Accountants for Hairdressers, Barbers and Beauty Salons
Our accountants for hairdressers, barbers and beauty salons take the stress out of the paperwork. Cash and card takings, tips, chair rent, product sales and a VAT threshold that creeps up faster than you think all need watching. We look after self-employed stylists, therapists and salon owners across Weston-super-Mare, Bristol, Bath and the rest of the UK, so your numbers stay clear while you focus on clients.
Built around salon life
We know how chair rent, commission, product sales and walk-in cash work, and how each one shows up in your accounts.
Cash, card and tips sorted
Simple records for daily takings and tips, so your figures add up and your team gets paid the right way.
Clear, practical guidance
No jargon. Straight answers on VAT, what you can claim and how much to put aside each month.
Local and remote
Based in Weston-super-Mare, working with salons across the South West in person and with stylists across the UK online.
Employed, self-employed or salon owner?
How you work changes how you are taxed, who pays your National Insurance and whose VAT threshold your takings count towards. Getting it wrong can leave a salon owner with a back bill for PAYE, or a stylist paying tax they did not need to.
| Employed stylist or therapist | Self-employed or chair renter | Salon owner | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Typical for | Stylists, therapists and apprentices on a wage or wage plus commission | Stylists who rent a chair or room, mobile and freelance therapists | Anyone running a salon or barbershop, alone or with a team |
| How you are taxed | PAYE through the salon's payroll | Income Tax and Class 4 National Insurance through Self Assessment | Self Assessment as a sole trader, or Corporation Tax and dividends through a company |
| VAT | Not your concern. Your work counts towards the salon's turnover | Your own takings count towards your own £90,000 threshold | Services, products and chair rent all count towards the salon's threshold |
| Admin | Payslips. Check your tips and holiday pay | Self Assessment, records, payments on account, MTD quarterly updates | Accounts, payroll, VAT, tips records and staff pensions |
| Best when | You want steady pay and no business admin | You have your own clients, set your own prices and run your own diary | You run the salon and take on the risk |
A note on self-employed status
Calling someone self-employed does not make them self-employed. HMRC looks at how the work really happens: who sets the hours and prices, who owns the client list, who buys the products and whether the stylist could send someone else in their place. If the salon controls most of that, HMRC may decide the stylist is an employee, and the salon owner can end up paying the back tax and National Insurance. That is why our accountants for hairdressers check that your agreements match how your salon really works.
VAT and the £90,000 threshold
What counts towards the threshold
You must register for VAT once your taxable takings go over £90,000 in any rolling 12 months, not just the tax year. For salons that means services and retail product sales. Many salons pass the line without noticing because takings are checked month by month rather than over the last 12 months. You then have 30 days from the end of that month to tell HMRC.
Chair rent and VAT
If you rent chairs to self-employed stylists, HMRC treats that income as standard-rated when it comes with things like basins, a reception, booking and towels. That has been HMRC's position since October 2012, and it means chair rent counts towards your threshold too. A clearly separate room or floor with no services can be treated differently, so the details of your agreement matter.
Should you register early?
Most salon clients are members of the public who cannot claim VAT back, so registering before you have to usually means either putting prices up or earning less per client. It can still make sense in some cases, such as a big fit-out where you want to reclaim the VAT on costs. We run the numbers before you decide.
If you rent a chair
As a self-employed chair renter, your own takings count towards your own threshold, not the salon's. Keep your takings, prices and card reader in your own name so it is clear the business is yours.
What hairdressers and beauticians can claim
Our accountants for hairdressers see it all the time: most stylists and therapists under-claim because nobody has told them what counts. A few also claim things HMRC will not accept, like their own hair appointments. Here is the short version.
Usually allowable
- Chair rent, room hire or salon rent
- Scissors, clippers, dryers, straighteners and other tools
- Products you use on clients, and stock you sell
- Public liability and treatment insurance
- Training that keeps your existing skills up to date
- Booking software, card reader fees and a share of your phone
- Branded tunics or protective clothing
- Travel between clients if you work as a mobile therapist
- Accountancy fees
Needs care
- Travel from home to the salon you work at every day. HMRC treats this as commuting
- Your own haircuts, nails or treatments, even if they help you look the part
- Courses that give you a brand new skill rather than update one you have
- Ordinary clothing, even if you only wear it at work
- Anything you also use privately. Claim the business share only
Tips, cash and card takings
Since 1 October 2024, the Employment (Allocation of Tips) Act 2023 says salons must pass on all qualifying tips to their team, with no deductions other than tax and National Insurance. How you pay them out changes the cost. Tips the salon collects and shares through payroll carry tax and National Insurance. Tips a client hands straight to a stylist are still taxable, but there is no National Insurance and the stylist reports them to HMRC. A properly independent tronc can also take shared tips outside National Insurance. We help you pick the right set-up and write a simple tips policy.
