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Sources & Methodology

Where do the tax bands come from? The mortgage criteria? The VAT rules? This page documents the primary sources behind every factual claim on FreelanceToolkit UK and the methodology we use to keep them accurate.

UK tax (income tax, NI, Corporation Tax, dividend tax)

Primary source: HMRC official guidance at gov.uk/topic/business-tax and HMRC published rates and allowances pages. Specific tax bands are verified each April when HMRC publishes the new year's rates. The calculators (tax-calculator, limited-company-take-home-calculator, sole-trader-vs-limited-company-calculator) hard-code these bands; we update them within 2-3 weeks of HMRC publication.

VAT (registration thresholds, MTD, reverse charge, FRS)

Primary source: HMRC VAT Notices, particularly VAT Notice 700 (general VAT guidance), VAT Notice 700/12 (filing returns), VAT Notice 733 (Flat Rate Scheme), VAT Notice 700/21 (record-keeping for MTD). Threshold figures (£90k registration, £88k deregistration, £150k FRS cap) are verified against the current HMRC VAT guide.

Companies House (Ltd company filings, deadlines, fees)

Primary source: Companies House published guidance at gov.uk/government/organisations/companies-house. Confirmation statement, accounts filing deadlines and fees are verified against the official Companies House WebFiling documentation. Director duties guidance cross-referenced with the Companies Act 2006.

IR35 and off-payroll working

Primary source: HMRC's ESM (Employment Status Manual), particularly ESM4500-onwards which covers IR35 and off-payroll working rules. CEST tool methodology referenced from HMRC's published documentation. Case law references (e.g. landmark IR35 cases) sourced from HMRC tribunals or BAILII judgments.

Insurance (FCA-regulated)

Primary source: FCA Handbook and consumer-facing guidance at fca.org.uk. Specific cover types and exclusions referenced against the standard ABI (Association of British Insurers) wordings. Provider-specific feature claims verified against published policy documents.

Mortgages

Primary source: lender-published lending criteria documentation. Broker partner reporting on self-employed lending. Bank of England base rate data from bankofengland.co.uk.

Provider pricing and features

Sourced directly from each provider's published rate card and feature pages. Reviewed at least quarterly for affiliate partners; annually for non-affiliated providers we cover. Specific feature claims are verified against the provider's documentation, not against third-party review sites.

Update cadence

Annual minimum across all pages. Tax pages refreshed every April (post-Budget). Affiliate provider pricing reviewed quarterly. Regulatory landing dates (MTD, IR35 reforms, threshold changes) trigger same-week updates across affected pages.

What we don't source from

Other UK freelancer blogs (we want to be a primary source, not a derivative one), AI-generated content without human editorial verification, anonymous Reddit threads as a primary source, social media speculation, or affiliate-network promotional copy. Every factual claim has a verifiable primary source behind it.

Editorial review

All pages reviewed by the FreelanceToolkit UK editorial team before publication. Substantive updates (new tax year bands, regulatory changes) trigger a fresh review. See about the FreelanceToolkit UK editorial team for credentials and operating background.

Related editorial / EEAT pages: