Every claim we make, and where it came from
Last verified: 28 August 2026, against the cited gov.uk, legislation.gov.uk, HMRC and HSE sources. Each product section below carries its own checking date, which is the date that product’s table was built.
This is the full claim-by-claim source table for every Brit Design product, published here so you can read the evidence before you decide whether to buy anything. It is the same table the products are built from. Nothing has been trimmed to make us look better.
That includes the awkward parts. Where a product could not verify something, or relies on a figure from a company rather than from government, it is written down below in the product’s own words. So are the two corrections we found when re-checking these tables on 28 August 2026, marked in amber where they belong.
How to read this page
- The dates are each product’s own. A section that says 24 August 2026 was checked on 24 August 2026, not today. Tax and housing rules move, so an older date is a reason to click the source link yourself.
- Every link goes to the source, not to us. Most are gov.uk, legislation.gov.uk, HMRC’s developer hub or HSE. Where a claim rests on a company’s own price page or an industry body, the table says so.
- The “not verified” sections are deliberate. They are the parts a product refuses to assert. Reading them is the fastest way to see the edges of what a workbook covers.
- Where the table is also in the download. The same table ships inside most product bundles as a file named SOURCES.md. At the time of writing the MTD Ready bundle does not contain it. That is our mistake, and publishing everything here is how we are fixing it.
Contents
- MTD Ready
- SA Sorted
- Seller’s Ledger UK
- Host Sorted
- Let Sorted
- CIS Sorted
- UK Business Funding Map & Application-Readiness Pack
- AI Visibility Audit Kit
Nine live products are listed, in eight sections. The Funding Map Founder and Practitioner packs share one table because they share one research base.
MTD Ready
All sources fetched and checked on 24 August 2026, with rows 18, 19 and 20 added and rows 4, 11 and 14 re-verified on 28 August 2026. Every factual tax claim in the workbook and guide traces to one of these rows.
Rows are read together, not alone. Where a later row narrows an earlier one, the earlier row carries a pointer to it.
| # | Claim (as used in product) | Source URL |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | MTD IT phase-in: qualifying income over £50,000 in 2024–25 → mandated from 6 April 2026; over £30,000 in 2025–26 → from 6 April 2027; over £20,000 in 2026–27 → from 6 April 2028. HMRC checks the prior year's Self Assessment return. | https://www.gov.uk/guidance/check-if-youre-eligible-for-making-tax-digital-for-income-tax |
| 2 | Qualifying income = total income from self-employment and property before expenses (turnover), based on the previously submitted return; £25k rent + £27k trade = £52k example; joint property counts only your share; excludes PAYE employment, partnership share, dividends, State/private pensions, REIT/PAIF income; includes foreign property for UK residents. | https://www.gov.uk/guidance/work-out-your-qualifying-income-for-making-tax-digital-for-income-tax |
| 3 | Digital record = amount + date + category for each transaction; MTD uses the same categories as Self Assessment; spreadsheet + bridging software permitted; corrections made in the record-keeping spreadsheet flow through the digital link; retail election to record daily gross takings; under £90,000 turnover sole traders may record income vs expense only, residential landlords must still separate restricted finance costs; over £90,000 → full categories from start of that tax year. | https://www.gov.uk/guidance/use-making-tax-digital-for-income-tax/create-digital-records |
| 4 | Standard update periods 6 Apr–5 Jul / 6 Apr–5 Oct / 6 Apr–5 Jan / 6 Apr–5 Apr with deadlines 7 Aug / 7 Nov / 7 Feb / 7 May; optional calendar update periods with the same deadlines, running 1 Apr–30 Jun / –30 Sep / –31 Dec / –31 Mar from the second year of the election onwards only; in the first year of the election the first period starts on 6 April, not 1 April (see row 18, which governs, and which is why 2026–27 calendar periods run 6 Apr–30 Jun / 6 Apr–30 Sep / 6 Apr–31 Dec / 6 Apr–31 Mar); election made in software before the first update of the year, per income source; updates contain totals per category; each update covers from the start of the tax year (cumulative); HMRC does not receive individual transaction records. | https://www.gov.uk/guidance/use-making-tax-digital-for-income-tax/send-quarterly-updates |
| 5 | Quarterly updates are cumulative and each submission supersedes/invalidates the previous one; deadline = one month and 2 days after period end; consolidated expenses parameter usable under £90,000 annual turnover ("no further breakdown required"); updates submitted per income source via Create and Amend Cumulative Period Summary endpoints. | https://developer.service.hmrc.gov.uk/guides/income-tax-mtd-end-to-end-service-guide/documentation/make-updates-during-tax-year.html |
| 6 | Self-employment quarterly category fields: periodIncome.turnover, periodIncome.other; periodExpenses: consolidatedExpenses, costOfGoods, paymentsToSubcontractors, wagesAndStaffCosts, carVanTravelExpenses, premisesRunningCosts, maintenanceCosts, adminCosts, businessEntertainmentCosts, advertisingCosts, interestOnBankOtherLoans, financeCharges, irrecoverableDebts, professionalFees, depreciation, otherExpenses (field descriptions quoted in workbook categories). | https://developer.service.hmrc.gov.uk/api-documentation/docs/api/service/self-employment-business-api/5.0 (resolved OAS spec) |
| 7 | UK property category fields: income premiumsOfLeaseGrant, reversePremiums, periodAmount (rents), taxDeducted, otherIncome; expenses premisesRunningCosts, repairsAndMaintenance, financialCosts, professionalFees, costOfServices, travelCosts, residentialFinancialCost (restricted), other, consolidatedExpenses. | https://developer.service.hmrc.gov.uk/api-documentation/docs/api/service/property-business-api/6.0 (resolved OAS spec) |
| 8 | First quarterly update ever due 7 August 2026; 864,000+ taxpayers in first wave; quarterly update "is not a tax return". | https://www.gov.uk/government/news/deadline-approaches-for-first-making-tax-digital-quarterly-update |
| 9 | Year-end tax return through MTD software by 31 January following the tax year (2026–27 return due 31 Jan 2028); HMRC pre-adds employment/pension/benefit data; taxpayer adds savings interest, dividends, partnership income; final declaration = confirming information correct and complete. | https://www.gov.uk/guidance/use-making-tax-digital-for-income-tax/submit-your-tax-return |
| 10 | Tax payment deadline 31 January; second payment on account 31 July. | https://www.gov.uk/self-assessment-tax-returns/deadlines |
| 11 | No penalties for missed quarterly update deadlines in tax year 2026–27 — this easement does not cover the tax return deadline, which earns a penalty point in 2026–27 as well (see row 19, which governs); 1 point per missed submission deadline (quarterly updates count from tax years after 2026–27; tax returns count from 2026–27) (one point max per deadline even with multiple businesses); threshold 4 points → £200 penalty + £200 per further miss; points expire after 24 months below threshold; reset after threshold requires 12 months on time + clearing 24-month backlog; MTD IT points separate from VAT points. Late payment: 2026–27 rates 3% of tax owed at day 15 (16–30 days late; waived in first year), 3% + 3% plus 10%/year daily from day 31; rates rise to 4%/4% + 10% for 2027–28 onwards (page updated 30 March 2026). | https://www.gov.uk/guidance/penalties-for-making-tax-digital-for-income-tax |
| 12 | Volunteers: no penalties for missed quarterly updates while volunteering; 2-point threshold on tax returns; volunteer late-payment easements. | https://www.gov.uk/guidance/penalties-for-income-tax-self-assessment-volunteers |
| 13 | Bridging software definition ("connect to existing records kept in spreadsheets"); free products available for simple tax affairs with possible limits (e.g. transaction caps); software finder is the authoritative product list. | https://www.gov.uk/guidance/find-software-thats-compatible-with-making-tax-digital-for-income-tax |
| 14 | VitalTax: Excel add-in bridging solution for MTD Income Tax and VAT; first quarterly submission free; £30 +VAT/year for 1 taxpayer, rising with the number of NI numbers on the licence (as published on vitaltax.uk, re-verified 28 August 2026). This is one vendor's price, not a market floor — see row 20. | https://vitaltax.uk/ |
| 15 | Exemption: apply to HMRC by phone/post if digitally excluded (self or via agent/family member); HMRC aims to respond within 28 calendar days. | https://www.gov.uk/guidance/apply-for-an-exemption-from-making-tax-digital-for-income-tax |
| 16 | Furnished holiday lettings tax regime abolished from 6 April 2025 (income tax/CGT). | https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/furnished-holiday-lettings-tax-regime-abolition/abolition-of-the-furnished-holiday-lettings-tax-regime |
| 17 | Residential finance costs stay OUTSIDE consolidated expenses (drives the v1.1 Bridging Summary formula: property consolidatedExpenses = total expenses − residentialFinancialCost). gov.uk create-digital-records (re-verified 24 Aug 2026): "If you're a landlord and receive UK property income from residential property, you need to categorise your expenses in more detail even if your turnover is below the threshold. You must: 1. Record if a transaction is an income or an expense. 2. If it is an expense, record whether the expense is for a restricted finance cost." The Property Business API v6.0 schema likewise carries residentialFinancialCost as its own field alongside consolidatedExpenses (see row 7) — it is reported separately, never inside the consolidated figure. | https://www.gov.uk/guidance/use-making-tax-digital-for-income-tax/create-digital-records |
