Self-employed carpenters and joiners — from kitchen fitters to bespoke furniture makers — need MTD-compatible records from April 2026 if earning over £50,000. Carpentry involves significant materials costs (timber, sheet goods, fixings) plus tool investment, making proper expense tracking especially valuable for reducing your tax bill..
Self-employed carpenters and joiners — from kitchen fitters to bespoke furniture makers — need MTD-compatible records from April 2026 if earning over £50,000. Carpentry involves significant materials costs (timber, sheet goods, fixings) plus tool investment, making proper expense tracking especially valuable for reducing your tax bill.
Sawdust, wood shavings, and workshop noise are not ideal conditions for accounting software. Carpenters need something they can update in the van between jobs or in the workshop during a glue-up.
Self-employed carpenters in Derry (Northern Ireland) earn an estimated £28,900 per year on average — approaching the April 2028 threshold of £20,000. Tradespeople in Derry often also cover Bangor, Belfast, Lisburn and surrounding areas.
Northern Ireland has lower average trade rates than mainland UK, but also lower operating costs.
Cross-border tradespeople working in both NI and the Republic should seek specialist advice on how MTD interacts with Irish tax obligations.
MTD applies in Northern Ireland using the same thresholds as the rest of the UK. Common deductible expenses for carpenters include: timber, fixings, adhesives, hand tools, power tools, van, workshop rent, insurance.
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| Monthly cost | Free / £3 Pro | From £15 | From £10 | £19* |
| Built for trades | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Job management | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ | ✗ |
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*FreeAgent is free with NatWest/RBS/Mettle business accounts. Otherwise £19/month.
timber, MDF, plywood, hardwood, fixings, screws, nails, wood glue, sandpaper, saw blades, router bits, hand tools, power tools, workshop rent, dust extraction, van costs, insurance
Graft auto-maps all of these to the correct HMRC SA103 categories: Cost of goods, Car/van/travel, Phone/office, Rent/rates/insurance, Advertising, and Other expenses.
If your qualifying income exceeds £50,000 from April 2026, yes. Kitchen fitting and bespoke joinery businesses frequently exceed this threshold.
Yes. Hand tools, power tools, and consumables (blades, bits, sandpaper) are allowable expenses. Graft maps these to "Cost of goods" in HMRC categories.
Workshop or unit rent is deductible under "Rent, rates, power & insurance" in the SA103 self-employment pages.
Log each timber purchase as an expense in Graft. It auto-categorises materials under "Cost of goods" for HMRC. Photo the receipt with the built-in scanner.
Yes. Free invoicing, quoting, expense tracking, job management, and HMRC-categorised quarterly views. Built for tradespeople, not accountants.
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