Gardening Business Expenses

Gardening Business Expenses - Based on research carried out through the Gardeners Guild of qualified, self-employed gardeners, gardeners charged a national average hourly rate of between £28 and £35 per hour in 2023 and with an 8-hour working day. This is not a take-home wage but reflects the cost of running a business.

Many people will say £25+ per hour is expensive for a Gardener, but there are so many costs that are overlooked by potential clients when running a gardening business.

In a tax year in the UK, there are around 251 (give or take a few) working weekdays.

We can take away bank holidays, our own personal holidays, sick days, adverse weather days and potential customer cancellations. This now becomes roughly 180 working days. It may seem a lot of days have been used up, but customers don't often want us destroying their gardens when it's soaking wet, and in my part of the country, winter can be quite wet and cold!

Based on £25 per hour/ £200 Per day over 180 days, (£36000 per year) I'll try and work out some basic expenses.

- 10% for Income tax and NI

-5% for private pension

-5% for savings for sick/ bad weather days.

(I realise tax is 20% but we get £12500 roughly tax-free so putting 20% away is a slight overkill)

£36000 per year has suddenly sunk 20% to £28800 before I even get to start up and running costs!

Things like:

• Public liability Insurance

• Income protection

• Van insurance + buying a van!

• Hand Tools - spade, fork, trowel, secateurs, rake, kneeling pad.

• Machinery-mowers, strimmer, hedgecutter, leaf blower, multi tool and chainsaw.

• Machinery maintenance (From £40 per hour +)

• PPE-gloves, boots, waterproofs, work clothes, goggles, ear protection.

• Fuel/2 stroke

• Ladders

A few costings of items above are based on my own equipment.

• Commercial self-propelled mower £1350

• Multi-tool with 4 attachments £950

• 3 sets of waterproofs £180

• 2 tripod ladders £650

• 97 pairs of gloves (used 2022-2023 tax year!) £150

Research the Gardeners Guild article (below) suggests that an average of 26% of turnover can be written off as expenses!

Nearly anyone can cut grass or hedges hedges. But not everyone can identify 100's plants, shrubs and trees, and know how to prune and care for them, the soil conditions they need and their preferred aspect, ie sunny or shaded etc.

You are paying for knowledge and expertise gained over years of working in the industry

https://www.thegardenersguild.co.uk/2023_gardener_hourly_rates_garden_maintenance.html