Day Rate Calculator

As an indicative rule of thumb, many tradespeople plan for around 220 billable days a year: 260 weekdays (52 weeks minus weekends), less roughly 25 holiday days, 5 sick days and 10 days for admin, quoting and training. These figures are estimates — adjust them to your own working pattern. Some manage 230+ but this risks burnout.

Day rates vary significantly by trade, experience and region, and the ranges below are indicative estimates rather than published figures. As a rough guide, electricians and plumbers often charge around £200-£350/day, while specialist trades such as gas engineers or HVAC technicians may charge £300-£500/day. London and the South East tend to sit 20-40% higher. Always benchmark against local quotes for your trade.

For earnings under £50,000, sole trader is usually simpler and cheaper. Above that, a limited company can offer tax advantages through salary/dividend splits, but involves more admin and accountancy costs.

Sole traders pay Class 4 NI only (6% on profits between £12,570-£50,270, then 2% above). Class 2 NI was abolished from 6 April 2024. Ltd company directors pay employer NI on salary above the secondary threshold (£5,000 from 6 April 2025) at 15%.

For simplicity, this calculator deducts your pension contribution as a straight cash outflow and does NOT model any tax relief, so your true net position is slightly better than shown. In reality, a self-employed personal pension gets 20% basic-rate relief at source (your provider adds it to the pot), and higher or additional-rate taxpayers reclaim further relief through Self Assessment by extending the basic-rate band. Note that personal pension contributions give NO relief against Class 4 National Insurance — that is correctly reflected here.