Bookkeeping and Making Tax Digital (MTD) for self-employed hairdressers and barbers
Cuts, colours and fades all day, paid in cash, by card and by bank transfer, with a few tips on top. Then the books wait until Sunday night. Pulse keeps it all in one place, from your chair rent and mileage to your Making Tax Digital updates.
- Log journeys to clients’ homes on your phone
- Add your chair rent once and Pulse reminds you when it’s due
- Send your quarterly updates and tax return straight to HMRC
Jo’s Saturday
Mobile hairdresser-
Leaves home8:00am
-
Mrs Patel, Park AvenueCut and blow-dry, paid in cash£354.0 miles from home
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Wedding party, Oak LaneBride and two bridesmaids, paid by bank transfer£1806.5 miles
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The Ellis family, Church StreetThree children’s cuts, paid by card£453.5 miles
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Mrs Doyle, Mill LaneColour and cut, £65 by card plus a £5 cash tip£702.0 miles
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Back home4:30pm4.0 miles
When Making Tax Digital starts for you
Making Tax Digital for Income Tax means keeping your records digitally and sending HMRC a short update every three months, then a final declaration after the tax year ends. Whether you're in depends on your turnover, the total you charge your customers before any expenses, not your profit.
- From 6 April 2026Over £50,000Already started
- From 6 April 2027Over £30,000Based on your 2025/26 tax return
- From 6 April 2028Over £20,000Based on your 2026/27 tax return
An example. You rent a chair and take £700 a week, and you have six weeks off a year. That’s 46 weeks × £700, or £32,200 of turnover. The test uses turnover before your chair rent and other costs come off, so if your 2025/26 tax return shows that, you’ll need to use Making Tax Digital from 6 April 2027.
The quarterly updates are due by 7 August, 7 November, 7 February and 7 May. If you have other self-employed work or rent out a property, that income counts towards the total too. When do I need to start?
Chair renting or mobile?
This is the question we’re asked most by hairdressers and barbers, because the answer changes what you can claim.
If you rent a chair, the rent you pay the salon owner is a business expense, whether it’s a weekly fee or a share of your takings. But the salon is now your place of work, so the drive from home to the salon each day is ordinary commuting. You can’t claim it, in the same way an employee can’t. Business trips during the day still count, say a run to the wholesaler for stock.
If you’re mobile and work from home, travelling out to clients’ houses, those journeys are usually business travel. That includes the drive from home to your first client and back again at the end of the day, as well as the trips in between.
If you do a bit of both, or you work from a room at home where clients come to you, ask us before you claim your travel.
Read more about rent for the place you work, cars, vans and mileage and parking charges.
| Car or van | Per mile |
|---|---|
| First 10,000 business miles | 55p |
| Every mile after that | 25p |
The rate per mile covers fuel, insurance, servicing and wear and tear. If you claim mileage for a car, you can’t also claim its fuel or running costs. Once you’ve used the mileage rate for a vehicle, you keep using it for as long as you use that vehicle for work.
What you can claim as a hairdresser or barber
Every allowable expense brings down the profit you pay tax and National Insurance on. These are the ones hairdressers and barbers claim most. Keep the receipt for each, or scan it into Pulse.
Chair or room rent
The rent you pay to work from a salon or barbershop, whether it’s a fixed fee or a percentage. Venue rent
Products you use
Colour, developer, foils, shampoo, styling products and towels you buy and use on clients.
Products you sell
Stock you buy to sell on to clients. What you pay is an expense and what clients pay you is income. Stock for resale
Tools and equipment
Scissors, clippers, dryers, straighteners and a mobile kit bag. Bigger items may need to go in as a capital allowance.
Insurance
Public liability insurance, and cover for the tools and kit you carry.
Training
Courses that keep your existing skills up to date, like a new cutting or colour technique. Training costs
Phone, bookings and advertising
The business share of your mobile, a booking app subscription, business cards or social media ads. Marketing costs
Card machine fees
Fees charged by SumUp, Square and similar on card payments. Card payment charges
What you can’t claim
- Everyday clothes and shoes, even plain black ones you only wear at work
- Travel from home to the salon where you rent a chair
- Your own haircuts and products you use at home
- Parking and speeding fines
For the full list, see Allowable expenses, what are they?
Access your accounts on your mobile
Designed for iPhone and Android phones, so you can add a payment, log a journey or scan a receipt between jobs, and check your reports and tax as you go.
See the mobile appHow Pulse helps
Pulse is our online bookkeeping system, with apps for iPhone and Android. Here’s what hairdressers and barbers use most.
Chair rent remembered
Add your chair rent, insurance and phone bill as recurring expenses. Pulse asks you to confirm each one when it’s due, so none get missed.
Recurring expensesMileage on your phone
Going mobile? Enter postcodes or use your location, and Pulse works out the miles. Save regular clients in your address book so each journey takes seconds.
Logging mileageScan your receipts
Take a photo of your wholesaler receipt in the app and it’s saved against the expense, so there’s no shoebox of receipts at the end of the year.
Receipt scannerQuotes for weddings
Send a bride a quote for the whole party. When she says yes, turn it into an invoice in one click.
QuotesGet paid by card
Add your Stripe, SumUp or PayPal.Me link and a Pay online button appears on your invoices. The money goes straight to you, and deposits and part payments are tracked.
Online paymentsStraight to HMRC
Pulse is recognised by HMRC for Making Tax Digital. Send your quarterly updates from Pulse, and your tax return if you choose that package.
Sending MTD updatesEverything in one package
Small Business Complete includes everything on this page. There are no invoice limits, and you can start partway through the year and add the months you've missed.
MalgraBooks is recognised by HMRC for Making Tax Digital. HMRC reference D5P1NR.
Small Business Complete
- Bookkeeping, invoicing and mileage in Pulse
- Unlimited receipt scanning
- Making Tax Digital quarterly updates
- Your tax return sent to HMRC
Questions hairdressers and barbers ask us
Do I need to register as self-employed?
If you earn more than £1,000 a year from hairdressing before expenses, yes. You need to register by 5 October after the end of the tax year you started in. For example, if you started renting a chair in June 2026, that’s by 5 October 2027. How to register with HMRC
Do I have to pay tax on my tips?
Yes. When you’re self-employed, tips are part of your income, whether they’re cash in your hand, added to a card payment or sent by bank transfer. Add them in Pulse with the rest of your takings.
Most of my clients pay cash. How should I record it?
Every payment counts as income, however it’s paid. The easiest habit is to add each day’s cash takings in the app at the end of the day, before any of it gets spent or banked. Don’t just record what goes into the bank, as cash you spend along the way is still income.
Can I claim the black clothes I wear at work?
Not if they’re everyday clothes you could wear anywhere, even if you only wear them at work. A tunic with your business name on, or protective aprons and gowns, can be claimed. Clothing expenses
Do I need to register for VAT?
Only if your turnover goes over £90,000 in any rolling 12 months. Most self-employed hairdressers and barbers are well under this. VAT explained
I’ve been using a notebook or spreadsheet. Can I switch partway through the year?
Yes. You can add the earlier months of the tax year when you join, so the whole year sits in Pulse ready for your updates and tax return.
Got a question that isn't here? Send us a message and the team will get back to you.