🇬🇧 UK · 2026/27 tax year
UK tax calculator: Sole trader vs UK Ltd
Compare how much tax an eBay, Amazon or Etsy seller pays as a sole trader versus a UK limited company, using the HMRC rates for 6 April 2026 to 5 April 2027.
UK Seller Profit Tax Comparison (2026/27)
Sole trader (Income Tax + Class 4 NI) vs UK Limited Company (Corporation Tax)
Sales minus all business costs, before tax.
UK resident (£12,570 Personal Allowance + Class 4 NI)
England, Wales and Northern Ireland income tax rates. Scotland has its own rates.
Sole trader take-home
£40,268
19.5% effective tax (£9,732)
UK Ltd retained profit
£40,500
19.0% effective tax (£9,500)
Better structure at this profit
£232
UK Ltd keeps £232 more
Sole trader
UK Ltd
- Kept / retained
- Income / corporate tax
- Class 4 National Insurance
Tax bands that apply
Individual (sole trader)
- 0% personal allowance on £12,570—
- 20% on £37,430£7,486
- Class 4 NI 6% on £37,430£2,246
- Income Tax
- £7,486
- Class 4 National Insurance
- £2,246
- Total tax (19.5% of profit)
- £9,732
- Sole trader take-home
- £40,268
UK Limited Company
- 19% small profits rate on £50,000£9,500
- Corporation Tax
- £9,500
- Total tax (19.0% of profit)
- £9,500
- UK Ltd retained profit
- £40,500
Estimate only, not tax advice. It uses official UK figures (2026/27 tax year) and the assumptions listed below this calculator. A client’s real bill depends on their full circumstances, so confirm with a qualified accountant in the UK before deciding.
Rates used (2026/27 tax year)
- Personal Allowance
- £12,570, reduced by £1 for every £2 of income over £100,000
- Income Tax
- 20% on the first £37,700 above the allowance · 40% to £125,140 · 45% above
- Class 4 National Insurance
- 6% on profits £12,570–£50,270 · 2% above
- Corporation Tax
- 19% up to £50,000 · 25% over £250,000 · marginal relief (3/200) in between
- Dividend tax
- £500 allowance · 10.75% basic · 35.75% higher · 39.35% additional
How the estimate works
- England, Wales and Northern Ireland rates. No pension contributions, Marriage Allowance or student loan.
- Class 2 NI is no longer compulsory, so it is not included.
- UK Ltd: the director takes no salary and the company has no associated companies. "Profit paid out" treats all after-tax profit as dividends in the same tax year.
- Non-resident: assumes a Pakistani national living in Pakistan, who can claim the Personal Allowance under HMRC’s list of eligible non-residents. Non-residents do not pay Class 4 NI, and UK dividends to non-residents carry no further UK tax.
- Whether a non-resident’s eBay or Amazon UK sales are a trade carried on in the UK depends on the facts; this assumes the profit is taxable in the UK.
Official sources
Figures checked against these pages on 24 October 2026.
- GOV.UK: Budget 2025, Annex A rates and allowances (2026/27)
- GOV.UK: Corporation Tax rates and allowances
- GOV.UK: Changes to tax rates for property, savings and dividend income
- HMRC manual: non-residents entitled to UK allowances (INTM334580)
Estimate, not tax advice. This calculator gives a guide figure for comparing structures. It does not know a client’s full situation (other income, family, deductions, treaties, sales tax or VAT), and rates can change. Markify Ecommerce is an ecommerce agency, not a firm of accountants: please confirm any decision with a qualified tax adviser in the UK.
Talk to us about selling in the UK
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