Do I need Making Tax Digital for Income Tax?

Making Tax Digital (MTD) for Income Tax means keeping digital records and sending HMRC a short update every 3 months, using software. It started on 6 April 2026 for people with qualifying income over £50,000. The next group starts on 6 April 2027: sole traders and landlords whose qualifying income was over £30,000 in the 2025 to 2026 tax year.

Not tax or financial advice. This is a simplified guide based on GOV.UK. Always check GOV.UK's own checker or ask an accountant before you act.

The dates and limits

If your qualifying income was over…	in the tax year…	you must use MTD from
£50,000	2024 to 2025	6 April 2026 (already started)
£30,000	2025 to 2026	6 April 2027
£20,000	2026 to 2027	6 April 2028

Source: GOV.UK: Find out if and when you need to use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax. A tax year runs from 6 April to 5 April.

What counts as "qualifying income"

Self-employment (sole trader) income plus property income, added together.
It's the amount before expenses (your turnover or gross rents), not your profit. GOV.UK's example: £25,000 rent + £27,000 self-employment = £52,000 qualifying income.
For a jointly owned property, count your share only.
Not counted: wages (PAYE), your share of a partnership's profit, dividends, the State Pension and private pensions.
HMRC checks the Self Assessment tax return you sent for the year before. If you only traded for part of a year, HMRC scales sole-trader income up to a full year; for property income you do this yourself.

Source: GOV.UK: Work out your qualifying income.

Check your dates

Your numbers stay in this browser tab – nothing is sent or saved. Leave a year blank if you had no such income or haven't got the figure yet.

1. Which of these do you have? Income as a sole trader (self-employed) Income from renting out property (UK or abroad) Neither – I only have wages, pensions, dividends or a partnership share

2. Your income before expenses, in £

2024 to 2025: self-employment turnover

2024 to 2025: property income (your share)

2025 to 2026: self-employment turnover

2025 to 2026: property income (your share)

2026 to 2027 (this year, best estimate): self-employment turnover

2026 to 2027 (this year, best estimate): property income (your share)

3. Do any of these apply? (tick any) I don't have a National Insurance number My return includes qualifying care relief (e.g. foster or kinship carer), averaging relief as a farmer or creative artist, trust or estate income (SA107), or the residence pages (SA109) I'm a minister of religion (SA102M), a Lloyd's member, or I claim Married Couple's Allowance or Blind Person's Allowance Age, health, disability, religious belief or where I live means I can't reasonably use software or the internet

What you'd have to do

Use MTD-compatible software to keep digital records of income and expenses.
Send a quarterly update for each business by 7 August, 7 November, 7 February and 7 May. These are running totals, not tax returns.
Submit your tax return through the software by 31 January after the tax year, and pay any tax by then.
For the 2026 to 2027 tax year HMRC won't charge penalties for late quarterly updates; after that, late updates can earn penalty points, and reaching the points limit means a £200 penalty.
You still send a normal Self Assessment return for the year before you start.

Sources: GOV.UK: Send quarterly updates · GOV.UK: Penalties for MTD for Income Tax · GOV.UK: Exemptions

Facts on this page last checked against GOV.UK on 24 October 2026. Partnerships don't need MTD for Income Tax yet; HMRC will announce their timetable later.

This checker simplifies HMRC's guidance and can't cover every case (for example non-residents, accounting periods that aren't 12 months, ceased businesses or amended returns). HMRC writes to people it thinks need to sign up, but it's still your responsibility to check. If in doubt, use GOV.UK's checker or ask an adviser.