RuleKits

Do I need Making Tax Digital in April 2027?

Where it applies: Whole UK

Do I need Making Tax Digital in April 2027?

Last checked against GOV.UK: 8 November 2026

The short answer: if you are a sole trader or landlord and your income from self-employment and property, before expenses, was more than £30,000 in the 2025 to 2026 tax year, you will need to use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax from 6 April 2027.

What is Making Tax Digital for Income Tax?

Making Tax Digital (MTD) for Income Tax is HMRC’s new way for sole traders and landlords to report their income. Instead of doing everything once a year, you:

  • keep digital records of your income and expenses;
  • send HMRC a short quarterly update every three months, using compatible software; and
  • send your tax return through the same software by 31 January after the tax year ends.

A quarterly update is a summary of your income and expenses. It is not a tax return, and you do not pay tax when you send it.

Who has to join, and when?

It is being brought in step by step, based on your qualifying income:

Qualifying income overIn tax yearStart date
£50,0002024 to 20256 April 2026 (already started)
£30,0002025 to 20266 April 2027
£20,0002026 to 20276 April 2028

HMRC uses the Self Assessment tax return for an earlier year to decide. For April 2027, it looks at your 2025 to 2026 return, which is due by 31 January 2027. HMRC normally writes to people who need to join, but GOV.UK is clear that you must sign up even if you do not get a letter.

What counts as “qualifying income”?

This is the part that catches people out. Qualifying income is your total income before expenses (your turnover or total rents), not your profit.

Add together:

  • income from all your self-employed businesses; and
  • income from all your property, including your share of any property you own jointly. If you are UK tax resident, foreign property income counts too.

Do not count: wages from a job (PAYE), pensions, dividends (even from your own company), or your share of partnership profits.

Two quick examples

Aisha is a self-employed hairdresser. In 2025 to 2026 she took £34,000 from clients and spent £12,000 on costs, so her profit was £22,000. Her qualifying income is £34,000, which is over £30,000. She must start MTD from 6 April 2027.

Tom has a job paying £40,000 and rents out a flat with his sister. The rent is £16,000 a year, split equally. Tom’s qualifying income is his £8,000 share of the rent. His wages do not count. He does not need MTD in April 2027. He will need to check again for 2028, when the threshold falls to £20,000.

Aisha and Tom are made-up examples.

Is anyone exempt?

Yes. Some people are automatically exempt. For example, you do not need to use MTD if you did not have a National Insurance number before the start of the tax year, for trusts that send a trust tax return, and for personal representatives of someone who has died. Partnerships do not need to use it yet.

Some people are exempt for now, including people who claim Married Couple’s Allowance or Blind Person’s Allowance, ministers of religion and Lloyd’s members.

You can also apply for an exemption if you are “digitally excluded”. This means it is not reasonable for you to use computers or the internet because of your age, health, disability, religious beliefs or where you live. Not being confident with software is not enough on its own. Even if you are exempt, you must still send a Self Assessment return.

Key dates if you start in April 2027

Each quarterly update covers the tax year so far:

Update coversSend by
6 April to 5 July 20277 August 2027
6 April to 5 October 20277 November 2027
6 April 2027 to 5 January 20287 February 2028
6 April 2027 to 5 April 20287 May 2028
Tax return for 2027 to 202831 January 2029

You can choose calendar quarters (ending 30 June, 30 September, 31 December and 31 March) instead, if you set this in your software before sending your first update.

Penalties: HMRC says there are no penalty points for late quarterly updates in 2026 to 2027. After that, each late update earns a penalty point, and 4 points means a £200 penalty. So if you start in April 2027, late updates will count from day one.

Can I use a spreadsheet?

Yes. You can keep your digital records in a spreadsheet. But a spreadsheet cannot send anything to HMRC on its own. You also need HMRC-compatible bridging software, which links to your spreadsheet and sends your updates. GOV.UK has a guide to choosing software that links to HMRC’s software finder.

What should I do now?

  1. Work out your 2025 to 2026 qualifying income. Try our free MTD start-date checker, then confirm with HMRC’s official checker.
  2. File your 2025 to 2026 return on time (by 31 January 2027).
  3. Choose your software before April 2027.
  4. Start keeping digital records from 6 April 2027 – or earlier, to get used to it.
  5. Sign up for MTD for Income Tax on GOV.UK before your first quarterly update is due.

Ready-made MTD record kits

Our Sole Trader and Landlord MTD Record Kits for 2027/28 give you a simple spreadsheet with HMRC categories and quarterly totals ready to copy into your bridging software. Excel and Google Sheets. From £14.

The kits keep your records. They do not send anything to HMRC. To file under MTD you also need HMRC-compatible bridging software.

See the MTD kits
This article is general information to help you understand the rules. It is not legal, tax or financial advice. Check your own situation with HMRC, GOV.UK or a qualified adviser. Rules can change; we update this page when they do.

Sources

All checked on 8 November 2026.