| 18 | First year of the calendar-quarters election starts 6 April, not 1 April. HMRC end-to-end service guide, "Change to calendar quarters" (re-verified 27 August 2026): "the change affects the first period of the first year and starts from 6 April because that is the first day of the tax year - the first period for subsequent tax years starts on 1 April"; "For those customers who took part in MTD from April 2025 and chose to send calendar quarterly updates, the first quarterly period starts on 6 April and ends on 30 June"; and, for the days the first-year periods do not cover, "customers with a 1 April to 31 March accounting period will need to ensure that income and expenses for the period from 1 April to 5 April are also submitted so that their liability can be assessed accurately for the full tax year equivalent period" — done "through their software by using the Business Source Adjustable Summary API", i.e. as an adjustment, not inside a quarterly update. Drives the v1.2 three-way period toggle (Standard / Calendar first year / Calendar later years), the Health Check "rows dated 1–5 April" counter, the guide's period table, and the Deadlines tab. | https://developer.service.hmrc.gov.uk/guides/income-tax-mtd-end-to-end-service-guide/documentation/make-updates-during-tax-year.html |
| 19 | The 2026–27 easement covers QUARTERLY UPDATES ONLY. A missed TAX RETURN deadline earns a penalty point in 2026–27 too. Penalties page (re-fetched 28 August 2026), verbatim: "There are no penalties for missing a quarterly update deadline for the 2026 to 2027 tax year." and "For each quarterly update (for tax years after 2026 to 2027) or tax return deadline you miss, you'll get a penalty point." — the parenthetical scopes the quarterly updates only; the tax return deadline is unqualified. The same page also confirms which return is the first one exposed: "if you use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax from 6 April 2026, current penalties will apply to your 2025 to 2026 tax return deadline of 31 January 2027", so the first return under the points system is the 2026–27 return due 31 January 2028. Corroborated verbatim by the newer gov.uk page published 24 August 2026 (fetched 28 August 2026): "You'll not get penalty points for missing a quarterly update deadline for the 2026 to 2027 tax year. You still need to keep digital records and send your final quarterly update for the tax year before you can submit your tax return. For the 2026 to 2027 tax year, penalty points will still apply for missing the tax return deadline." Corrects the v1.2 guide and workbook wording, which deferred the tax-return point to later tax years. Row 11 is narrowed by this row. | https://www.gov.uk/guidance/penalties-for-making-tax-digital-for-income-tax and https://www.gov.uk/guidance/check-what-to-do-if-hmrc-has-signed-you-up-for-making-tax-digital-for-income-tax |
| 20 | Bridging and MTD software prices, each read on the vendor's own site on 28 August 2026. Clear Books: "Sole Trader Free" and "Property Free" plans priced "Free / Forever free", listing MTD Income Tax quarterly updates, year-end tax return filing, "No transaction limits" and "Works for CIS subcontractors" (clearbooks.co.uk/pricing). aligned.tax: Individuals "£0 - until April 2027" for landlords, sole traders and self-employed people filing their own quarterly updates, "No credit card required" (aligned.tax/pricing). suiteSheets: "£20" "Per tax year · First income source", "Covers all four quarterly updates for the tax year. Additional income sources are £10 each" (suitesheets.co.uk/pricing). VitalTax: "A licence that includes one NI number costs £30 + VAT per year"; "Your first quarterly submission with VitalTax is free" (vitaltax.uk). Supersedes the v1.2 claim of a "from around £30 a year" market floor, which was sourced to VitalTax alone and was wrong. Row 14 is narrowed by this row: £30 is one vendor's price, not a market floor. | https://www.clearbooks.co.uk/pricing/ · https://aligned.tax/pricing · https://suitesheets.co.uk/pricing · https://vitaltax.uk/ |
Notes on verification method
- gov.uk pages were fetched directly on 24 Aug 2026; penalty percentages were additionally confirmed against the raw page text (grep of the HTML) to avoid summarisation errors.
- Category field lists were taken from HMRC's machine-readable OpenAPI specifications downloaded from the Developer Hub (
/oas/resolved), not from third-party summaries. - All software prices are vendor claims, verified only against each vendor's own site on the date given. The product never states a market-wide price floor: it names the vendor, the price and the check date, and tells the reader to re-check before purchase and to confirm the product is listed in HMRC's software finder.
- Penalty scoping (row 19) was re-fetched and grepped from the raw page text on 28 August 2026 rather than summarised, and cross-checked against a second gov.uk page published 24 August 2026 that states the same scoping in plainer words.
- Contradiction sweep, 28 August 2026: every row was re-read against rows 17, 18, 19 and 20 to check that no earlier row restates a claim a later row corrects. Two were found and fixed in this edition — row 4 (calendar periods, now qualified for the first year and pointed at row 18) and row 11 (penalty scoping, now pointed at row 19). Row 14 was pointed at row 20. No others conflict.
Correction check, 28 August 2026. Row 4 above lists the optional calendar update periods as running from 1 April. Read on its own that is wrong for the first year of the election, which is the year every 2026-27 buyer is in. HMRC’s end-to-end service guide says “the change affects the first period of the first year and starts from 6 April because that is the first day of the tax year - the first period for subsequent tax years starts on 1 April” (HMRC end-to-end service guide, re-checked 28 August 2026). Row 18 of the same table states this correctly and is what the v1.2 workbook is built on. Row 4 needs the same qualifier and has been reported for fixing.
SA Sorted
Every factual claim in the workbook and guide, verified 24 August 2026 against the URL shown. The two form PDFs were downloaded and read in full (all box numbers and labels transcribed from the actual 2026 editions covering tax year 2025-26).
| # | Claim | Source (verified 24 Aug 2026) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | SA103S 2025-26 box numbers and labels (boxes 1–38, incl. 5Q/6Q, 10.1, 24.1, 25.1, 25.2): turnover box 9, other income 10, trading allowance 10.1, expenses 11–19, total 20, net profit/loss 21/22, net business profit 28, taxable profits 31, voluntary Class 2 36, Class 4 exemption 37, CIS 38; £90,000 heading on the income section; £6,845 in box 36 and the form footer | SA103S (2026) PDF: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/69c12ae013101e9908704a53/SA103S-2026.pdf (from https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/self-assessment-self-employment-short-sa103s) |
| 2 | SA103S eligibility: short pages if turnover under £90,000 (or would have been for a full year); full pages required for non-standard/short accounting periods, change of accounting basis, Class 4 adjustments, MSD programme; trading-allowance filing wrinkles; entertaining/depreciation never allowable; CIS box 9 gross rule; Class 2 "treated as having been paid" at profits £6,845+ and voluntary option below (box 36 notes) | SA103S Notes (2026) PDF: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/69ce15395cf899414a0bc69f/SA103S_Notes_2026.pdf |
| 3 | SA103F 2025-26 box numbers and labels (boxes 1–103, incl. 16.1, 52.1, 53.1, 73.3, 73.4, 76.1, 77.1; boxes 11/12/58/66/67/69/70/73.1/73.2 not in use): turnover 15, other income 16, trading allowance 16.1, expenses 17–30, total 31, disallowable 32–46, net profit/loss 47/48, capital allowances 49–57, taxable profit chain 61/64/73/76, CIS 81, balance sheet 83–99, Class 2 voluntary 100, Class 4 101/102; box 24 = advertising AND business entertainment combined; £90,000 box-31 shortcut | SA103F (2026) PDF: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/69c2635b13101e9908704b36/SA103F_2026.pdf (from https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/self-assessment-self-employment-full-sa103f) |
| 4 | 2025-26 personal allowance £12,570; basic rate 20% to £37,700 of taxable income; higher 40% to £125,140; additional 45% above; allowance tapers £1 per £2 over £100,000 | https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/rates-and-allowances-income-tax/income-tax-rates-and-allowances-current-and-past (2025-26 rows) — corroborated by https://www.gov.uk/income-tax-rates (taper wording) |
| 5 | Scottish 2025-26 bands: starter 19% £12,571–£15,397; basic 20% £15,398–£27,491; intermediate 21% £27,492–£43,662; higher 42% £43,663–£75,000; advanced 45% £75,001–£125,140; top 48% over £125,140; applies to wages/pension/most other income, savings & dividends at UK rates | https://www.gov.uk/scottish-income-tax/2025-to-2026-tax-year |
| 6 | 2025-26 Class 4 NI: 6% on profits £12,570–£50,270, 2% above; Class 2 small profits threshold £6,845; Class 2 voluntary weekly rate £3.50 | https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/rates-and-allowances-national-insurance-contributions/rates-and-allowances-national-insurance-contributions (2025-26 columns) |
| 7 | Class 2 treated-as-paid mechanic (protects NI record without payment) | https://www.gov.uk/self-employed-national-insurance-rates + SA103S Notes box 36 (source 2, quoted for 2025-26 specifically) |
| 8 | Trading allowance £1,000: full relief at/under £1,000 (no return needed for it, records still required); partial relief = deduct £1,000 instead of expenses; cannot combine with expenses/allowances; cannot create a loss; excluded for connected-company/partnership/employer income | https://www.gov.uk/guidance/tax-free-allowances-on-property-and-trading-income |
| 9 | Who must file: sole trader earning more than £1,000; partner; CGT; High Income Child Benefit Charge; untaxed income | https://www.gov.uk/self-assessment-tax-returns/who-must-send-a-tax-return |
| 10 | Registration: tell HMRC by 5 October 2026 for 2025-26; UTR issued; possible penalty if late | https://www.gov.uk/register-for-self-assessment + https://www.gov.uk/self-assessment-tax-returns/deadlines |
| 11 | 2025-26 deadlines: paper 31 Oct 2026; online 31 Jan 2027; pay 31 Jan 2027; 30 Dec 2026 for tax-code collection (bills under £3,000); second POA 31 Jul 2027 | https://www.gov.uk/self-assessment-tax-returns/deadlines |
