Our expertise
Accountants for Tradespeople in York
There’s a lot going on in the finances of a trades business that a standard set of accounts doesn’t capture on its own. Income tends to arrive in lumps: a job completes, the payment lands, then there’s a quieter run before the next one starts, which makes cashflow harder to read than it looks from the outside. Most tradespeople working under a main contractor also have tax deducted from every payment before it reaches them, through the Construction Industry Scheme, without always knowing whether the right amount is coming back to them at year-end. And a van, a set of tools, and a year of materials all represent real money spent on the business, but only if the claims are set up correctly from the start.
We work with electricians, plumbers, joiners, builders, decorators, gas engineers, roofers and painters across York, Yorkshire and the UK, from sole traders working solo or with one or two mates, through to small limited companies with a handful of employees and a van each. We know the rhythm of trades work, and we make sure the CIS deductions, the vehicle expenses and the equipment claims are all working in your favour rather than against you.
In a nutshell: we’ll handle your annual accounts and tax return, track and reclaim any CIS deductions so you’re not overpaying tax, keep an eye on the VAT threshold so registration never catches you out, and make sure your van and tool claims are correct. Fixed fee, agreed upfront. Plain English at every step.
Why tradespeople need a specialist accountant
A generalist accountant can file a return. Where trades work catches them out is in the specific schemes and allowances that most tradespeople are sitting on without claiming properly.
CIS deductions that never get reclaimed. If you work for a main contractor, tax is deducted from your payments before they reach you: 20% if you’re registered as a subcontractor, 30% if you’re not. That deduction is credited against your tax bill at year-end, but only if it’s tracked and claimed correctly. Plenty of sole traders and small limited company subcontractors overpay tax every year simply because nobody kept the CIS payment records in order. We collect the statements, reconcile them against what’s actually been deducted, and make sure HMRC credits every pound back to you.
Van and vehicle expenses that aren’t being fully claimed. The van is often the single biggest asset a tradesperson owns. Fuel, insurance, repairs, servicing and lease costs are all allowable, but the rules differ between vans and cars, between outright purchase and finance, and between a vehicle used entirely for work and one with some personal use mixed in. Getting this wrong means leaving money on the table every year. We sort the vehicle expenses correctly from the start and flag it when the rules change.
Tools and equipment claimed in the wrong year. Hand tools, power tools, specialist kit, replacement equipment: the Annual Investment Allowance lets you write all of that down against tax in the year you buy it, rather than spreading the relief over several years. That timing matters, particularly around a big purchase near your year-end. We track equipment spending alongside your other records and make sure the allowance lands in the right year, at the right level.
VAT registration arriving without warning. Many tradespeople cross the VAT threshold without noticing it coming, because the test is a rolling 12-month total rather than a financial year. That means the obligation to register can arrive mid-job, well before your annual accounts are anywhere near ready. Missing it means penalties. We watch the rolling figure for clients on bookkeeping and flag registration well before it’s due, so there are no surprises.
Sole trader or limited company, and what changes if you switch. Moving from sole trader to limited company makes sense at a certain profit level, but the CIS picture shifts too: gross payment status, where CIS stops being deducted from your payments at all, becomes available to limited companies that meet certain turnover and compliance conditions. We walk through the structure question when it’s relevant, and handle the gross payment status application if you qualify.
Here’s how we help
The services that come up most often for tradespeople, each with the full detail on its own page:
- Sole Trader Accounts for self-employed tradespeople
- Company Accounts for limited company trade businesses
- Bookkeeping to keep your digital records accurate and current
- CIS Returns for contractors and subcontractors
- VAT returns and registration
- Tax Planning, including structure, gross payment status and capital allowances
- Personal Tax Return
This page talks about why having a specialist is important. The individual service pages show how each bit of the work gets done.
How we work with tradespeople
Every tradesperson takes a different mix of services. A sole trader plumber working for one main contractor needs different support to a small limited company joinery business with a couple of employees and vans on the road. We tailor what we handle for you, whether that’s bookkeeping, VAT, annual accounts, tax planning or CIS management, to where your business is now, and we adjust it as things change.
Staying in regular contact through the year keeps things moving. Whatever we’re looking after, you’ll have a specialist team on hand whenever something specific comes up: a question about whether a new piece of kit qualifies for the allowance, a contractor deducting CIS at the wrong rate, a query about taking on your first employee. If HMRC writes to you about anything, forward it on and we’ll either explain it or tell you to ignore it.
Records come through ShareFile, and we work with Xero, FreeAgent or Dext for clients on cloud bookkeeping. Most tradespeople on cloud bookkeeping find that reconciling the bank each week takes less time than the old spreadsheet did, and year-end becomes a much simpler event as a result.
The pre year-end meeting is where we get most strategic, and for trades businesses this is also where the CIS reconciliation gets the attention it deserves: statements checked against what was actually deducted, and any overpaid tax reclaimed. We walk through the year, plan the next one, and make sure your accounts and tax are shaped by what’s genuinely best for your business.
If you’re already working with another accountant, moving over is more straightforward than most people expect, and our guide on how to change accountants walks you through it.
Frequently asked questions
The Construction Industry Scheme requires main contractors to deduct tax from a subcontractor’s payments before handing the money over: 20% if you’re registered with HMRC as a subcontractor, 30% if you’re not. Those deductions are credited against your tax bill at year-end. In practical terms, this means if you’re registered and working for a contractor who deducts 20%, you should be getting that money back through your tax return. Many tradespeople don’t, because the CIS statements haven’t been tracked properly through the year. We collect them as they come in and reconcile everything at year-end so nothing is missed.
Yes. The allowable costs include fuel, insurance, repairs, servicing, and lease or finance payments. The rules for vans differ from those for cars, and there are further rules for vehicles with any personal use mixed in. Getting this sorted from the start means you claim the right amount each year without HMRC queries about private mileage or mixed-use adjustments further down the line. We handle vehicle expenses as a standard part of your annual accounts.
You’re required to register for VAT once your taxable turnover in any rolling 12-month period goes over the current threshold of £90,000. The rolling test means you could cross it mid-year or mid-job, without your annual accounts making it obvious. We watch the rolling figure for clients on bookkeeping and give you enough notice to register without penalties. If you’re already past the threshold and haven’t registered, we can sort that out too.
For most tradespeople starting out, sole trader is simpler and involves less compliance. As profits grow, a limited company often becomes more tax-efficient, and gives you some protection against personal liability. There’s no single threshold that works for everyone: the right answer depends on your level of profit, whether you have employees, whether you want gross payment status, and where you want your business to be in a few years. We walk through it with you before you make any changes, so you’re not switching structure at the wrong time or for the wrong reasons.
Gross payment status means a main contractor pays you in full, without deducting CIS tax from your payments first. You get paid the full amount and settle your tax through Self Assessment or your company’s tax return as normal. To qualify, HMRC looks at your compliance record, your turnover, and whether your business is run properly. HMRC also tightened how compliance is assessed from April 2026, so a clean record matters more than ever. For limited company subcontractors with a good track record, gross payment status is well worth applying for. We handle the application and the ongoing compliance that keeps it in place.
We work with tradespeople and small trade businesses across Yorkshire and the UK. The first conversation is about your business: what you do, how you work, and what you’d like an accountant to take off your plate.
Why clients stay with us
We’ve been working with tradespeople across Yorkshire since Stacey McVeighty FCCA started the practice in 2014. Today we look after around 800 clients from our York office. We’re ACCA-accredited, and we hold 38 five-star reviews on Google, rated 5.0, most from clients who’ve been with us for years.
Fixed fees. Plain English. The same team next year, and the year after that.
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