus VAT to do it for you, and the figures are still yours to answer for. The £35 buys a working draft rather than a form: your tax worked out again on every answer, your salary and dividends filled in from your company's figures, your company's tax and your own side by side, and your AI able to run the what-ifs. Preparing it and seeing the tax costs nothing, so you can judge that before you pay.
How much does it cost?
£35 a return, or £25 if you file your company's CT600 with us. Preparing it and seeing your tax is free; you pay once, when you file. On a job management plan from Starter it is included.
I'm a company director. Do I need a Self Assessment?
Not always. You need one if you have income that tax was not taken from, for example dividends over £10,000, rent or self-employment, or if HMRC has asked you for a return. Your tax cockpit in A.X.E.L Filing works it out alongside your company's tax.
Do I need a UTR number?
Yes, to file with HMRC. If you don't have one yet, you register directly with HMRC for free and usually get it within 72 hours. Here is how.
When can I file?
Now. The 2025-26 return is due by 31 January 2027, and you can file it from A.X.E.L today. Prepare it first and you see the tax worked out before you pay, so you know whether you will owe HMRC or have a refund coming.
Useful tax calculators
Estimate your tax position faster with the tools most tradesmen use before filing.
CIS Tax Calculator
Check CIS deductions, estimated refunds, and what your tax position could look like before you file.
Open calculator →Self-Employed Tax Calculator
Estimate income tax and National Insurance from your self-employed earnings in a few steps.
Open calculator →VAT Calculator
Add or remove VAT quickly when pricing jobs, checking invoices, or reviewing costs.
Open calculator →Get ready for 31 January
Create a free A.X.E.L Filing account, prepare your 2025-26 return and see your tax before you pay. File it to HMRC when you are happy with it.
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