| 12 | Payments on account: due unless last bill under £1,000 or 80%+ deducted at source; each = half previous bill; due 31 Jan & 31 Jul; balancing payment 31 Jan; capital gains and student loans excluded from POAs; can apply to reduce | https://www.gov.uk/understand-self-assessment-bill/payments-on-account |
| 13 | Late filing penalties: £100; +£10/day after 3 months (max £900); 5% or £300 at 6 and 12 months; late payment 5% at 30 days/6/12 months + interest | https://www.gov.uk/self-assessment-tax-returns/penalties |
| 14 | Mileage flat rates for miles before 6 April 2026 (i.e. 2025-26): cars/goods vehicles 45p first 10,000 miles then 25p; motorcycles 24p; 55p car rate applies only from 2026-27; no mixing with capital allowances/actual costs; per-vehicle stickiness | https://www.gov.uk/simpler-income-tax-simplified-expenses/vehicles (page table shows both years explicitly) |
| 15 | Record keeping: business records required; keep at least 5 years after the 31 January submission deadline | https://www.gov.uk/self-employed-records + https://www.gov.uk/self-employed-records/how-long-to-keep-your-records |
| 16 | MTD for Income Tax timetable: over £50,000 (2024-25) → from 6 Apr 2026; over £30,000 (2025-26) → 6 Apr 2027; over £20,000 (2026-27) → 6 Apr 2028 | https://www.gov.uk/guidance/check-if-youre-eligible-for-making-tax-digital-for-income-tax |
Derived (not directly quoted) figures — derivation stated
- Taxable-income band thresholds used in the workbook's formulas. gov.uk states band ranges in total-income terms assuming a full personal allowance (e.g. Scottish starter "£12,571–£15,397"). The workbook computes tax on taxable income (income minus the tapered allowance), so each threshold is the gov.uk boundary minus £12,570: rUK basic-rate band top £37,700 (stated directly by source 4); Scottish thresholds 2,827 / 14,921 / 31,092 / 62,430 / 125,140. The top boundary £125,140 needs no subtraction because the allowance is fully tapered to nil at that income (source 4). This is stated on the workbook's settings block.
- Voluntary Class 2 annual figure £182 = £3.50 × 52 (source 6); the workbook computes it from the two visible cells.
- SA103S box-19 folding. The short form has no separate boxes for subcontractor payments, advertising, irrecoverable debts or "other" expenses (source 1 lists all its boxes); box 19 is the form's own catch-all ("Other allowable business expenses"), so those categories are mapped there, with a note on the tab. Entertainment and depreciation are excluded as never-allowable (source 2).
Explicitly NOT verified / out of scope
- The full-form (SA103F) arithmetic when the trading allowance (box 16.1) is claimed relies on the notes' working sheet, which was not transcribed; the Mapper deducts the allowance at box 73 and tells full-form allowance claimants to check the working sheet. (Allowance claimants are routed to the short form in practice.)
- Student loans, capital gains, High Income Child Benefit Charge, savings/dividend tax, Marriage Allowance, pension relief adjustments, capital allowances amounts — all flagged as out of scope in the product, not computed.
- Whether HMRC will collect a sub-£3,000 bill via tax code in any individual case (eligibility caveats exist on gov.uk beyond the date and amount).
Seller’s Ledger UK
All claims verified by fetching the pages below on 24 August 2026. Anything that could not be verified against an official page is listed in the final section and is clearly flagged inside the product.
Verified claims (official sources)
| # | Claim used in product | Source (fetched 24 Aug 2026) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Trading allowance is up to £1,000 per tax year | https://www.gov.uk/guidance/tax-free-allowances-on-property-and-trading-income |
| 2 | If gross trading income exceeds £1,000, you must register for Self Assessment by 5 October in the following tax year | https://www.gov.uk/guidance/tax-free-allowances-on-property-and-trading-income |
| 3 | You deduct either the allowance or actual expenses, never both ("You cannot deduct any other expenses or allowances if you claim the allowances"); if expenses exceed income it may be beneficial to claim expenses instead | https://www.gov.uk/guidance/tax-free-allowances-on-property-and-trading-income |
| 4 | UK tax year runs 6 April – 5 April; the £1,000 test applies to total (combined) trading income for the tax year | https://www.gov.uk/guidance/check-if-you-need-to-tell-hmrc-about-your-income-from-online-platforms |
| 5 | Selling personal possessions: "If you're selling personal possessions you probably do not have to pay Income Tax on these"; trading: "You're probably trading if you sell goods that you have bought intending to sell for a profit" | https://www.gov.uk/guidance/check-if-you-need-to-tell-hmrc-about-your-income-from-online-platforms |
| 6 | Platform reporting exclusion: details not reported if fewer than 30 sales of goods in a calendar year and less than €2,000 (about £1,700) received (i.e. reported if 30+ sales OR ~€2,000+); per-platform, calendar year basis | https://www.gov.uk/guidance/selling-goods-or-services-on-a-digital-platform |
| 7 | Platforms report calendar-year data to HMRC by 31 January of the following year, and give the seller a copy (annual statement, earnings minus fees, quarterly breakdown) | https://www.gov.uk/guidance/selling-goods-or-services-on-a-digital-platform |
| 8 | "Platform reporting your details to HMRC does not automatically mean you owe tax" | https://www.gov.uk/guidance/selling-goods-or-services-on-a-digital-platform |
| 9 | Self Assessment deadlines: tell HMRC by 5 October; paper return 31 October; online return 31 January; payment 31 January; late filing brings a penalty | https://www.gov.uk/self-assessment-tax-returns/deadlines |
| 10 | CGT may apply on a personal possession sold for £6,000 or more at a profit; cars exempt (unless business use); wasting assets (limited lifespan, e.g. clocks) exempt unless business use; sets (matching items) counted together; jointly owned items get £6,000 per owner | https://www.gov.uk/capital-gains-tax-personal-possessions |
| 11 | MTD for Income Tax phase-in: qualifying income over £50,000 → from 6 April 2026; over £30,000 → from 6 April 2027; over £20,000 → from 6 April 2028 | https://www.gov.uk/guidance/check-if-youre-eligible-for-making-tax-digital-for-income-tax |
| 12 | Vinted: no listing or selling fee for standard selling; buyer-paid Buyer Protection fee "usually 3% to 8% + £0.3 to £0.8"; buyer-paid verification services: Item Verification £10 and Electronics Verification £5 (two separate services on the price list); optional seller-paid Bumps and Showcase | https://www.vinted.co.uk/pricelist (official Vinted price list, "last updated 08-09-2025"; re-read in a real browser 24 Aug 2026) |
| 13 | eBay UK private sellers: free to sell — no final value fee, no regulatory operating fee (vehicles excluded); 300 free listings/month, then 35p; 3% international fee if delivered outside the UK; optional upgrades (reserve 4% max £150, subtitle £2, Gallery Plus £2.50, 2nd category 35p, Shop £19.99/mo) | https://www.ebay.co.uk/help/selling/fees-credits-invoices/fees-private-sellers?id=4364 (read in browser 24 Aug 2026) |
| 14 | eBay UK Buyer Protection fee (buyer-paid, included in displayed price): £0.10 per item + 7% up to £20 + 4% of £20–£300 + 2% of £300–£4,000, nothing on the portion above £4,000; refunded pro-rata on refunds | https://www.ebay.co.uk/help/buying/buyer-protection-fee/buyer-protection-fee?id=5594 (read in browser 24 Aug 2026) |
| 15 | Depop UK sellers: no Depop selling fee; payment-processing fee 2.9% + £0.30 (Depop Payments via Stripe, charged on item + postage + taxes); boosting fee 12% for UK sellers on listings boosted from 23 March 2026, charged only if the boosted item sells; buyer-paid Marketplace fee exists for UK buyers | https://depophelp.zendesk.com/hc/en-gb/articles/360001791127-Seller-fees-and-charges (read in browser 24 Aug 2026) |
| 16 | Etsy: listing fee US$0.20 (4-month term); transaction fee 6.5% of item + delivery + gift wrap; payment-processing fee varies by bank-account country (Etsy Payments Policy); regulatory operating fee in certain countries incl. UK; Offsite Ads 15% (12% and mandatory once the shop passes US$10,000/12 months), capped US$100/order; Etsy Plus US$10/mo | https://www.etsy.com/uk/legal/fees/ (official Fees & Payments Policy, read in browser 24 Aug 2026) |
| 17 | Facebook Marketplace UK: local transactions are arranged directly between buyer and seller (message, meet/drop off, pay directly — no platform checkout, so no selling fee is taken); Meta's selling fee attaches only to "checkout with delivery" selling, which the en-GB help centre shows as unavailable in this location ("Selling with delivery on Marketplace isn't available in your location") | https://www.facebook.com/help/329122794534612/ and https://www.facebook.com/help/773379109714742/ (read in browser 24 Aug 2026) |
Supplementary official pointer (linked, no numeric claims relied on): HMRC registration route — https://www.gov.uk/register-for-self-assessment ; HMRC side-hustle campaign site — https://taxhelpforhustles.campaign.gov.uk
Remaining approximation (stated inside the product)
| Claim | Status |
|---|---|
| €2,000 ≈ £1,700: the approximation is gov.uk's own wording; the Dashboard uses £1,700 as a proxy (now a labelled, user-editable settings cell, B9) and says so on-sheet | gov.uk approximation, exchange-rate dependent |
v1.1 note on the platform fee pages
In v1.0, the eBay, Depop, Etsy and Facebook fee pages blocked automated fetches (HTTP 403 / timeouts) and their rows were flagged amber "NOT verified". For v1.1 all four were re-read in a real browser session on 24 August 2026 (rows 13–17 above) and the Platform Fees tab now shows all five platforms as VERIFIED with the exact figures found. Two figures changed from the v1.0 "reported" wording: Depop's boosting fee is now 12% for UK sellers (listings boosted from 23 March 2026), and eBay's Buyer Protection fee tiers are stated precisely (£0.10 + 7%/4%/2% bands). Vinted's price list was re-read and confirms Item Verification £10 and Electronics Verification £5 as two separate buyer-paid services.
