Mobile Hairdressers — Expenses, Mileage, and Tax Guide

The Accounted Business Team·1 March 2026·7 min read

Mobile hairdressing is a brilliant way to build a flexible, client-focused business — but because you are constantly on the road, the tax side of things has a few extra moving parts compared to salon-based hairdressers. The good news is that all that travel means more expenses to claim, which directly reduces your tax bill.

This guide covers everything mobile hairdressers need to know about tax, mileage, and expenses for the 2025/26 tax year. If you also work from a home salon, we have got you covered there too.

Registering and Paying Tax as a Mobile Hairdresser

If your self-employed income exceeds the £1,000 Trading Allowance in a tax year, you must register with HMRC as self-employed. You will be given a UTR (Unique Taxpayer Reference) number and will need to file a Self Assessment tax return each year.

Income Tax Rates for 2025/26

Your profits (total income minus allowable expenses) are taxed as follows:

Personal Allowance: £12,570 tax-free.
Basic rate (20%): On profits between £12,571 and £50,270.
Higher rate (40%): On profits above £50,270.

National Insurance

On top of Income Tax, you will pay:

Class 2 NI: £3.45 per week.
Class 4 NI: 6% on profits between £12,570 and £50,270.

These are both collected through your Self Assessment return, so there is no separate payment process. For more detail, read our guide on National Insurance for sole traders.

Mileage — Your Biggest Expense Advantage

As a mobile hairdresser, you spend a significant amount of time driving between clients' homes, care homes, hotels, and event venues. Because you do not have a fixed permanent workplace, virtually all of your business travel qualifies for mileage claims.

HMRC Approved Mileage Rates

First 10,000 business miles: 45p per mile.
After 10,000 miles: 25p per mile.
Motorcycles: 24p per mile.
Bicycles: 20p per mile.

These rates are designed to cover fuel, insurance, road tax, servicing, and general wear and tear — so you cannot claim those costs separately if you use the simplified mileage method.

What Counts as a Business Journey?

Travelling from your home to a client's home (because each client's home is a temporary workplace).
Driving between clients during the day.
Travelling to suppliers, trade shows, or training venues.
Trips to the bank to deposit cash or to the post office for business purposes.

The only journeys that do not count are purely personal trips — popping to the supermarket on the way home, for example.

Keeping a Mileage Log

HMRC expects you to keep a contemporaneous record of your business mileage. For each journey, record:

The date.
The start and end locations.
The purpose of the trip (for example, "client appointment — Mrs Jones, 14 Oak Lane").
The miles driven.

A simple notebook in your car works, but a digital tool is easier to manage over the course of a year. For a full walkthrough, see our guide on how to claim mileage when self-employed.

Mileage vs Actual Costs

You can choose between the simplified mileage rates above or claiming the actual running costs of your vehicle (fuel, insurance, servicing, repairs, road tax, and depreciation). If you choose actual costs, you need to calculate the business-use percentage based on your mileage records.

For most mobile hairdressers, the simplified mileage method is easier and often more generous — particularly if you drive a modest car. Once you choose a method for a particular vehicle, you must stick with it for as long as you use that vehicle in your business.

Other Allowable Expenses for Mobile Hairdressers

Mileage is the headline expense, but there are plenty of others you should be claiming.

Products and Consumables

Hair products used on clients: shampoos, conditioners, colours, developers, toners, styling products, treatments.
Disposable items: foils, gloves, towels (if disposable), capes.
Cleaning products for your tools and workspace.

If you buy products in bulk and use some personally, only claim the proportion used for business. In practice, most mobile hairdressers keep their professional stock entirely separate.

Tools and Equipment

Hairdressing tools: scissors, clippers, hairdryers, straighteners, curling tongs, combs, brushes, clips.
A portable backwash basin or other mobile salon equipment.
Trolley bags and cases for transporting your kit.
Electrical equipment: extension leads, adapters, portable mirrors with lighting.

Items under £1,000 can generally be deducted in full in the year of purchase. For higher-value items, you may need to use capital allowances, though this is uncommon for most mobile hairdressers.

Insurance

Public liability insurance — essential when working in clients' homes.
Professional indemnity insurance.
Product liability insurance if you sell retail products.
Business car insurance (the additional premium over personal insurance, if you have upgraded your policy for business use).

Marketing and Client Acquisition

Social media advertising (Facebook, Instagram promoted posts).
Website hosting and domain costs.
Business cards and flyers.
Listing fees on platforms like Treatwell or Bark.
Photography for your portfolio or social media.

Working From Home

If you do any admin from home — managing bookings, ordering stock, doing your accounts — you can claim a proportion of your household costs. The HMRC simplified method lets you claim:

£10 per month if you work 25–50 hours from home.
£18 per month for 51–100 hours.
£26 per month for 101+ hours.

Even if your home working hours are modest, it is worth claiming. Over a year, those small amounts add up. See our work from home expenses guide for more.

Professional Development and Subscriptions

Courses and workshops that improve or update your existing skills (not initial training).
Trade magazine subscriptions.
Membership of professional bodies (such as the National Hairdressers' Federation or the Freelance Hairdressers Association).

Phone and Communication

If you use your mobile phone for business — taking bookings, confirming appointments, communicating with suppliers — you can claim the business proportion. If 60% of your phone use is for business, claim 60% of the contract cost. Alternatively, a separate business phone is fully deductible.

Cash Payments and Record-Keeping

Many mobile hairdressers receive a significant proportion of their income in cash. It is absolutely essential that you record every cash payment. HMRC knows that cash-heavy businesses sometimes under-report income, and the hairdressing industry is one they pay close attention to.

Issue a receipt for every cash payment, even if the client does not ask for one.
Bank your cash regularly so it shows up in your bank records.
Keep a daily record of income received, by client, with the service provided and the amount.

Using a tool like Accounted makes it easy to log income and expenses as they happen, rather than trying to reconstruct everything months later. Penny, the AI bookkeeper, can even prompt you to record transactions you might otherwise forget.

VAT for Mobile Hairdressers

You must register for VAT if your turnover exceeds £90,000 in any 12-month rolling period. Most mobile hairdressers operate below this threshold, but if your business is growing quickly, keep a close eye on your numbers.

Hairdressing services are standard-rated for VAT (20%), so registering means adding 20% to your prices — which can be a problem if your clients are price-sensitive individuals. For this reason, most mobile hairdressers avoid voluntary registration unless they have a specific reason. Our VAT registration threshold guide explains the options.

How Much Tax Will You Actually Pay?

Let us look at a quick example. Say you earn £35,000 in a year from mobile hairdressing, and your allowable expenses total £8,000 (mileage, products, insurance, phone, and so on). Your taxable profit is £27,000.

Income Tax: £12,570 is tax-free. The remaining £14,430 is taxed at 20% = £2,886.
Class 2 NI: £3.45 × 52 weeks = £179.40.
Class 4 NI: 6% on £14,430 = £865.80.
Total tax bill: approximately £3,931.

Without those £8,000 of expenses, your profit would be £35,000, and your tax bill would jump to around £6,051. That is over £2,000 saved simply by claiming what you are entitled to.

Key Deadlines

5 April 2026: End of the 2025/26 tax year.
31 January 2027: Deadline to file your Self Assessment return and pay tax owed.
31 July 2027: Second payment on account due (if applicable).

Do not leave your return until the last minute. Filing early does not mean paying early — you still have until 31 January to pay — but it gives you plenty of time to sort out any issues and plan for the bill.

Accounted helps UK sole traders stay on top of their bookkeeping and tax. Start your free 30-day trial at getaccounted.co.uk.

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