What Sole Traders Need to Know
The annual Income Tax deadline is approaching, and for sole traders and other taxpayers within the self-assessment system, now is a good time to make sure the 2025 position is in order.
The standard Pay & File deadline is 31 October 2026. For taxpayers who both file their return and make the appropriate payment through ROS, Revenue has extended the deadline to 18 November 2026.
What needs to be done?
For most self-employed taxpayers, Pay & File involves three main requirements:
Filing the 2025 Income Tax Return (Form 11);
Paying any balance of Income Tax due for 2025; and
Paying the appropriate Preliminary Tax for 2026.
This is an important distinction. The amount payable at the deadline may not simply be the outstanding tax from last year — Preliminary Tax for the current year may also need to be funded.
Get the accounts right first
Before an accurate Form 11 can be prepared, the underlying business figures need to be established.
For a sole trader, this normally means reviewing income and expenditure, identifying allowable business costs and calculating the taxable profit for the year.
If records are incomplete, leaving the work until November can make it much harder to resolve missing information or unexpected issues before the filing deadline.
Don't let the tax bill be a surprise
One of the more difficult situations for a business owner is reaching the annual tax deadline without knowing what the liability is or having enough cash set aside to meet it.
Ideally, tax should be monitored throughout the year rather than calculated for the first time when the annual return is prepared.
Regular bookkeeping, periodic financial reviews and sensible tax provisioning can make the Pay & File process significantly easier.
What happens if the return is late?
Late filing can result in a surcharge. Revenue currently applies a 5% surcharge where the return is filed within two months of the deadline, subject to a cap, increasing to 10% where the delay exceeds two months.
That makes it worthwhile dealing with an outstanding return before the deadline rather than allowing the position to drift.
Need help with your 2025 Income Tax Return?
Podium Finance assists sole traders and self-employed individuals with:
Sole trader accounts;
Form 11 Income Tax Returns;
Tax calculations and Preliminary Tax;
Revenue compliance issues; and
Ongoing tax and financial planning.
If your 2025 accounts or Income Tax Return are still outstanding, get in touch now and we can establish what needs to be done before the deadline.
Podium Finance
📞 083 335 0462
✉️ darragh.mcdonald@podiumfinance.ie