Verification method
Each URL above was fetched live during the build/revision sessions and the relevant passage extracted; quoted phrases in the product are taken from those fetches.
Host Sorted
Every factual claim in the workbook and guide, verified against gov.uk/HMRC on 24 August 2026. Claim → source URL (and exact wording relied on where load-bearing).
FHL abolition (the core of the product)
| Claim | Source |
|---|---|
| FHL regime abolished for Income Tax/CGT "on or after 6 April 2025" (Corporation Tax from 1 April 2025) | https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/furnished-holiday-lettings-tax-regime-abolition/abolition-of-the-furnished-holiday-lettings-tax-regime (policy paper, updated 7 Nov 2024) |
| Income and gains now "form part of the person's UK or overseas property business" and are "treated in line with all other property income and gains" | Same policy paper; also SA105 notes 2026 page UKPN 1 ("the Furnished Holiday Lettings (FHL's) tax regime was absolished from 5 April 2025" — HMRC's own typo/date phrasing on the notes; the policy paper says 6 April 2025 operative date) |
| Finance costs: "applying the finance cost restriction rules so that loan interest will be restricted to basic rate for Income Tax" | Policy paper (above) |
| Capital allowances replaced: "eligible for 'replacement of domestic items relief' in line with other property businesses" | Policy paper (above) |
| Transitional pools: "where an existing FHL business has an ongoing capital allowances pool of expenditure, they can continue to claim writing-down allowances on that pool" | Policy paper (above) |
| Losses: FHL "losses generated from this FHL business will be permitted to be carried forward and be available for set off against future years' profits of either the UK or overseas property business" | Policy paper (above) |
| Pensions: "no longer including this income within relevant UK earnings when calculating maximum pension relief" | Policy paper (above) |
| CGT: business-asset reliefs (BADR/rollover/gift holdover) cease; anti-forestalling from 6 March 2024; limited transitional/cessation continuity | Policy paper (above) — flagged in workbook as out of scope / take advice |
| Old FHL qualifying tests (210-day availability, 105-day letting, 155-day/31-day pattern of occupation) | https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/furnished-holiday-lettings-hs253-self-assessment-helpsheet/hs253-furnished-holiday-lettings-2025 (HS253, 2024-25 — the final FHL year) |
SA105 (2025-26) form and notes — box numbers
| Claim | Source |
|---|---|
| 2025-26 SA105 form: "Boxes 5 to 19 are no longer in use – income and expenses should be included in boxes 20 to 45 below" (FHL section deleted) | https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/69cd19d6eafd66b876458ba9/SA105_2026_v0.1.pdf (SA105 2026, ref HMRC 12/25) — PDF downloaded and read this session (ref/SA105_2026.pdf) |
| All box numbers and wording used in the SA105 Mapper (1, 2, 3, 4, 20, 20.1, 20.2, 21, 22, 23, 24–29, 30, 31, 32, 33/33.1/33.2, 34.1 ("Box 34 is not in use"), 35, 36, 37, 38–45) | Same form PDF, both pages |
| Notes: landing page for both PDFs | https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/self-assessment-uk-property-sa105 |
| UK property notes 2026 (all quotes below) | https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/69cbb66fa60a12ca3913c62a/UK_property_notes.pdf (SA105 Notes 2026, HMRC 12/25) — PDF downloaded and read this session (ref/SA105_notes_2026.pdf) |
| Property income allowance: "All income from property... up to £1,000, is exempt"; claiming it means "you cannot deduct any allowable expenses or claim any other allowances"; "Do not fill in box 30 or boxes 32 to 36" | Notes UKPN 1 and UKPN 5 |
| Joint letting 50/50 default: "We tax your shares equally if you live with your spouse. If you have a different share... fill in form 17, 'Declaration of beneficial interests in joint property and income'" | Notes UKPN 2 (box 3) |
| Cash basis default; "You can only use cash basis if your total income from UK property is up to £150,000" | Notes UKPN 3 (box 20.2) |
| Box 20 income includes "furnished... accommodation (including amounts you receive for the use of furniture)" | Notes UKPN 3 |
| Under £90,000 income: total expenses may go in box 29 alone, "excluding any residential property finance costs" | Notes UKPN 4 |
| Box 26/44: "You cannot claim the costs of getting a loan... to buy a residential property that you let or any interest on such a loan"; use box 44 | Notes UKPN 4 |
| Box 27 allows "management fees paid to an agent for rent collection, advertising and administration" (basis for mapping platform commission there) | Notes UKPN 4 |
| Box 28 examples: "communal hot water, gardening or cleaning" | Notes UKPN 4 |
| Box 29 allows "stationery, phone, business travel and miscellaneous costs" | Notes UKPN 4 |
| Box 30 private-use example (8 months let / 4 months own use) | Notes UKPN 5 |
| Box 32: "You cannot claim AIA for expenditure on equipment and other items for use in a dwelling house" | Notes UKPN 5 |
| Box 35: 18% / 6% WDA rates | Notes UKPN 6 |
| Box 36 RDIR: no initial purchases; improvement cap "you can only claim up to the amount needed to replace the original item"; domestic items list | Notes UKPN 6 |
| Boxes 38/41 working sheet (income = 20+22+23+30+31; minus 24–29, 32–35, 36, 37, 20.1) | Notes UKPN 7 |
| Box 39 loss b/f "up to the amount in box 38"; box 42 "this will be unusual" (agricultural/capital-allowance losses only); box 43 carry-forward | Notes UKPN 8 |
| Boxes 44/45: unused residential finance costs carried forward | Notes UKPN 8 |
| Capital costs never expenses: "Do not include the cost of buying, selling, improving or altering any land, property, equipment, furnishings or furniture. These are capital costs." | Notes UKPN 4 |
Finance-cost restriction (box 44 credit)
| Claim | Source |
|---|---|
| Reduction = "the basic rate value (currently 20%) of the lower of" (a) finance costs not deducted + brought forward, (b) property business profits, (c) adjusted total income (above the personal allowance) | https://www.gov.uk/guidance/changes-to-tax-relief-for-residential-landlords-how-its-worked-out-including-case-studies |
| Carry-forward: "the difference between that figure and 'finance costs' is carried forward to calculate the basic rate tax reduction in the following years" | Same page (incl. worked example 4) |
| Personal Allowance £12,570 (used in the estimate) | https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/rates-and-allowances-income-tax (2025-26) — also embedded in the guidance page's case studies |
Replacement of Domestic Items Relief detail
| Claim | Source |
|---|---|
| Four conditions; deduction = like-for-like cost + incidental costs (delivery, installation, disposal) − consideration received for the old item; domestic items = moveable furniture, furnishings, appliances, kitchenware | https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/property-income-manual/pim3210 |
| Note: PIM3210 still lists FHLs as excluded — that reflects the pre-abolition law. From 2025-26 ex-FHL properties are ordinary property businesses and the policy paper states they become "eligible for 'replacement of domestic items relief' in line with other property businesses". | Policy paper + PIM3210, read together (disclosed in guide) |
Deadlines and MTD
| Claim | Source |
|---|---|
| Register by 5 Oct; paper 31 Oct 2026; online + pay 31 Jan 2027; 31 Jul second payment on account (page confirmed to refer to tax year ended 5 April 2026) | https://www.gov.uk/self-assessment-tax-returns/deadlines |
| 30 Dec 2026 PAYE-coding option for bills under £3,000 | https://www.gov.uk/self-assessment-tax-returns/deadlines (standard option; also stated on gov.uk "understand your Self Assessment tax bill") |
| MTD ITSA: over £50,000 qualifying income (2024-25) → from 6 April 2026; over £30,000 (2025-26) → from 6 April 2027; over £20,000 (2026-27) → from 6 April 2028; qualifying income = self-employment + property combined | https://www.gov.uk/guidance/check-if-youre-eligible-for-making-tax-digital-for-income-tax |
| Rental records to keep: "the dates when you let out your property, all rent you get, any income from services you give to tenants..., rent books, receipts, invoices and bank statements, allowable expenses" | https://www.gov.uk/keeping-your-pay-tax-records/rental-income |
| Record retention: gov.uk states 22 months minimum for non-business filers; business records (self-employed) 5 years after 31 Jan. The workbook recommends the 5-year business standard for letting records as the safe course — framed as a recommendation, not a quoted landlord-specific statute. | https://www.gov.uk/keeping-your-pay-tax-records/how-long-to-keep-your-records + https://www.gov.uk/self-employed-records |
Known limitations / unverified items (disclosed in-product)
- Interaction of the £1,000 property income allowance with the box 44 finance-cost tax reduction: NOT verified this session; the workbook and guide say to ask an accountant before combining them.
