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 hypnotherapist?

In the worked example, about £14 of every £80 session, or £766 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 hypnotherapist earn in the UK?

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

It depends on fee and caseload. At £80 a session with £300 a month of costs, 14 clients a week grosses £51,520 and leaves about £38,729 after income tax, National Insurance and running costs. A full caseload of 22 clients a week leaves about £56,180. Published price guides put hypnotherapist fees at roughly £60–£150 a session.

Gross fees are not income. Here is what different caseloads and fees actually leave a self-employed hypnotherapist 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 hypnotherapist after income tax, National Insurance and running costs.

What these figures assume. Face-to-face hypnotherapy is typically quoted at £60–£150 a session, with London at the top of that range and online sessions often 10–30% cheaper. The tables use £80 a session and £300 a month of running costs as a worked example — not a claim about the average hypnotherapist. They also assume 46 working weeks a year, sole-trader status, and 2025/26 rates for England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

What a hypnotherapist takes home at £80 a session

Clients	Gross fees	Costs	Tax & NI	Take-home	Per month
6 a week	£22,080	£3,600	£1,537	£16,943	£1,412
10 a week	£36,800	£3,600	£5,364	£27,836	£2,320
14 a week	£51,520	£3,600	£9,191	£38,729	£3,227
18 a week	£66,240	£3,600	£14,997	£47,643	£3,970
22 a week	£80,960	£3,600	£21,180	£56,180	£4,682

At £80 a session, seeing 14 clients a week grosses £51,520 a year and leaves £38,729 — about £3,227 a month. A full caseload of 22 grosses £80,960 and leaves £56,180. 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
£60 a session	£38,640	£5,842	£29,198	£2,433
£80 a session	£51,520	£9,191	£38,729	£3,227
£115 a session	£74,060	£18,282	£52,178	£4,348
£150 a session	£96,600	£27,749	£65,251	£5,438

Raising your fee is worth more than adding clients, because it costs you no extra hours and no extra room hire. Going from £60 to £150 a session at the same caseload changes take-home by £36,054 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 hypnotherapists 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:

Insurance — Professional indemnity and public liability.
Professional membership — CNHC, NCH or GHR registration.
Room hire — Per session or per day.
Marketing — Hypnotherapy is a shorter course of treatment, so client acquisition is a bigger ongoing cost than in open-ended therapy.
CPD — Ongoing training and supervision.

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 £47,920 of profit, £7,070 of income tax and £2,121 of Class 4 NI. Setting aside about £14 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 £80,960, 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? →