Making Tax Digital for Income Tax
Making Tax Digital for Income Tax means digital records, quarterly updates and a final declaration. It applies by qualifying income, not by profit, and wages do not count.
Key takeaways
- Over £50,000 of qualifying income in 2024 to 2025: from 6 April 2026.
- Over £30,000 in 2025 to 2026: from 6 April 2027.
- Over £20,000 in 2026 to 2027: from 6 April 2028.
- Employment income, dividends and pensions are not qualifying income.
What it is
Making Tax Digital for Income Tax is the way some sole traders and landlords keep digital records and send updates to HMRC. It does not replace the need to understand the tax. It changes how the records and the updates are sent.
GOV.UK says you use compatible software to keep digital records of self-employment and property income and expenses, send quarterly updates, and submit the tax return by 31 January the following year. Read Use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax.
Who it affects
The published test is that you are a sole trader or landlord registered for Self Assessment, you have self-employment or property income, or both, and your qualifying income is over the threshold for the relevant tax year.
A person with a day job and a small amount of rent is judged on the rent and any self-employment, not on the wages. The deadline checker shows that split.
What changes compared with Self Assessment
The tax itself is still Income Tax. The new part is the digital record and the quarterly update. The final declaration is still due by 31 January.
You still need to submit a Self Assessment tax return for the tax year before you start. Partnerships are not on this timetable yet. GOV.UK says the partnership timeline will be set later.
Sources
- GOV.UK: Find out if and when you need to use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax
- GOV.UK: Use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax
- GOV.UK: Get ready for MTD, an agent toolkit
- GOV.UK: Reduction of the mandation threshold from £30,000 to £20,000 from April 2028
- GOV.UK: Find software that's compatible with Making Tax Digital for Income Tax
- GOV.UK: Repossessing your privately rented property after 1 May 2026
- GOV.UK: Renting out your property, guidance for landlords and letting agents
Reviewed by
Christopher Norton
UK Property Tax & Making Tax Digital Specialist
FCCA and Chartered Tax Adviser. Director of Norton and Sons Associates Property Tax Firm. Property tax and MTD compliance since 2005.