- "~127,000 affected owners" (market-size figure): from the product brief, attributed to HMRC's policy-paper impact estimate; not re-verified this session — used only in listing copy, not in the product.
- The Old vs New tab's "old rules" £ figures assume interest/equipment would have been fully relieved at the chosen marginal rate / fully AIA-eligible under FHL rules — labelled ILLUSTRATIVE in-product.
- The finance-credit "adjusted total income" is estimated from a single user input plus the computed property profit; the workbook ignores the personal-allowance taper over £100,000 and other ATI adjustments — disclosed on-tab.
Let Sorted
Every factual claim in the workbook and guide, mapped to the official source it was checked against on 24 August 2026. Where a date is not yet fixed in law, the product says "announced, date TBC — check the URL" instead of guessing.
The Act and commencement
| Claim | Source |
|---|---|
| Renters' Rights Act 2025 is chapter 26; Royal Assent 27 October 2025 | https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2025/26 |
| Main tenancy reforms commenced 1 May 2026 (Commencement No. 2 Regulations 2026) | https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2026/421/made |
| Official plain-English guide to the Act | https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/guide-to-the-renters-rights-act/guide-to-the-renters-rights-act |
| Official overview for landlords | https://www.gov.uk/guidance/renters-rights-act-an-overview-for-landlords |
| Government campaign hub ("Renting is changing") | https://housinghub.campaign.gov.uk/renting-is-changing/ |
| MHCLG explainer (19 Nov 2025) — phases, database "gradually by area from late 2026", ombudsman later, Awaab's law consultation "soon", EPC C "by 2030", Decent Homes Standard later | https://mhclgmedia.blog.gov.uk/2025/11/19/explainer-everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-new-renters-rights-act/ |
| MHCLG commencement-day post (1 May 2026) — s21 abolished, periodic tenancies, once-a-year rent rises, pets, discrimination bans, bidding ban, max one month's rent upfront | https://mhclgmedia.blog.gov.uk/2026/05/01/historic-renters-rights-act-now-protecting-millions-know-your-rights/ |
In force since 1 May 2026 (checked in force at build date)
| Claim | Source |
|---|---|
| Section 21 "no-fault" evictions abolished; possession now needs a Section 8 ground | Guide to the Renters' Rights Act (gov.uk, above); https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2025/26/part/1/chapter/1 |
| All assured tenancies are now periodic; fixed terms/ASTs ended (existing tenancies converted on 1 May 2026) | Same gov.uk guide + MHCLG 1 May 2026 post |
| Rent increases: Section 13 notice (Form 4A) is the only route; at least 2 months' notice; no more than once a year; tenant may refer to the First-tier Tribunal, which cannot set rent higher than the landlord proposed | https://www.gov.uk/guidance/assured-tenancy-forms-for-privately-rented-properties-from-1-may-2026 (Form 4A: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/69b190f495b74651603496b7/Form_4A.pdf) + gov.uk Guide to the Renters' Rights Act |
| Rental bidding banned — must advertise a fixed rent and not accept more | MHCLG 1 May 2026 post + gov.uk guide |
| Maximum one month's rent in advance | MHCLG 1 May 2026 post |
| Ban on blanket refusal of tenants with children or on benefits; pet requests cannot be unreasonably refused | MHCLG 1 May 2026 post + gov.uk guide |
| New tenancies from 1 May 2026 need a written statement of terms before the tenancy starts; the How to Rent guide is superseded by this regime | https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-renters-rights-act-information-sheet-2026 + gov.uk overview for landlords |
| Pre-1 May 2026 written tenancies: landlords had to give the official Information Sheet by 31 May 2026 (verbal tenancies: a written statement instead) | https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-renters-rights-act-information-sheet-2026 |
| Civil penalties for RRA breaches: up to £7,000 (first/less serious), up to £40,000 (serious/repeat), with criminal prosecution and rent repayment orders available for the worst cases | Renters' Rights Act 2025 (c. 26) enforcement provisions + gov.uk Guide to the Renters' Rights Act |
Long-standing duties (unchanged, in force)
| Claim | Source |
|---|---|
| Gas safety: annual gas safety check by a Gas Safe engineer; record (CP12) to existing tenants within 28 days of the check and to new tenants before they move in; keep records 2 years | https://www.hse.gov.uk/gas/landlords/ + https://www.gov.uk/renting-out-a-property |
| EICR: electrical installation inspection at least every 5 years; report to tenants within 28 days, to a new tenant before occupation, to the council within 7 days if requested; remedial work within 28 days | https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/electrical-safety-standards-in-the-private-and-social-rented-sectors-guidance |
| EPC: valid EPC required to let; an EPC lasts 10 years | https://www.gov.uk/buy-sell-your-home/energy-performance-certificates |
| MEES today: minimum EPC E to let (unless a valid exemption is registered), £3,500 cost cap | https://www.gov.uk/guidance/domestic-private-rented-property-minimum-energy-efficiency-standard-landlord-guidance |
| Smoke alarm on every storey used as living accommodation; CO alarm in any room with a fixed combustion appliance (excluding gas cookers); alarms must be shown working at the start of each tenancy; repair/replace when a fault is reported | https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/smoke-and-carbon-monoxide-alarms-explanatory-booklet-for-landlords |
| Deposits: protect in a government-approved scheme AND serve the prescribed information within 30 days of receiving the deposit | https://www.gov.uk/deposit-protection-schemes-and-landlords |
| Deposit cap: 5 weeks' rent where annual rent is under £50,000 (Tenant Fees Act 2019) | https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/tenant-fees-act-2019-guidance |
| Right to Rent: check every adult occupier's right to rent before the tenancy starts (England) | https://www.gov.uk/check-tenant-right-to-rent-documents |
| HMO/selective licensing exists and is council-specific — "check your council" | https://www.gov.uk/house-in-multiple-occupation-licence + https://www.gov.uk/renting-out-a-property/licences |
Announced with a date (not yet in force at build date)
| Claim | Source |
|---|---|
| PRS database: rollout begins "gradually by area from late 2026"; unregistered landlords will face civil penalties (up to £7,000, up to £40,000 for repeat/serious) and will be blocked from most possession orders and from advertising; EXACT dates per area come by secondary legislation — DATE TBC per area | MHCLG explainer (above) + gov.uk Guide to the Renters' Rights Act + Renters' Rights Act 2025 Part 2 (database provisions) |
| EPC C required for all privately rented homes from 1 October 2030; £10,000 cost cap (replacing £3,500); confirmed in the government response published 21 January 2026 under the Warm Homes Plan | https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/improving-the-energy-performance-of-privately-rented-homes-2025-update (government response, 21 Jan 2026) — reported by Pinsent Masons: https://www.pinsentmasons.com/out-law/news/epc-reforms-mees-private-rented-property-confirmed |
| MTD for Income Tax: in force from 6 April 2026 for gross self-employment + property income over £50,000; over £30,000 from April 2027; over £20,000 from April 2028 | https://www.gov.uk/guidance/check-if-youre-eligible-for-making-tax-digital-for-income-tax |
| Decent Homes Standard applies to the PRS from 2035 — the 2025 consultation proposed "either 2035 or 2037"; the New Decent Homes Standard policy statement (28 Jan 2026) confirms the new DHS "will apply from 2035 ... to both the social and private rented sectors" | https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/consultation-on-a-reformed-decent-homes-standard-for-social-and-privately-rented-homes/outcome/the-new-decent-homes-standard-policy-statement |
Announced, date TBC
| Claim | Source |
|---|---|
| PRS Landlord Ombudsman: will launch after the database, in phase two; no confirmed date (industry reporting expects ~2028) | MHCLG explainer + gov.uk Guide to the Renters' Rights Act |
| Awaab's law extension to the PRS: government has said it will consult on applying it to the PRS but has set NO date (do not quote an "end of 2026" timing — unsupported); currently applies to social housing only (since 27 Oct 2025) | https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/awaabs-law-guidance-for-social-landlords |
| PRS database annual fee: amount not yet set ("cost-recovery", TBC) | gov.uk Guide to the Renters' Rights Act |
Explicitly UNVERIFIED / not asserted in the product
- The exact list of areas in the first PRS-database rollout wave (not yet published as law at build date) — product says "check gov.uk / your council".
