@KeepTakingTheSoma @EatKnitSleep2 @Derb I employ an accountant (always have, been self employed for 46 yrs, including when I worked PAYE).
Since HMRC went fully online, I found the annual declaration process too complicated.
(It was much easier back in the day, when you had your own personal civil servant, and went to see them in rl every year).

The current one, who is local, charges me £80 per year. The peace of mind he brings me is worth every penny.

I will continue to employ him in my OAP years, because they understand when you have different (and strange) income streams.
It's not about cheating HMRC, it's about making sure YOU are declaring things properly, so HMRC treat you fairly.

Strange income streams eg, being paid in vouchers for work by a national charity: Income or gifts??

Being on the payroll of the NHS as a "volunteer" with no paye, no paid time off or pension contributions (= a self-employed contractor but with no contract), and because we're not employees, we wouldn't get their union representation or whistleblower protection. What's that all about eh?!
(If you were to say, its about the NHS meeting their national inclusion obligations on the cheap, you'd be right)!

Without my accountant's help I would be confused about what does and does not count as "income". Or what I can & can't use as a tax break.

For example the Labour government abolished the tax break for working-at-home employees, this comes into force in April 2026.
(I feel sorry for those remote workers whose employers closed their workplaces and gave them no choice. Hope they get some compensation from their bosses).
This will hit disabled employees who work at home for employers out of necessity.

(It's almost like "Labour" hates working people, isn't it)?

But this tax break IS still in place for the self-employed who work from home!
That's the sort of thing an accountant can sort out for you.

Autumn Budget: Work-From-Home Relief Abolished From April 2026 - Merranti Accounting https://share.google/yWRLUIO1nQ2Lu9BTN