A Guide to Hairdresser Expenses

Benefits of becoming a freelancer hairdresser

Becoming a hairdresser is a great career path for those who are not only creative, but enjoy spending time with people and making them feel and look their best too.

Our How to Become a Freelance Mobile Hairdresser page has more information on joining the sector.

For many hairdressers, the self-employed route can feel like a natural step, and there are many benefits that come with this.

You’ll have so much more freedom and flexibility; choosing the days and hours you want to work, making it easier to create a better work/life balance.

There’s also the fact that a freelancer can typically charge higher rates compared to those who are employed, and your take-home pay can be increased due to being able to take on as many clients as you want.

Another benefit, as mentioned earlier, is contractor expenses.

Hairdresser expenses

For a self-employed hairdresser working outside of IR35, typical allowable expenses include:

• Travel costs – you can claim any travel costs made for work purposes; this includes fuel for your car, parking, hire charges, train/bus/taxi/airfares or accommodation while you’re away for business.
• Equipment – as a hairdresser, you will have a lot of specialised and expensive equipment needed to carry out your work, from the basics, such as scissors and shampoo, to specialised styling equipment.
• Training courses – hairdressers will need to ensure they’re keeping their current skills up-to-date and learning new ones along the way; therefore, the cost of any training, as long as it’s directly related to your career, will be an allowable expense.
• Chair fees – useful for the many freelance hairdressers who rent out a chair in a salon.
• Office costs – this includes things like stationary, postage, printer ink and phone/mobile/internet bills.
• Clothing – some hairdressers might like to wear a uniform to come across as more professional, or, if they work in a salon it might be a requirement – either way, if you’re having to pay for this yourself then you can claim for it.
• Marketing and advertising – this can include things like website costs or any physical/online advertising that costs you money, such as flyers, search engine or social media advertisements.
• Financial costs – such as hiring an accountant.
• Insurance – the majority of contractors will need insurance of some kind; the type of insurance will all depend on the industry you’re working in. Our What type of business insurance do I need? page will give you more information on the different types of insurance for contractors.
• Working from home costs – if you work from home, you may be able to claim a proportion of costs for things like your heating, electricity, Council tax, mortgage interest/rent and internet/telephone use.

How do you claim an expense?

You claim for your expenses via your self-assessment tax return.

It’s worth keeping a note and records of all your expenses for at least six years – you could be questioned by HMRC at any time should they have concerns about what you’ve been claiming for.

If you’d like to sign up or need any further information, please give us a call on 01442 795 100 or you can email sophie.lewis@dolanaccountancy.com. There’s also the option to contact us via live chat.