- The PRS database fee amount — TBC.
- The ombudsman launch year — industry expectation only; product says "date TBC".
- The "no increase inside the first 52 weeks of a tenancy" Section 13 detail — seen only in unofficial commentary; the product asserts only the official "no more than once a year".
- "~2.3M English landlords" (listing copy only, not in the product).
- The gas-safety "10–12 month renewal preserves the anniversary date" nuance is stated from the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 reg 36(3A) as commonly summarised by HSE; the tracker itself uses the conservative "12 months after the last check" date.
Correction check, 28 August 2026. Two things were re-checked on gov.uk today. The Decent Homes Standard row is right: the New Decent Homes Standard policy statement of 28 January 2026 says the new standard “will apply from 2035 ... to both the social and private rented sectors”, and 2037 appears nowhere in it. The Awaab’s Law row is right on substance, because the government has committed to consulting on extending Awaab’s Law to private tenancies but has still set no date. The link originally cited in the product (gov.uk/government/publications/awaabs-law) started returning a 404, and was replaced on 28 August 2026 with the live pages it moved to: Awaab’s Law: guidance for social landlords and the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 implementation roadmap, which sets the extension in phase three with timescales “subject to consultation”. The product's own source file, its guide and this page all now carry the working links; the copy of the guide inside the bundle currently on sale still carries the old one and is queued for replacement.
CIS Sorted
Every factual claim in the workbook and guide, verified 26 August 2026 against the URL shown (except rows 13-14, verified 24 August 2026 from the downloaded 2025-26 form PDFs during the SA Sorted build in this store, and re-checked against that build's transcription this session).
| # | Claim | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIS is a deduction-at-source scheme: contractors deduct from subcontractors' payments and pass it to HMRC; deductions count as advance payments towards tax and NI; covers most construction work (site prep, demolition, building, repairs, decorating, systems); exclusions include architects/surveyors, scaffolding hire without labour, carpet fitting, materials manufacture, delivery | https://www.gov.uk/what-is-the-construction-industry-scheme |
| 2 | Deduction rates: 20% registered ("payment under deduction"/net status), 30% unregistered, gross payment status = no deductions; register if sole trader/partner/company owner working for a contractor; employees are outside CIS | https://www.gov.uk/what-you-must-do-as-a-cis-subcontractor |
| 3 | 30% also applies when the contractor cannot verify you or your business name doesn't match your registration; contractors "should give you monthly statements of payments and deductions"; use statements to work out whether you owe or are due a refund | https://www.gov.uk/what-you-must-do-as-a-cis-subcontractor/get-paid |
| 4 | Deduction base: before applying the rate contractors take off VAT, materials (only if the subcontractor paid for them directly), plant hire, consumable stores, fuel except travel fuel, manufacturing/prefabricating materials; contractor may ask for evidence of material costs, else estimates; payment and deduction statement must be given within 14 days of the end of each tax month (e.g. month 6 May-5 Jun → by 19 Jun) | https://www.gov.uk/what-you-must-do-as-a-cis-contractor/make-deductions-and-pay-subcontractors |
| 5 | Contractors file monthly returns of payments to subcontractors with HMRC, due by the 19th of every month following the tax month; escalating late-filing penalties from £100 | https://www.gov.uk/what-you-must-do-as-a-cis-contractor/file-your-monthly-returns |
| 6 | Sole traders reconcile via Self Assessment: record the FULL invoice amounts as income; enter deductions in the "CIS deductions" field; HMRC works out tax+NI, takes off deductions; "If you're due a tax refund, HMRC will pay the money back"; balance due 31 January; LIMITED COMPANIES claim instead through payroll (FPS/EPS offset against PAYE, year-end repayment of any surplus) | https://www.gov.uk/what-you-must-do-as-a-cis-subcontractor/pay-tax-and-claim-back-deductions |
| 7 | Sole-trader CIS registration: needs legal/trading name, NI number, UTR, (VAT number if applicable); fastest online via Government Gateway; without a UTR, register as a new business for Self Assessment selecting "working as a subcontractor" — covers SA and CIS together | https://www.gov.uk/what-you-must-do-as-a-cis-subcontractor/how-to-register |
| 8 | Gross payment status tests: compliance (tax/NI paid on time), business (UK construction work or labour, run through a bank account), turnover ex-VAT/materials ≥ £30,000 sole trader (£30,000 per partner/director or £100,000 total for partnerships/companies); HMRC reviews annually and can withdraw; gross-status sole traders declare all payments via Self Assessment | https://www.gov.uk/what-you-must-do-as-a-cis-subcontractor/gross-payment-status + https://www.gov.uk/what-you-must-do-as-a-cis-subcontractor/annual-review |
| 9 | 2025-26 income tax: personal allowance £12,570; taper £1 per £2 over £100,000; basic 20% to £37,700 taxable; higher 40% to £125,140; additional 45% above | https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/rates-and-allowances-income-tax/income-tax-rates-and-allowances-current-and-past (2025-26 rows) |
| 10 | Scottish 2025-26 bands: starter 19% £12,571-£15,397; basic 20% £15,398-£27,491; intermediate 21% £27,492-£43,662; higher 42% £43,663-£75,000; advanced 45% £75,001-£125,140; top 48% over £125,140 | https://www.gov.uk/scottish-income-tax/2025-to-2026-tax-year |
| 11 | 2025-26 NI: Class 4 6% on profits £12,570-£50,270, 2% above; Class 2 small profits threshold £6,845, voluntary weekly rate £3.50 (treated as paid at/above the threshold) | https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/rates-and-allowances-national-insurance-contributions/rates-and-allowances-national-insurance-contributions (2025-26 columns) |
| 12 | 2025-26 SA deadlines: register 5 Oct 2026; paper 31 Oct 2026; online + pay 31 Jan 2027; 30 Dec 2026 PAYE-code option; POA second payment 31 Jul; late filing £100 then escalating | https://www.gov.uk/self-assessment-tax-returns/deadlines + https://www.gov.uk/self-assessment-tax-returns/penalties |
| 13 | SA103S (2026, tax year 2025-26): turnover box 9 (with the box-9 note that CIS subcontractors enter income BEFORE deductions), total expenses box 20, CIS deductions box 38; £90,000 short-form turnover threshold; under-£90,000 single-total expenses shortcut | SA103S (2026) PDF: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/69c12ae013101e9908704a53/SA103S-2026.pdf (downloaded and transcribed 24 Aug 2026, SA Sorted build) |
| 14 | SA103F (2026, tax year 2025-26): turnover box 15, total expenses box 31, CIS deductions box 81; expense boxes 17-30 (the Expense Log's categories); box 24 combines advertising and entertainment; entertainment and depreciation never allowable | SA103F (2026) PDF: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/69c2635b13101e9908704b36/SA103F_2026.pdf (downloaded and transcribed 24 Aug 2026, SA Sorted build) |
| 15 | Payments on account: not due if the last bill was under £1,000 or 80%+ of the tax owed was deducted at source | https://www.gov.uk/understand-self-assessment-bill/payments-on-account |
| 16 | Record keeping: business records required; keep at least 5 years after the 31 January submission deadline (→ 31 Jan 2032 for 2025-26) | https://www.gov.uk/self-employed-records + https://www.gov.uk/self-employed-records/how-long-to-keep-your-records |
| 17 | HMRC "Check when you can expect a reply" tool covers Self Assessment queries; updated weekly | https://www.gov.uk/guidance/check-when-you-can-expect-a-reply-from-hmrc |
Derived (not directly quoted) figures — derivation stated
- "Tax months run 6th to 5th, so statements are due by the 19th" — source 4 states the 14-day rule with its own worked example (6 May-5 Jun month → 19 Jun deadline); the workbook's Statement Chaser computes each due date as tax-month end + the visible 14-day Settings cell.
- Scottish taxable-income thresholds in Settings (2,827 / 14,921 / 31,092 / 62,430 / 125,140) = gov.uk's total-income boundaries (source 10) minus the £12,570 personal allowance, because the estimator taxes taxable income. Stated on the Settings tab.
- Voluntary Class 2 annual figure £182 = £3.50 × 52 (source 11); computed from the two visible cells.
- "Most construction workers who are self-employed overpay" is presented as a mechanism (deduction from the first pound of labour vs allowance/expenses/bands), not a statistic; the worked example in the guide is labelled invented.
Explicitly NOT verified / out of scope
- Refund timing. gov.uk publishes no timescale for Self Assessment repayments; the guide says exactly that and points at the "Check when you can expect a reply" tool. Third-party "2 weeks"/"14-35 days" claims were found only on commercial sites and are NOT repeated in the product.
- That HMRC delays repayments when claimed deductions mismatch contractor returns is not stated on gov.uk; the product states only the verified facts (contractors file the same figures monthly; HMRC "can check") and frames matching records as good practice.
- VAT (including the construction domestic reverse charge), the contractor side of CIS (verification, monthly returns) beyond the two facts cited, employment-status tests, capital allowances, student loans, CGT, HICBC, savings/dividend tax, Marriage Allowance, pension relief — all flagged as out of scope in the product, not computed.
