Edit or delete a self-employment business

Once you have created a sole-trader business you can change its details at any time, or delete it if you no longer trade. This guide covers editing from the business workspace, what deleting does to your records, and how it can change your income type.

Editing or deleting a self-employment business

This guide is for sole traders who already have a self-employment business set up and want to change its details or remove it. If you have not created one yet, start with Add your self-employment business.

The whole self-employment area, including editing and deleting, is available on Free and MTD Lite. On the Free plan, self-employment can be your single income source (one property or one self-employment business). MTD Lite lets you run property and self-employment together, with unlimited businesses. If you cannot see the Self-Employment section at all, see "If something goes wrong" below.

Edit your business details

1. Open the business from the Businesses (or Self-Employment) section in the sidebar, then click its card to open the workspace.
2. Open the actions menu in the workspace and choose Edit Details. This takes you to the edit page for that business.
3. Change what you need. You can update:
   • Trading name (required, cannot be blank).
   • Description (optional: you can also clear it).
   • Accounting basis: Cash or Accruals. Most sole traders use Cash. If you are unsure which basis applies to you, check with HMRC or your accountant.
   • VAT registration: Not VAT-registered or VAT-registered. If you choose VAT-registered you must enter your VAT number.
   • Trading start date (the date you started trading).
4. Click Save changes. On success you are returned to the business workspace.

Note: The trading start date stays editable even after you have begun reporting. Changing it affects your reporting history, so only change it to correct a genuine mistake.

Delete a business

If you have stopped trading and no longer need the business in the app, you can delete it.

1. Open the business workspace and open the actions menu.
2. Choose Delete Business.
3. Confirm in the dialog that appears.

What deleting does:

• Deleting removes the business and its transactions. Export anything you want to keep first: keeping your own HMRC records (at least 5 years after the filing deadline) is your responsibility, and we do not keep a copy for you.
• If this was your last active self-employment business and your account covered both property and self-employment, your income type returns to property only, and the self-employment surfaces are hidden until you add a business again.

Important: Deleting is about removing the business from your active workspace. It does not file anything with HMRC or undo submissions you have already made. For anything tax-related about ceasing a trade, check with HMRC or your accountant.

If something goes wrong

• The Self-Employment / Businesses section is missing, or the page sends you back to the dashboard. Your account's income type does not include self-employment. Add a self-employment business, or set your income type to include it. See Choosing your income type.
• "Please enter your VAT number, or unselect VAT-registered." You chose VAT-registered but left the VAT number empty. Enter the number (for example GB123456789) or switch back to Not VAT-registered.
• Hitting an income source limit when adding another business. On the Free plan you can have one income source in total (one property or one self-employment business). To run more than one, see Plans and pricing.

Your figures for HMRC are always built automatically from the transactions you record against the business, so keep recording as you go. See Recording income and expenses.

Frequently asked questions

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