Setup: the legal minimum, in order
You can be tutoring legally in the UK in under three weeks. The order matters because some steps unlock others.
Step 1: Register as a sole trader with HMRC. Free, 10 minutes at gov.uk. You’ll get a Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR) by post within 10 working days. From this point you’re legally allowed to tutor for money — but you should still complete the next steps before taking on under-18 clients.
Step 2: Apply for an enhanced DBS check. Required for tutoring children. Use a service like uCheck, Personnel Checks or — if you’re going through a platform — the platform’s own DBS service. Cost: £23 plus admin fees (£40–£60 total). Takes 2–4 weeks. Sign up to the DBS Update Service (£16/year) so clients can verify your check online without you sending the paper certificate every time.
Step 3: Get insurance. Professional indemnity (£500K cover) plus public liability (£1m cover) costs £80–£150/year through the Tutors’ Association, Tutorful’s partner provider, or directly through PolicyBee or Hiscox. Not legally required for online tutoring but most platforms expect it for in-person.
Step 4: Open a business account. Free at Starling, Tide, Mettle or Monzo Business. Keep tutoring income separate from personal — makes Self Assessment massively easier in January. Set up a savings pot and move 25% of every payment into it for tax.
Step 5: Set up a Google Business Profile. Free, 15 minutes. Category: “Tutoring service”. Set your service area (postcodes you cover) and online if applicable. Get five clients to leave reviews in the first three months. This single move generates more local enquiries than a £400 website.
That’s the minimum legal setup. Total cost: £100–£250. Total time: 2–4 weeks.
Finding the first ten clients
This is where most new tutors fail. The temptation is to spend £400 on a website, run Google Ads, and wait. It doesn’t work — Google Ads at £3–£8 per click for tutoring keywords burns budget fast and the conversion rate from a brand-new site is abysmal.
The fast routes:
- List on platforms. TheTutorLink charges 5% (so on a £40 session you keep £38), Tutorful 25%, Superprof 20% (subscription model), MyTutor 22%, Tutorhunt variable. List on the lowest-fee platform with real demand and a second one as backup. Profile completeness, response speed and review velocity drive bookings — not platform tenure.
- Local Facebook groups. “Manchester Mums”, “Tutoring Hampstead”, “Surrey Parents” — every postcode has 3–5 relevant groups. Post once a fortnight (no more), answer parent questions in the comments, and let the inbound DMs come.
- School noticeboards. Permission from the head’s office, A4 flyer, contact details. Niche schools (independents, prep schools) work best — you reach parents who can pay.
- Referrals from your first five clients. Offer a free hour of tutoring for any referral that books a paid session. Word-of-mouth is the cheapest acquisition channel by an order of magnitude.
Skip Google Ads, Facebook Ads and paid SEO until year two. The cost-per-acquisition doesn’t work for sub-£60/hr rates.
Pricing, niching and the upgrade path
Generalists charge £25/hr and stay there. Specialists charge £45/hr and raise to £60. The difference is the niche.
A tutor who lists “GCSE and A Level maths, all boards” competes on price. A tutor who lists “AQA GCSE Maths Higher Tier, current Year 11 students, exam technique specialist” competes on fit. The second tutor’s profile gets fewer enquiries but a much higher conversion rate and they can charge 30% more.
Pick your niche by board, level and outcome. Examples: “AQA A Level Biology, ex-state school teacher, 8 students moved B→A in 2024.” “Edexcel GCSE Maths Foundation, autistic and dyslexic students, 5 grade 4→6 transitions.” “Trafford 11+ specialist, Altrincham Boys placements 2023 and 2024.” Specific. Verifiable. Targeted.
After 10 clients and 3+ months in the platforms, raise rates by £5/hr. After 6 months and 5-star average reviews, another £5. Most successful tutors hit £45–£55/hr by month 12 if they specialise.
What the tax actually looks like
Sole trader Self Assessment is filed online at gov.uk between April and 31 January. Keep three things: a spreadsheet of every payment received (date, client, amount, platform fee deducted), a folder of receipts for tutoring expenses (laptop, software, books, mileage if in-person), and your bank statements.
Allowable expenses: laptop and software (annual writing-down allowance), books and subscriptions, professional membership fees, DBS renewal, insurance, mileage (45p/mile for first 10,000 miles), home office costs (£6/week simplified rate). Phone and internet — claim the business proportion.
Class 2 NICs are now collected through Self Assessment (£3.45/week, only if profit over £12,570). Class 4 NICs are 6% on profit between £12,570 and £50,270. Add basic-rate income tax at 20% on the same band. Realistically, set aside 28–30% of every tutoring payment for tax — you’ll have surplus by January, which is much better than a shortfall.
Joining TheTutorLink is free and the 5% platform fee is the lowest in the UK market — that £38 you keep on a £40 session compounds across a year. Set up a profile, list your niche, respond to enquiries within 12 hours, and the first ten clients arrive faster than the website-and-Google-Ads route. Free trial sessions to new students cost you an hour but build the review velocity that drives the next twenty bookings.