SA302 example: what an SA302 looks like, line by line
The person in this example is a sole trader in England with £42,000 of profit from self-employment and £1,200 of interest from a bank savings account in the 2025-26 tax year. That is a common mix: a decent trading profit and a savings pot earning more interest than it used to.
The example calculation
| Line | Amount |
|---|---|
| Profit from self-employment | £42,000.00 |
| Interest from UK banks and building societies | £1,200.00 |
| Total income received | £43,200.00 |
| minus Personal Allowance | £12,570.00 |
| Total income on which tax is due | £30,630.00 |
| Basic rate: £29,430.00 at 20% | £5,886.00 |
| Savings, Personal Savings Allowance: £1,000.00 at 0% | £0.00 |
| Savings, basic rate: £200.00 at 20% | £40.00 |
| Income Tax due | £5,926.00 |
| Class 4 National Insurance: £29,430.00 at 6% | £1,765.80 |
| Class 2 National Insurance | £0.00 |
| Total Income Tax and National Insurance due | £7,691.80 |
Every number above comes from the same engine as our estimator, which reproduces real HMRC calculations to the penny. Put £42,000 of self-employment and £1,200 of savings into it for 2025-26 and you get the same £7,691.80.
What each line means
Total income received is everything on the return added up before any allowance. On a real SA302 each type of income gets its own line: self-employment, employment, property, savings interest, dividends.
Personal Allowance is the £12,570 you can earn tax-free. It comes off first, from the earned income. Above £100,000 it shrinks, which is covered in our guide to the £100k taper.
Total income on which tax is due is what is left: £43,200 minus £12,570 is £30,630.
The band lines are where people get confused, because the SA302 splits the taxable income by type before applying rates. Trading profit is taxed first. £42,000 minus the £12,570 allowance leaves £29,430, all inside the basic-rate band, so 20% gives £5,886. Savings interest is taxed next. This person is a basic-rate taxpayer, so the first £1,000 of interest falls in the Personal Savings Allowance at 0%, and the other £200 is taxed at 20%, which is £40. Our savings interest guide explains that allowance.
Class 4 National Insurance is charged on trading profit only, not on the savings. £42,000 minus £12,570 is £29,430, and 6% of that is £1,765.80. See the full Class 4 rates.
Class 2 National Insurance shows as £0.00. Since 2024-25 it is treated as paid for anyone with profits above the small profits threshold, so it still appears on the SA302 but costs nothing. More on that in our Class 2 guide.
The total is Income Tax plus National Insurance. This is the figure a lender compares with the amount due on your Tax Year Overview.
What a real SA302 adds
The real document has a header with your name, your Unique Taxpayer Reference and the tax year. If you had tax taken off at source, such as PAYE on a job, it shows a deduction for that before the final figure. If you have payments on account to make, it may show those too. The layout differs slightly between a printout from your HMRC account and a "tax computation" from an accountant's software, but the order of the calculation is the same.
Examples for other years
An SA302 for 2024-25, the year most people filed in 2025, uses the same bands and the same 6% Class 4 rate, so the example above would come out the same. Go back to 2023-24 and Class 4 was 9% and Class 2 was still charged, which would add about £1,060 to this person's bill. For 2022-23 the rate was a blended 9.73%. The estimator holds each year's rates, so you can see your own figures for any year from 2022-23 to 2025-26. The rates for the current filing year are set out in our 2025-26 SA302 calculator guide.
Getting your own
You can print your own SA302 from your HMRC online account 72 hours after filing, for the last four years. GOV.UK has no example PDF to download. The way to see one is to print yours, or to preview it with an estimate before you file. The steps are in how to get your SA302 from HMRC.
Frequently asked questions
What does an SA302 look like?
It is a plain one- or two-page tax calculation. It lists your income by type, deducts your Personal Allowance, shows the Income Tax in each band, adds Class 2 and Class 4 National Insurance, and ends with the total due for the year. The header shows your name, Unique Taxpayer Reference and the tax year.
Is there an SA302 example PDF?
HMRC does not publish one. You can see the layout in the worked example on this page, and you can print your own SA302 as a PDF from your HMRC online account 72 hours after filing.
Why does Class 2 National Insurance show £0 on my SA302?
From 2024-25, Class 2 is treated as paid if your profit is above the small profits threshold. It still appears as a line, but nothing is charged.
Can I use an example SA302 for my mortgage?
No. Lenders need your own SA302 printed from your HMRC account or your accountant's software, plus the matching Tax Year Overview. An example or an estimate is only for understanding the figures.