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Earning over £30,000? Making Tax Digital starts for you in April 2027

By Paul · Last checked against GOV.UK on · How we check facts

From 6 April 2027, Making Tax Digital for Income Tax covers sole traders and landlords whose qualifying income was over £30,000 in 2025 to 2026. HMRC estimates around 1,077,000 more people will need to join at this point.

Source: HMRC press release, 5 October 2026, GOV.UK

Here's how to tell if that's you, and what changes.

Is it you?

Add up two things for the 2025 to 2026 tax year (6 April 2025 to 5 April 2026):

  • your self-employment income before expenses
  • your property income before expenses (your share, if it's jointly owned)

If the total is more than £30,000, you're in from April 2027. Exactly £30,000 isn't over the line.

These don't count: wages from a job, pensions, dividends and your share of a partnership's profit.

HMRC uses the figure from your 2025 to 2026 tax return, which is due by 31 January 2027. If you're over, it says it will write to you. If no letter comes, it's still up to you to check.

Sources: Find out if and when you need to use MTD for Income Tax and Work out your qualifying income, GOV.UK

Quick examples

  • Electrician doing £24,000 of weekend work alongside a full-time job: £24,000. Not in from 2027. Could be in from April 2028 if that work comes to over £20,000 in 2026 to 2027.
  • Builder with £45,000 turnover and £20,000 spent on materials: £45,000. In from April 2027.
  • Landlord with £18,000 rent and a £14,000 side business: £32,000. In from April 2027.

Try your own figures in the free checker.

What actually changes

You keep digital records. Your income and expenses go into software that works with MTD, as you go. You still keep receipts, invoices and bank statements like you do now. (Create digital records, GOV.UK)

You send a quarterly update every three months. It's a summary of your totals, not a tax return. The deadlines for 2027 to 2028 are:

Period Due by
6 April to 5 July 2027 7 August 2027
6 April to 5 October 2027 7 November 2027
6 April 2027 to 5 January 2028 7 February 2028
6 April 2027 to 5 April 2028 7 May 2028

Each update covers the tax year so far. If nothing came in or went out that quarter, you still send one.

Source: Send quarterly updates, GOV.UK

You finish the year with a tax return sent through your software. It's still due by 31 January after the tax year ends. Your 2026 to 2027 return, due 31 January 2028, is the last one you send the usual way.

Source: Submit your tax return, GOV.UK

Penalties for this group

At Budget 2026 the government said people who have to join MTD in April 2027 won't get penalty points for late quarterly updates in 2027 to 2028. You still need to send all your updates before you can submit your tax return. Late payment penalties still apply, and HMRC's guidance says a late tax return gets a penalty point.

HMRC's penalties guidance hadn't been updated for the Budget change when I checked on 3 November 2026. I'll update this page when it is.

Sources: Budget 2026 overview of tax legislation and rates, paragraph 2.36 and Penalties for MTD for Income Tax, GOV.UK

What to do, in order

  1. Send your 2025 to 2026 return by 31 January 2027. That's the figure HMRC will use.
  2. Choose software. Check it's in HMRC's software finder. If you like your spreadsheet, the finder can check that too. You'd need "bridging" software to send the figures. Our software chooser narrows it down for trades, landlords and other sole traders.
  3. Start recording digitally before April. A couple of months' practice makes the first update much less of a faff.
  4. Sign up. You'll use the same sign-in you got for Self Assessment. You might be asked to prove who you are using a phone app and your passport or driving licence. You can sign up now, ahead of your start date. HMRC says signing up early lets you make sure your details are right from the start. (HMRC press release)

For the April 2026 group, HMRC started signing people up itself from September 2026, using only the details it already held. It hasn't said yet whether it'll do the same for April 2027. Signing up yourself means you can check your details are right.

Source: Sign up for MTD for Income Tax, GOV.UK

Could you be exempt?

Some people are. You can apply to be "digitally excluded" if it isn't reasonable for you to use software. For example, your age, health or a disability stops you using a computer or phone, your religious beliefs rule it out, or you can't get internet access where you live or work. Being unfamiliar with software, or the extra time or cost, isn't enough on its own. HMRC looks at each case.

Source: MTD exemptions, GOV.UK

If you claim qualifying care relief, for example as a foster carer or kinship carer, HMRC's exemptions page says you're exempt for now but need MTD from 2027 to 2028 if you're over £30,000. Budget 2026 said this group will be exempt until further notice instead. The government plans to bring that in before April 2027. HMRC's exemptions page hadn't been updated for it when I checked.

Source: Budget 2026 overview of tax legislation and rates, paragraph 2.37, GOV.UK

Sources

We checked each of these on GOV.UK on 3 November 2026. If HMRC changes them, this page will change too.

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This page is general information, not tax advice. Read why. Page history: 3 November 2026, full check against GOV.UK.

Drafts are sometimes prepared with help from AI writing tools. Every fact is checked against the GOV.UK page it links to, and Paul reads and approves each page before it goes up. How we check facts.

Quotes and facts from GOV.UK: contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Quoted words are HMRC's or HM Treasury's, not ours.