For the self-employed commercial Bar
The money side of practice, explained plainly.
Tax, pensions, reserves and protection at the self-employed Bar work differently from anywhere else. This is generic education on how they work — not advice, and never a recommendation.
Live right now
MTD ITSA is in force
Making Tax Digital for Income Tax is mandatory from 6 April 2026 for gross income over £50,000 — essentially every practising member of a commercial set, because the threshold is gross receipts, not profit. The first quarterly deadline is 7 August 2026. 2026/27 is a soft-landing year for late-submission penalty points.
The tax year, four times overThe basis period tail is still running
Transition profits are spread across 2023/24 to 2027/28. Anyone who had a 30 April year end — most of the Bar — still has a slice landing in 2026/27 and a final one in 2027/28, on a return that otherwise looks like a normal year. It is easy to forget, and it can move people into the taper.
The slice you forgot aboutFigures are based on current legislation and individual circumstances differ. This is general information, not personal advice.
Guides
Six areas where the Bar's finances work differently from everyone else's. Start wherever the pressure is.
The tax year, four times over
Making Tax Digital, quarterly updates, the basis period tail, payments on account and VAT cash accounting.
Read the guideNobody is paying into a pension for you
The annual allowance, the taper, carry forward against lumpy receipts, and the LSA / LSDBA.
Read the guideThe downside
No sick pay, income protection and own-occupation definitions, parental leave at the self-employed Bar, and life cover in trust.
Read the guideMoney that isn't yours yet
Aged debt, tax reserves, where reserve cash should actually sit, and direct gilts for additional-rate taxpayers.
Read the guideSilk, the bench, and stopping
The income shape change on taking silk, the judicial pension and its annual allowance problem, and decumulation with no fixed retirement date.
Read the guideWhat's left
Inheritance tax at the £1m+ band, gifting, trusts, and pensions entering the estate from April 2027.
Read the guide
How Altor charges
A flat monthly fee, agreed in advance. Not a percentage of your assets. The work involved in advising a practice does not scale with the size of a portfolio, so neither does the fee.
About AltorThe Practising Certificate