Cash is the other big one. Keep a daily record of cash, card and tips, kept apart from each other, so your accounts add up if HMRC ever asks. We set up a routine that takes minutes a day, not hours at year end.
What our accountants for hairdressers and salons do
Every service from our accountants for hairdressers is on a fixed monthly fee, agreed up front, with a named accountant who knows your file.
Self Assessment tax returns
Chair rent, takings, tips and any part-time wage brought together in one accurate Self Assessment tax return, with payments on account explained and diarised.
Salon accounts and Corporation Tax
Year-end accounts for sole trader, partnership and limited company salons, with the Corporation Tax return and confirmation statement handled together.
Payroll for your team and apprentices
Payroll for stylists, therapists and apprentices. Employers pay no National Insurance on apprentices under 25 earning up to £50,270, and we make sure that is applied.
VAT registration and returns
We track your rolling 12-month takings, tell you before you near £90,000 and file your VAT returns once you are registered.
Tips and tronc set-up
A tips policy that meets the law and the right way to pay tips out, so you do not pay more National Insurance than you need to.
Bookkeeping for cash and card
A simple daily routine for cash, card and tips, plus monthly bookkeeping and management accounts so your figures are always up to date.
Making Tax Digital and quarterly estimates
MTD now applies if your gross self-employed income is over £50,000, dropping to £30,000 from April 2027 and £20,000 from April 2028. We file the quarterly updates and tell you what to set aside.
Switching accountant
We contact your previous accountant, collect the records and pick up mid-year without you chasing anyone.
A simple, three-step way of working
No complicated onboarding and no unnecessary admin. Just a clear process designed to understand how you work, organise your finances and support you through the year.
Talk
A free, no-obligation call to understand how you work, whether you rent a chair or run a salon, how you take payments and how your records are kept today.
Plan
We agree the right structure and the right level of support, from a single Self Assessment to full salon accounts, payroll and VAT, on a fixed fee agreed up front.
Support
We keep your returns, VAT and deadlines organised, send quarterly tax estimates and are on the end of the phone when you take on staff or open a second chair.
Barbers, nail techs, lash and brow artists and mobile therapists
The same issues come up right across the hair and beauty world: cash and card takings, tips, rent for a chair or room, products and the VAT threshold. Our accountants for hairdressers also work with barbers, nail technicians, lash and brow artists, massage therapists and mobile beauticians.
Running a different kind of business? Our sector accountants page shows every industry we work with.
Accountants for dentists and dental practices
Associate status, NHS pension, VAT on cosmetic work and limited companies for private income.
Construction & tradesAccountants for builders and tradespeople
CIS deductions, VAT, vans and tools, and getting paid on time.
All sectorsSector-specific accountancy support
Every sector we work with, from healthcare and consultants to trades, hospitality and tech, in one place.
Questions hairdressers and salon owners ask their accountant
Only once your taxable takings go over £90,000 in any rolling 12 months. That includes your services and products, and chair rent if you are a salon owner. Check the last 12 months each month, not just the tax year, because many salons cross the line without noticing.
If your salon is VAT registered, usually yes. HMRC treats chair rent as standard-rated when it comes with things like basins, reception, booking and towels. If you are not registered, you do not charge VAT, but the chair rent still counts towards your threshold.
Usually, if they really run their own business. That means they set their own prices and hours, keep their own clients, buy their own products and take payment in their own name. If the salon controls most of that, HMRC may treat them as an employee.
All tips are taxable. Tips the salon collects and shares out go through payroll with tax and National Insurance. Tips handed straight to a stylist have no National Insurance, but the stylist must tell HMRC about them. Since 1 October 2024, salons must pass on all qualifying tips to staff.
Usually your chair rent, tools, products used on clients, insurance, training that keeps your skills up to date, booking software, card fees and a share of your phone. Your daily trip to the salon and your own hair appointments are not allowed.
A working rule is 20 to 30 percent of your profit, more once you become a higher-rate taxpayer, remembering that payments on account fall due in January and July. Rather than guess, we send you a quarterly estimate based on your real takings so the figure you put aside is the figure you will owe.
Testimonials
What our clients say about us
Talk to our accountants for hairdressers
Tell us how you work and we will tell you, plainly, what structure and support makes sense. No obligation, no sales script.
Call: 01934 404000
Hours: Mon–Fri 09:00–17:00
Office: 505 Park Way, Worle, Weston-super-Mare BS22 6WA
You will be looked after by our UK tax team and meet the people who will actually do the work.
