Mettle launches FreeAgent-powered tax calculation to help self-employed with taxes

Mettle, the free business bank account built for the self-employed by NatWest, now offers the award-winning accounting software FreeAgent’s tax calculation in-app. This integration within a business bank account will give the self-employed more confidence around their business admin and give them a real-time view of the tax they owe.

The tax calculation, which is available for free to all Mettle customers whose accounts are connected with FreeAgent, will take the guesswork out of how much tax they are likely to owe each year. It’ll help customers stay on top of their taxes by showing a real-time view directly in their banking app.

As a customer completes their bookkeeping tasks in both the Mettle app and their FreeAgent account, like categorising transactions and uploading receipts, FreeAgent will work in the background to calculate the taxes relevant to their business. This includes income tax, Corporation Tax and VAT. Once these tasks have been completed, Mettle will sync this information with the customer’s FreeAgent account and upload the receipt to their transactions so they can see an up-to-date view of their tax position.

Only 56% of Mettle customers said they were confident in submitting their tax returns, according to an internal survey by Mettle. But this confidence comes from experience. Only 24% of customers who are due to submit their first tax return feel confident in doing so.

To further help customers be more tax confident, Mettle also offers Money Pots with automated rules to help them save regularly for tax or business expenses. Customers can set a rule so that a percentage of every inbound transaction goes directly into their tax pot. Alongside the tax calculation, this feature helps to make sure customers are ready for their end-of-year returns.

This new calculation feature also comes with FreeAgent’s Tax Timeline, and offers different views for sole traders and limited companies. With this, customers can see a view of upcoming tax returns and payment deadlines tailored to their small business directly in the Mettle app.

Rachel Booth, Director of Product at Mettle, comments: “For the self-employed, getting an accurate view of what tax they owe so they can plan ahead is so important. Working with FreeAgent to bring this functionality directly into a business bank account is game changing. Our customers now have what they need to get their business admin completed – from categorising payments and automatically setting money aside to now seeing what tax they owe. We’re giving the self-employed the tools they need to succeed with their business finances.”

Roan Lavery, CEO and co-founder of FreeAgent, comments: "With this integration of our smart tax calculation within Mettle accounts, we hope that small business owners will have better clarity than ever over their accounts and feel smarter and more confident about their finances.

“By taking the mystery out of how much tax they owe, and enabling them to save the amount into an automated Money Pot, Mettle customers will be freed up to do what they do best: running healthy, happy businesses.”

The tax calculation feature is available for both sole traders and limited companies. To see these features in the Mettle app, customers have to be synced to FreeAgent, which they can do through the Mettle app, and update their app to the latest version.