How Much Does an Accountant Cost in the UK? (2026 Prices)

Honest typical UK accountant fees for 2026, with the ranges you should expect for sole traders, limited companies, landlords and VAT-registered businesses — and what each fee should cover.

UK accountant fees vary more than they should, mostly because the industry has done a poor job of being transparent. The result is business owners who do not know whether the quote they just received is reasonable, generous or a rip-off. This article gives you the actual ranges you should expect in 2026, by business type.

Sole trader self-assessment

A straightforward self-employed return — one source of income, modest expenses, no VAT — should cost £15 to £30 per month on a fixed monthly fee, or £180 to £350 for a one-off return. For that you should get: the return prepared and filed, every allowable expense reviewed and claimed, written answers to tax questions throughout the year, and reminders well before the 31 January deadline.

Add rental income from a single property and the fee rises by maybe £5-£10 per month. Add foreign income, multiple rentals, or capital gains and most firms quote individually — expect £300-£600 for the year.

Limited company (one director, no VAT, no payroll)

Statutory accounts to Companies House, CT600 corporation tax return to HMRC, confirmation statement, monthly bookkeeping, and unlimited advice: £65 to £100 per month is the normal range. Below £50 you should check what is really included. Above £130 for a simple company, you are paying for brand rather than service.

Limited company (with VAT and payroll)

Add VAT returns (quarterly, under MTD) and payroll for one or two directors and the fee usually sits in the £90 to £150 per month band. Each additional PAYE employee adds roughly £5-£10 per month depending on complexity.

Beyond six or seven employees most practices quote individually, as pension auto-enrolment, benefits in kind and P11D work start to involve real time.

Landlord accounting

A single buy-to-let on a self-assessment: £20-£30 per month. Two or three properties: £25-£40 per month. Larger portfolios (five properties or more), limited company property structures, or SPVs with mortgages typically start at £65 per month and go up with complexity.

From April 2026, landlords with gross rental income over £50,000 fall into Making Tax Digital and the fee may be slightly higher to cover the quarterly submissions — add £5-£15 per month.

Private hire and taxi drivers

A driver self-assessment is almost always a flat fee of £15-£25 per month. The returns are repetitive, the records (platform statements, fuel receipts, mileage logs) are standard, and a firm that specialises in drivers will have the process down to a template.

What should the fee include?

Any fee you pay should cover at minimum: all statutory filings for your business type; unlimited email and phone questions during the year; proactive deadline reminders; the full digital filing to HMRC (not a template you have to submit yourself); and an annual tax-planning review before each year end.

Watch for: a low headline price with extras added per service, "extra" charges for phone calls or emails, "amendment fees" if HMRC queries anything, and particularly the use of hourly billing on top of a monthly fee — which turns the monthly fee into a membership charge rather than a payment for work.

Hourly billing vs fixed fee

Hourly billing is the old model. It made sense when accountancy was mostly manual data entry and nobody could predict how long a job would take. For a small business today, where the scope is predictable and the software does most of the mechanical work, hourly billing almost always costs more over a year than the fixed-fee equivalent — and punishes the client for asking questions.

A quote on a fixed-fee basis gives you a bill you can budget for, and an accountant you can call without worrying about the clock.

Getting help with this

AJH Accountants handles fixed-fee accounting across every service you need for clients across the UK. We file the return, tell you what you can claim, and deal with HMRC on your behalf, so nothing depends on you remembering a deadline.

See how our fixed-fee accounting across every service you need service works, or send us a quotation request and we will call you back. You can also call the office on 01204 840303.

Originally published at ajhaccountant.co.uk/blog/how-much-does-an-accountant-cost-uk-2026.