- The online return's exact field label wording ("CIS deductions" field) is quoted from source 6; screen layouts of HMRC's online service were not independently walked through.
UK Business Funding Map & Application-Readiness Pack
All sources fetched and checked on 25 August 2026 (Autumn 2026 Edition). Every factual claim in the guide, workbook and practitioner pack traces to one of these rows. "Official" = the scheme owner's own page.
| # | Claim (as used in product) | Source URL | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GGS: 70% government guarantee to the lender; borrower remains 100% liable; facilities generally up to £2m per business group (£1m under NI Protocol/Windsor Framework); products = term loans, overdrafts, asset finance, invoice finance, ABL; minimums £1,000 / £25,001; current terms 3 months–6 years (term loans/asset finance), up to 3 years (overdrafts/invoice/ABL); eligibility = UK trading activity with >50% income from trading (charities/FE exempt), viability test, not a business in difficulty, subsidy-limit written confirmation; personal guarantees at lender discretion, principal private residence cannot be taken as security; successor to Recovery Loan Scheme, launched 1 July 2024; apply via accredited lenders (list on page); decision delegated to lender; Green GGS pilot running. Page also carries the 12 July 2026 announcement: further £6.5bn of market lending over four years, ~33,000 businesses, terms up to ten years for term loans/asset finance, turnover eligibility rising £45m→£54m, "being operationalised over the coming weeks". | https://www.british-business-bank.co.uk/finance-options/debt-finance/growth-guarantee-scheme (fetched via browser; the site 403s plain fetchers) | VERIFIED (official) |
| 2 | GGS July 2026 package details as announced by government: expansion to facilitate ~£2bn additional SME lending/year by 2028/29 (to £3.35bn/yr total), max term 6→10 years for loans up to £1.1m, turnover cap £45m→£54m, ~12,000 additional businesses/year (150% increase); £500m for ENABLE programmes incl. IP-rich SMEs; publication date 13 July 2026. NOTE: this page frames the boost as ~£2bn/yr and never states "£6.5bn" — the £6.5bn-over-four-years figure is cited to the British Business Bank's own GGS page (row 1), which states it explicitly. | https://www.gov.uk/government/news/chancellor-to-unlock-billions-in-finance-for-small-businesses--2 | VERIFIED (official) |
| 3 | GGS extended until 31 March 2030 (at Spending Review 2025). | https://www.british-business-bank.co.uk/about/research-and-publications/ggs-including-rls-iteration-3-performance-data-31-december-2025 (also SR2025: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/spending-review-2025-document/spending-review-2025-html) | VERIFIED (official) |
| 4 | Start Up Loans: £500–£25,000; unsecured personal loan; credit check required; fixed 7.5%/year; repay 1–5 years; no application fee, no early repayment fee; eligibility = live in UK, 18+, UK-based business "fully trading for less than 5 years" (or planned); free business-plan support; successful applicants get up to 12 months free mentoring; apply via Start Up Loans site. Exact wording additionally grep-verified against raw page HTML. | https://www.gov.uk/apply-start-up-loan | VERIFIED (official) |
| 5 | Smart Grants paused: "From January 2025, Innovate UK is pausing Smart Grants to develop tailored support…" — page last updated 17 August 2026, still showing paused status; no open Smart round. | https://www.ukri.org/councils/innovate-uk/guidance-for-applicants/guidance-for-specific-funds/smart-innovation-funding-guidance/ | VERIFIED (official) |
| 6 | Growth Catalyst (Investor Partnerships R2, as the published exemplar): UK-registered SMEs; growth/scaling potential; must be invited by approved investor partner with confirmed investment; grants £50k–£300k feasibility / £100k–£1m industrial research / £250k–£2m experimental development; up to 70% intensity (micro/small, feasibility & IR) or 45% (experimental development); aligned investor money must be "at least equal to the grant funding" (feasibility/industrial research) and "at least twice as much as the grant funding" for experimental development (quoted verbatim from the brief, re-verified 25 Aug 2026); seed–Series A; six Industrial Strategy sectors; applications via Innovation Funding Service; R2 closed 3 Feb 2026 (used as published-structure exemplar — check current rounds). | https://apply-for-innovation-funding.service.gov.uk/competition/2360/overview/37d8f6e1-5600-4e9e-bbfc-11bc320f8808 | VERIFIED (official) |
| 7 | Growth Catalyst overall funding "~£130m for 2025–26" — reported by multiple advisory firms; UKRI's own consolidated page for the figure was not reachable this session (ukri.org overview URL 404). Used in guide only as "reported … in the region of £130 million", with per-competition briefs stated as authoritative. | e.g. https://kene.partners/insights/innovate-uk-pauses-smart-grants-what-this-means-for-smes (secondary) | PARTIALLY VERIFIED (secondary only — softened wording) |
| 8 | Merged R&D scheme: RDEC rate 20%; applies to accounting periods beginning on or after 1 April 2024; ERIS = loss-making SME with relevant R&D expenditure ≥30% of total expenditure; extra 86% deduction (186% total); payable credit up to 14.5% of surrenderable loss; claim notification requirement (check tool) + additional information form before claim; NI distinct provisions. | https://www.gov.uk/guidance/research-and-development-rd-tax-relief-the-merged-scheme-and-enhanced-rd-intensive-support | VERIFIED (official) |
| 9 | CDFIs lent nearly £323m to businesses, social enterprises and individuals (sector's most recent reported year, per industry body). | https://responsiblefinance.org.uk/ (+ https://responsiblefinance.org.uk/2026/07/government-backs-cdfis-and-jpmorganchase-and-bny-make-new-commitments-to-community-finance/) | VERIFIED (industry body — described as such in guide) |
| 10 | Community Finance Taskforce launched February 2026 (banks, community finance lenders, government); Roadmap to unlock additional £1bn CDFI SME lending over five years; JPMorganChase £10m philanthropic commitment; BBB Community ENABLE Funding: seven CDFIs accredited, ~£120m committed, second phase later in 2026; signposting of declined businesses to CDFIs. | https://www.gov.uk/government/news/chancellor-to-unlock-billions-in-finance-for-small-businesses--2 (grep-verified in page HTML) + https://responsiblefinance.org.uk/2026/02/community-finance-taskforce-brings-banks-government-and-cdfis-together-to-unlock-extra-billion-for-smes/ | VERIFIED (official + industry body) |
| 11 | Finder 1: gov.uk Finance and Support Finder — live; 117 schemes listed at verification; filters = type of support, business stage, industry (18 sectors), employees, region/nation; email signup available. | https://www.gov.uk/business-finance-support | VERIFIED (official) |
| 12 | Finder 2: Find a Grant — live (beta); central government grants search; filters + eligibility info; account enables saved searches and email alerts for new grants. | https://www.find-government-grants.service.gov.uk/ | VERIFIED (official) |
| 13 | Finder 3: business.gov.uk — live; government business support portal; Business Growth Service home; guidance, Business Academy, links to local support. | https://business.gov.uk/ | VERIFIED (official) |
| 14 | Business Growth Service: one year on from launch, ~750,000 users to date; entering next phase of development through 2026 incl. financial readiness programme (grep-verified in page HTML). NOTE: brief's "launching September 2026" was WRONG as stated — service launched mid-2025; the Sept-2026 date circulating refers to expanded growth-hub-delivered local programmes (secondary: https://growthhubinfo.co.uk/government-launches-new-business-growth-service-in-partnership-with-growth-hubs/). Guide states the verified sequence and tells readers to trust business.gov.uk for current availability. | https://www.gov.uk/government/news/chancellor-to-unlock-billions-in-finance-for-small-businesses--2 | VERIFIED (official; brief corrected) |
| 15 | Growth Hubs (England): maintained contact list enumerates 39 hubs (brief said 38 — live list shows 39); free, publicly funded; described as local gateway to the Business Growth Service; 1.6m businesses helped in the last year (network's own claim). List maintained by the Business Board Network. | https://www.businessboardnetwork.co.uk/local-growth-hub-contacts/ | VERIFIED (network's own list; count corrected 38→39) |
| 16 | Devolved equivalents live: Business Wales (Welsh Government, helpline 03000 6 03000, Development Bank of Wales links); Find Business Support Scotland (Scottish Enterprise and partners); nibusinessinfo.co.uk (Invest NI official channel, support finder). | https://www.businesswales.gov.wales/ ; https://findbusinesssupport.gov.scot/ ; https://www.nibusinessinfo.co.uk/ | VERIFIED (official) |
| 17 | UKSPF ended with the 2025–26 extension year (fund not available after 31 March 2026); prospectus page live, last updated 17 Dec 2025. Corroborated by Commons Library CBP-9460 (27 Mar 2026) and sector press. | https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-shared-prosperity-fund-prospectus + https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-9460/ | VERIFIED (official + parliamentary) |
| 18 | Pride in Place Programme: flagship community investment programme; up to £5.8bn over ten years; up to £20m each to nearly 400 most in-need neighbourhoods; funding decisions made locally (residents, businesses, community groups via neighbourhood arrangements); not an open business grant scheme. | https://communities.campaign.gov.uk/funding-programmes/ (official campaign site; prospectus at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pride-in-place-programme-prospectus/pride-in-place-programme-funding-profiles-and-timelines) | VERIFIED (official) |
