Is that before or after tax?

After. The take-home column is what is left once income tax, Class 4 National Insurance and running costs have come out, calculated on 2025/26 rates for a self-employed sole trader in England, Wales or Northern Ireland.

How much should I set aside for tax as a counsellor?

In the worked example, about £9 of every £60 session, or £487 a month. The proportion rises as your profit does, so it is worth recalculating when your caseload or fee changes.

Earnings guide

How much does a private counsellor earn in the UK?

Q: How much does a private counsellor earn in the UK?

It depends on fee and caseload. At £60 a session with £300 a month of costs, 14 clients a week grosses £38,640 and leaves about £29,198 after income tax, National Insurance and running costs. A full caseload of 22 clients a week leaves about £44,441. Published price guides put counsellor fees at roughly £40–£90 a session.

Gross fees are not income. Here is what different caseloads and fees actually leave a self-employed counsellor once tax, National Insurance and practice costs come out.

The honest answer is that it depends on three things: what you charge, how many clients you see, and what your practice costs to run. Most pages answering this question stop at gross fees, which is the least useful number — it is not what reaches your bank account. Below is what different caseloads actually leave a self-employed counsellor after income tax, National Insurance and running costs.

What these figures assume. Consumer price guides put UK counselling at roughly £40–£90 a session, with £60 the figure quoted most often. The tables use £60 a session and £300 a month of running costs as a worked example — not a claim about the average counsellor. They also assume 46 working weeks a year, sole-trader status, and 2025/26 rates for England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

What a counsellor takes home at £60 a session

Clients	Gross fees	Costs	Tax & NI	Take-home	Per month
6 a week	£16,560	£3,600	£101	£12,859	£1,072
10 a week	£27,600	£3,600	£2,972	£21,028	£1,752
14 a week	£38,640	£3,600	£5,842	£29,198	£2,433
18 a week	£49,680	£3,600	£8,713	£37,367	£3,114
22 a week	£60,720	£3,600	£12,679	£44,441	£3,703

At £60 a session, seeing 14 clients a week grosses £38,640 a year and leaves £29,198 — about £2,433 a month. A full caseload of 22 grosses £60,720 and leaves £44,441. The gap between those two numbers is smaller than the gap in gross fees, because more income means a higher share goes in tax.

What changing your fee does

At a steady 14 clients a week:

Fee	Gross fees	Tax & NI	Take-home	Per month
£40 a session	£25,760	£2,493	£19,667	£1,639
£60 a session	£38,640	£5,842	£29,198	£2,433
£75 a session	£48,300	£8,354	£36,346	£3,029
£90 a session	£57,960	£11,520	£42,840	£3,570

Raising your fee is worth more than adding clients, because it costs you no extra hours and no extra room hire. Going from £40 to £90 a session at the same caseload changes take-home by £23,174 a year.

Run it on your own numbers

Change the fee, the caseload and the costs to match your own practice — three questions, about a minute, no sign-up.

Calculate my take-home →

The costs that come out first

Running costs are the part most counsellors underestimate when setting a fee. The worked example above uses £300 a month; yours may be higher or lower, and these are the usual lines:

Clinical supervision — Required by BACP and most professional bodies — typically monthly, and the cost line therapists most often forget.
Professional membership — BACP, NCPS or UKCP fees.
Insurance — Professional indemnity and public liability.
Room hire — Per session or per day if you don't work from home or online.
CPD — Ongoing training required to stay accredited.

Tax, National Insurance and what to set aside

As a sole trader you pay income tax and Class 4 National Insurance on your profit — fees after allowable costs — not on your turnover. At 14 clients a week in the example above that is £35,040 of profit, £4,494 of income tax and £1,348 of Class 4 NI. Setting aside about £9 per session covers it, which is the number worth knowing before January arrives.

One thing on the horizon: Making Tax Digital for Income Tax is phased in by gross income, not profit. A full caseload at this fee grosses £60,720, which would bring you into MTD from April 2026 — quarterly digital updates rather than one annual return.

All earnings guides → How many clients to take home £40,000? →