Do I Need Making Tax Digital? MTD for Income Tax checker

Making Tax Digital (MTD) for Income Tax is compulsory for sole traders and landlords whose qualifying income is over a threshold. GOV.UK sets three steps, each tested on the income for one tax year (GOV.UK):

• £50,000 for 2024 to 2025: from 6 April 2026
• £30,000 for 2025 to 2026: from 6 April 2027
• £20,000 for 2026 to 2027: from 6 April 2028
• The word is "over": income exactly on a threshold does not count
• The earliest step that applies decides your start date

Qualifying income is your total income from self-employment and property, before expenses (also known as turnover). It comes from the Self Assessment return for the tax year (GOV.UK). Self-employment and property income add together: GOV.UK's example is £25,000 of rent plus £27,000 of self-employment, which is £52,000.

Jointly owned property counts for your share. These do not count: employment (PAYE), your share of profit from a partnership, dividends, the State Pension and private pensions.

From your start date you keep digital records of your income and expenses and send a quarterly update every three months. Each update is a summary, not a tax return, and it is sent even if nothing changed (GOV.UK). With standard periods the updates are due by 7 August, 7 November, 7 February, 7 May.

You still send a tax return for the year, by 31 January after the tax year ends, and it is completed in your software. Making Tax Digital does not change how you pay tax or the dates payments are due.

HMRC does not provide software: you need commercial software that works with MTD. Free products exist for simple affairs (they may limit the number of transactions), and you can keep using spreadsheets with software that links to them.

For 2026 to 2027 there are no penalty points for a late quarterly update. After that you get a penalty point for each missed deadline, and at 4 points a £200 penalty (GOV.UK). Late payment of tax has its own penalties and interest.

If your qualifying income is £20,000 or less you are exempt automatically. You can also apply for an exemption if it is not reasonable for you to use compatible software, for example because of age, health or disability, or because you have no internet access. If you are exempt you still send a Self Assessment tax return (GOV.UK).

Partnerships do not need to use MTD for Income Tax at the moment, and GOV.UK says the timeline will be set later.

You need to be registered for Self Assessment and to have sent a return in the last two years. If you are over the threshold, HMRC writes to you, and an agent can sign you up instead (GOV.UK). GOV.UK says that from September 2026 HMRC begins signing up people who have not signed up.

GOV.UK gives the £20,000 step from 6 April 2028 as its current guidance, but the history of that page says the government was introducing legislation to confirm it. Check GOV.UK for the latest.

The checker uses the figures you enter: it does not decide for you, and HMRC tells you if MTD applies. It does not cover exemptions that depend on your tax return, partnerships, or income from outside the UK. The guidance has changed several times in 2026, and we recheck it regularly.