| 19 | Local Growth Fund (England): announced at SR2025/26 Nov 2025; allocated to 11 Mayoral Strategic Authorities, named in the policy statement as East Midlands, Greater Lincolnshire, Greater Manchester, Hull and East Yorkshire, Liverpool City Region, North East, South Yorkshire, Tees Valley, West Midlands, West Yorkshire, York and North Yorkshire (list re-verified 25 Aug 2026 for the postcode triage sheet); >£900m over four years; fund launched April 2026; allocation proportional to population (ONS 2024 data); targeted at mayoral city regions in North and Midlands. | https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/local-growth-fund-england-policy-statement/local-growth-fund-england-policy-statement + https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/local-growth-fund-england-place-selection-and-allocation-methodology/local-growth-fund-place-selection-and-allocation-methodology-note | VERIFIED (official) |
| 20 | CDFI directory: Finding Finance, run by Responsible Finance. | https://www.findingfinance.org.uk/ | VERIFIED (industry body directory) |
| 21 | Innovate UK competition search (Innovation Funding Service) is the single application route for Innovate UK competitions. | https://apply-for-innovation-funding.service.gov.uk/competition/search | VERIFIED (official) |
| 23 | Start Up Loans published eligibility detail (used in the workbook grid): 18+; current UK resident; starting new business or trading up to 60 months; unable to secure finance from other sources (self-declaration ok); business UK-based; right to work in UK; eligible business type and loan purpose (published exclusions list incl. property investment, FCA-regulated activities, gambling, debt repayment, training); pass credit checks and afford repayment; assessment based on Business Plan, Cash Flow Forecast and Personal Survival Budget submitted with application; multiple partners can each borrow up to £25,000, max £100,000 per business; applicant(s) must hold equity stake with controlling interest (50% share where multiple partners); franchise/business-purchase rules; Universal Credit receipt does not make you ineligible. | https://www.startuploans.co.uk/am-i-eligible (fetched via browser; site 403s plain fetchers) | VERIFIED (official) |
| 24 | Postcode triage sheet lookup links: gov.uk council finder (https://www.gov.uk/find-local-council) and growth hub contact list (row 15) — both live 25 Aug 2026. | https://www.gov.uk/find-local-council | VERIFIED (official) |
| 22 | Commercial brokers (e.g. Swoop, Capitalise) are commission-paid matching platforms. Stated factually and generically in the guide; no ranking or recommendation made; readers directed to ask any broker how it is remunerated. | Business-model description; no endorsement — kept deliberately generic, no terms quoted | FACTUAL NOTE (no claim requiring scheme verification) |
Exclusions (couldn't be verified this session, so not claimed in the product)
- A UKRI-hosted consolidated Growth Catalyst overview page (tested URL 404) — programme facts were instead taken from the live Innovation Funding Service competition brief, and the £130m aggregate figure softened to "reported".
- The exact count/list of Pride in Place neighbourhoods per announcement wave (284 vs "nearly 400" appear across pages as waves were added) — guide uses the official campaign site's own "nearly 400" wording.
- Any statement that GGS's £54m turnover cap is already operational — the official page still lists £45m as the current criterion, so the guide describes £54m as announced and being operationalised.
- "38 growth hubs" (brief) — the live maintained list shows 39; product says 39.
- Business Growth Service "launching September 2026" (brief) — corrected; see row 14.
Verification method
- gov.uk and service.gov.uk pages fetched directly on 25 Aug 2026; key figures on the two most load-bearing pages (GGS announcement, Start Up Loans) additionally grep-verified against raw page HTML to avoid summarisation errors.
- british-business-bank.co.uk blocks plain fetchers (HTTP 403); its GGS page was read in a real browser session and the full page text captured.
- Industry-body figures (Responsible Finance lending totals, growth-hub count) are attributed as such in the product, not presented as government statistics.
AI Visibility Audit Kit
Every market/factual claim made in this kit, with the source it was verified against. All URLs fetched and figures confirmed live on 25 August 2026. Pricing figures are published market observations, not guarantees; they will drift — re-check before quoting them in your own sales material.
| # | Claim (as used in the kit) | Where used | Source | Verified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | One-time AI visibility audit service tier priced $500–$2,000 | Proposal Part B, Quick-Start | LLM Pulse, "GEO Agency Guide" — https://llmpulse.ai/blog/geo-agency-guide/ ("Tier 1: AI Visibility Audit $500–$2,000 (one-time)") | 2026-08-25, live fetch |
| 2 | AI visibility monitoring retainers $500–$1,500/mo; full GEO optimisation $2,000–$5,000/mo; GEO bolt-on to existing SEO retainers +$500–$1,000/mo | Proposal Part B | LLM Pulse, "GEO Agency Guide" — https://llmpulse.ai/blog/geo-agency-guide/ | 2026-08-25, live fetch |
| 3 | Agency audit pricing spans $500 (basic automated scan) to $5,000+ (deep-dive manual analysis), with tiers at $500–$1,000 / $1,000–$2,500 / $2,500–$5,000+ | Proposal Part B, Quick-Start | LovedBy.ai, "How Much Does an AI Visibility Audit Cost" — https://www.lovedby.ai/blog/how-much-does-an-ai-visibility-audit-cost | 2026-08-25, live fetch |
| 4 | Enterprise-grade standalone GEO audits run $8,000–$25,000; boutique AEO/GEO retainers open around $3,000–$6,000/mo | Proposal Part B | HumansWith.ai, "What AEO and GEO Actually Cost in 2026" — https://humanswith.ai/blog/what-aeo-and-geo-actually-cost-in-2026/ | 2026-08-25, live fetch |
| 5 | Agencies adding GEO to existing SEO retainers report a 20–30% uplift on existing monthly fees | Proposal Part B | Frase, "The Agency Playbook for AI Content Services in 2026" — https://www.frase.io/blog/how-agencies-sell-ai-content-services ("GEO add-on to existing SEO retainer: +20–30% on current MRR"; "Average uplift across agencies that have shipped this conversion: 20% to 30% on existing MRR") | 2026-08-25, live fetch |
| 6 | AI citations are highly volatile: study of 530,875 citations (181,225 distinct URLs, 2,398 queries, four engines, 7 consecutive days, June 2026) found daily source churn of ~79% on ChatGPT, ~88% on Gemini, ~76% on Google AI Mode, ~44% on Perplexity; only 0.4–11.1% of sources were cited all 7 days; 84% of sources for a question are cited by just one engine | Report template §3 volatility note, Prompt-Pack, Quick-Start | GetMentions.ai, "AI Citation Volatility: A 530,875-Citation Study" — https://www.getmentions.ai/blog/ai-citation-volatility-study | 2026-08-25, live fetch |
| 7 | llms.txt has no measured effect yet: Ahrefs analysed 137,210 domains (May 2026) and found 97% of published llms.txt files received zero requests; AI retrieval bots accounted for only ~1.1% of requests to the rest; Google's guidance states machine-readable files like llms.txt "aren't needed to appear in generative AI search" | Report template §4h, Prompt-Pack 2.h, workbook Runsheet H3 (informational, unscored) | Ahrefs, "We Analyzed 137K Sites: 97% of llms.txt Files Never Get Read" — https://ahrefs.com/blog/llmstxt-study/ (Google quote as reported in that study's coverage of Google Search Central's guidance) | 2026-08-25, live fetch |
| 8 | AI answers are assembled from a recurring set of third-party sources and each engine forms its own source hierarchy: Semrush analysed 100M+ citations from 230,000+ prompts across ChatGPT search, Google AI Mode and Perplexity (13 weeks, Jul–Oct 2025); user-generated and reference platforms (Reddit, Wikipedia, LinkedIn, YouTube) dominate citations, with markedly different weightings per engine | Prompt-Pack 1.4, Report template §3b | Semrush, "The Most-Cited Domains in AI: A 3-Month Study" — https://www.semrush.com/blog/most-cited-domains-ai/ | 2026-08-25, live fetch |
Claims deliberately NOT made
- The commonly repeated "40–60% monthly citation churn" figure circulates in secondary sources; we could not trace it to a primary dataset this session, so the kit cites the primary GetMentions study (claim 6) instead. If you want a monthly-churn figure in your own material, verify it against a primary study first.
- No claim anywhere in this kit promises rankings, citations, placements, or traffic outcomes. That is by design; keep it that way in your white-labelled versions.
Methodology provenance
The eight-dimension audit framework, live-visibility test format, scoring approach, and report structure are adapted from the kit author's own commissioned audit reports (2026) and are licensed to you for unlimited white-label client use. Product names (ChatGPT, Perplexity, Google AI Mode/AI Overviews, Gemini, Claude) are used factually to identify the services tested; no affiliation or endorsement is implied.
Found a mistake?
Tell us and we will fix it and say what changed. Email mybritdesign@gmail.com. If a claim on this page does not match the source it links to, the source wins.
Related
Disclaimer
Nothing on this page is tax, accounting, legal or financial advice. It is a record of where each factual statement in our products came from, checked on the date shown. Rules change and your circumstances are your own, so check the linked official pages for the current position and speak to an accountant, solicitor or other qualified professional before making decisions.