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Teaching English and languages online
Teach English or another language to learners over video, either through a tutoring platform or by finding students independently. You can start with skills and equipment you already have, but earnings and the amount of work available can vary.
Open the interactive guide (checklist, video, read-aloud) →In plain words
- You teach English or another language online.
- Choose who you want to teach and what they need.
- You can use a tutoring website or find learners yourself.
- Plan lessons, check your costs, and set clear prices.
- Keep income records and check the tax rules where you live.
Who it suits
Suits fluent speakers who enjoy explaining ideas, adapting to learners and planning lessons. A teaching qualification can help with some opportunities, but Preply says it does not require a formal degree or teaching certificate.
Learners pay for practice, explanations and lessons shaped around their goals. A clear focus—such as conversation, exam practice or work vocabulary—helps learners understand what you offer.
Step by step
- Choose your language and the learners you want to teach. Decide whether you can offer conversation practice, general lessons, exam preparation or specialist vocabulary. Choose one type to start with; you can broaden your offer later. About 30-60 minutes.
- Write a clear description of what learners will practise. Say who your lessons are for and what you will work on together. Describe your real experience; do not claim qualifications or results you do not have. About 30-60 minutes.
- Choose a platform or find learners independently. Compare how each option handles bookings, payments and commission before you commit. Preply says creating a profile and using its tools is free; it takes all of the fee for a new student's trial lesson, while later lesson commission starts at 33% and can fall to 18% as you teach more hours Preply. About 1-2 hours.
- Prepare your profile if applying to Preply. Prepare a real headshot, a short introduction video, your teaching strengths and the times you can teach. Follow Preply's registration guidance; leave contact details and lesson prices out of your profile description and video Preply. About 1-2 days.
- Check your computer, camera, microphone and internet. Test your webcam and microphone in the video tool you plan to use. Check that your connection is stable enough for a call; Preply lists a computer with a webcam and microphone and a stable internet connection in its setup guidance Preply. About 20-30 minutes.
- Plan a simple first lesson around the learner's goal. Prepare a warm-up, one focused activity and time for feedback. Ask what the learner hopes to practise, then choose an activity that fits that goal. About 30-60 minutes.
- Set a starting rate that reflects your time and costs. Consider lesson preparation, messages, possible gaps between bookings and platform commission. Preply says tutors set their own rates and schedules, and its commission applies to lessons Preply. About 30 minutes.
- Record what worked and what to practise next. After each lesson, note the learner's goal, what they found difficult and one next step. Ask for feedback and adjust your plan for the next lesson. About 5-10 minutes after each lesson.
- Keep income and cost records from the start. Record lesson payments, platform deductions and related costs. Check the tax guidance for where you live; UK tax rules include a £1,000 trading allowance and Ireland has separate rules for non-PAYE income GOV.UK Revenue. About 10-15 minutes each week.
Your first 15 minutes
Draft a sample lesson for one type of learner, test your camera and microphone, and prepare a clear tutor profile that explains what you can teach.
The money
Choose a rate you can explain and compare it with similar tutors, while allowing for preparation, messages, gaps between bookings and any platform commission. Review the rate after you have experience, but do not assume every available lesson will be booked.
Example only: a hypothetical independent tutor teaches three lessons in one week. UK: £20 × 3 = £60 income; minus £6 assumed costs = £54 before tax. Ireland: €25 × 3 = €75 income; minus €6 assumed costs = €69 before tax. These are arithmetic examples, not expected rates or earnings.
The rules
Teaching languages online lets you offer a service. You still need to check the tax, data and customer rules where you live. There's no general tutoring-business licence requirement for every setting. Rules may differ if you teach children or work through a school or platform.
UK and Northern Ireland
- Tax and records. The first £1,000 a year of trading income is covered by the trading allowance. If you earn more, tell HMRC. The £1,000 is gross income before expenses GOV.UK Tax help for hustles.
- Self Assessment. If you need to register for Self Assessment, do so by 5 October after the end of the tax year GOV.UK. If you're unsure whether you need to register, check with HMRC.
- Platform payments. Preply does not pay you commission for a trial lesson. It deducts platform commission from later lessons too. Your earnings and rates on the platform are not guaranteed Preply.
- Young workers in Northern Ireland. If you're aged 16–17, young worker rules generally limit your work to 8 hours a day and 40 hours a week. You must not work between 10pm and 6am nidirect.
- Checks when teaching children. In Northern Ireland, you can apply for an AccessNI enhanced check as a self-employed tutor if your role involves regulated activity. This does not mean every self-employed tutor must get one. Apply through an AccessNI-approved Umbrella Body and say that you're self-employed. The recruiter should view the digital certificate you share through your AccessNI account. Copies and photographs are not acceptable. Check that any barred-list check covers the relevant group nidirect nidirect.
- Personal information. Keep learner details secure and collect only what you need. The ICO's self-assessment tool can help you check whether you need to pay a data protection fee. The example page here is for wholesale and retail, so use the tool to check your own circumstances ICO.
- Insurance and customer terms. Consider whether suitable insurance could help protect your work. Set out lesson length, payment, cancellations and refunds clearly.
Ireland
- PAYE income tax. If you also have PAYE income, register for self-assessment using Form 11 if your taxable non-PAYE income is over €5,000 or your gross non-PAYE income is over €30,000. Below that, declare it on Form 12 through myAccount Revenue. Check your position with Revenue.
- Self-employed tax. If you're self-employed, pay income tax, PRSI and USC through self-assessment. Your preliminary tax is due by 31 October Citizens Information.
- Business name. If you trade under a name other than your own, register it as a business name with the CRO. Online registration costs €20 CRO.
- Vetting for children. You can't get Garda vetting as an individual. If you're self-employed, you can apply only through a relevant organisation. Whether vetting applies to a tutor working privately isn't clear Citizens Information. In covered school settings, external tutors may need vetting if they have, or may have, unsupervised access to children or vulnerable adults. The relevant organisation must receive the disclosure before allowing relevant work. The circular says vetting should be completed before engagement where possible Department of Education Department of Children, Disability and Equality.
- Personal information. Keep learner details secure and collect only what you need.
- Insurance and customer terms. Consider whether suitable insurance could help protect your work. Set out lesson length, payment, cancellations and refunds clearly.
Checked against official sources: 22 October 2026. Not yet reviewed by a qualified tax or legal adviser. General guidance, not legal advice. Check the official link beside each point before you start.
Common mistakes
- Promising fluency, exam results or other outcomes you cannot guarantee.
- Forgetting to count preparation and learner messages as work time.
- Setting a rate without accounting for platform commission and unpaid trial lessons.
- Using lesson materials that are too complex for the learner's goal.
- Delaying income records or ignoring tax guidance for where you live.
AI-made demonstration: this module has a 20-second street-chat video in the interactive guide. The presenter and the people in it are computer-generated, not real people.