About Fox Ledger

Fox Ledger is an independent publication about keeping the books when the business is small: sole traders, partnerships of two or three, and very small limited companies. It has no connection to HMRC or any government body, and it does not sell accounting services or software.

Articles are written by the editors, who publish under the site's name. We do not name authors we cannot stand behind, and we make no claims about a readership, about awards or about years in practice. The reasons to trust a page here should be on the page: the claim, the link to its source on GOV.UK, and the tax year it applies to.

A red fox drinking at the edge of a lake among reeds — A red fox in Gennevilliers, France. The only fox on this site who has not looked at a tax return. Site last checked in tax year 2026 to 2027Alexis Lours. CC BY 4.0, source, resized.

How we work

Each article opens with the answer to the question in its headline.
Rules and rates come from a GOV.UK page that we opened while writing, and we link to it.
Every figure states its tax year. Sample invoices and worked sums use invented traders and are labelled as samples.
Where a rule is unclear to us or too case-specific, we say so instead of guessing.

What we are not

Nothing here is personal tax, legal or financial advice. We cannot review your figures. If your affairs are complicated, or HMRC has contacted you about a check, speak to an accountant, a tax adviser or HMRC directly.

Guest articles

We accept outside contributions on the terms set out in write for us. They meet the same checks, and any commercial connection is disclosed on the page.

Corrections

If we have a rule wrong or out of date, tell us at [email protected] with a link to the source, and we will check it.

Image credits

Open ledger (opening page): RaphaelQS. CC0, source.
1833 ledger (records): Pittsboro Merchant Business Ledger, via DPLA. Public domain, source.
1772 bill (invoices): Onesimus Ustonson. Public domain, source.
Receipt (expenses): Audrius Meskauskas (Audriusa). CC BY-SA 3.0, source, cropped and resized.
Cash register (methods): Pink Flojd. CC0, source.
Adding machine (Self Assessment): Issac I Navarro. CC BY 4.0, source, cropped and resized.
Desk (Making Tax Digital): Pixel.la Free Stock Photos. CC0, source.
Thermal paper (records): IIVQ, Tijmen Stam. CC BY-SA 3.0, source, resized.
1926 cash account (methods): Nelson Hindley Prouty. Public domain, source.
1926 invoice (invoices): Richard Lloyd & Sons. Public domain, source.
The Bookkeeper (write for us): Philip van Dijk. Public domain, source.
Red fox (this page): Alexis Lours. CC BY 4.0, source, resized.