MTD for sole traders

If you're self-employed (a consultant, tradesperson, courier, or any other sole trader), Making Tax Digital for Income Tax changes how you report that income to HMRC.

Am I affected?

You're in scope once your qualifying income from self-employment and/or property goes over HMRC's threshold for your tax year:

• Over £50,000: from April 2026
• Over £30,000: from April 2027
• Over £20,000: from April 2028

Use our free scope checker to see exactly where you stand.

What changes

Instead of one Self Assessment return a year, you'll:

• Keep digital records of sales and allowable business expenses
• Send HMRC a quarterly update summarising that quarter's income and expenses
• Confirm your final figures at the end of the tax year, similar to today's process

See our guide to expense categories for how everyday costs map to HMRC's categories.

Deadlines

Quarterly updates are due one month after each quarter ends. Use the deadline calculator to get your exact dates.

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Common questions

I have more than one self-employment business, does that change anything?

Each self-employment business is reported separately, and your qualifying income for MTD purposes is the total across all of them plus any property income.

What if my income changes a lot year to year?

HMRC looks at your qualifying income from your tax return two years prior to decide if you're in scope for a given tax year, so a dip or spike takes a little while to affect your status.