Find out if and when you need to use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax
Check if you need to use this service to report your self-employment and property income.
Who will need to use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax
You’ll need to use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax if all of the following apply:
- you’re a sole trader or a landlord registered for Self Assessment
- you get income from self-employment or property, or both
- your qualifying income is more than £20,000 — read more about what qualifying income is and what is included
When you need to start using Making Tax Digital for Income Tax depends on your qualifying income within a tax year. If your qualifying income is over:
- £50,000 for the 2024 to 2025 tax year, you will need to use it from 6 April 2026
- £30,000 for the 2025 to 2026 tax year, you will need to use it from 6 April 2027
- £20,000 for the 2026 to 2027 tax year, the government has set out plans to introduce legislation to lower the qualifying income threshold
Business partnerships will also need to use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax in the future. We’ll set out the timeline for this at a later date.
You do not need to start using Making Tax Digital for Income Tax until after you have submitted your first Self Assessment tax return, but you can choose to sign up early.
Who will not need to use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax
You do not need to use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax if:
- you meet certain conditions that make you automatically exempt from using the service
- you have applied for an exemption and HMRC approves your application
- your qualifying income is £20,000 or less
If you do not use the service, you must continue to report your income and gains in a Self Assessment tax return.
Check if you need to use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax
Making Tax Digital for Income Tax will become mandatory in phases, starting from 6 April 2026. You may be able to sign up early to test the service.
Use our tool to check if you need to use the service and when you need to start. You can also use this tool on behalf of someone else.
If you have foreign income you should refer to work out your qualifying income for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax.
Before you start
You’ll need to consider the following for tax years ending 5 April 2025 and 5 April 2026:
- if you’ll need to send a Self Assessment tax return and which sources of income you’ll need to declare
- how much self-employed or property income you’ll receive in the tax year
What to do if you need to use the service
If you need to use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax, you should prepare and be signed up for the service before you need to use it. For example, you will need to choose and authorise your chosen software or decide how your agent will act for you, if you have one.
You can find more information about what you need to do to prepare and sign up if:
What will happen before the start of the tax year
HMRC will review your Self Assessment tax return and check your qualifying income each tax year.
If your income is above the relevant threshold HMRC will write to you, confirming that you must start using Making Tax Digital for Income Tax by the start of the upcoming tax year.
For example, if we review your return and find your qualifying income for the 2024 to 2025 tax year is over £50,000, we’ll write to you and confirm that you must start using Making Tax Digital for Income Tax by 6 April 2026.
It is still your responsibility to check if and when you need to use the service, and make sure you are signed up and prepared to use it when you need to.
If you do not receive a letter but think you need to sign up because your qualifying income is over a certain amount, you can:
- use the tool in this guidance to check if you need to sign up
- speak to your tax agent, if you have one
Updates to this page
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The guidance has been updated to confirm if you have qualifying income over £20,000 you will need to use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax, and that the government is introducing legislation to confirm when you will need to start using the service from. The information about who does not need to use the service has been moved up the page. Information about what to do before you start using the service has been updated to link to our step by step guidance and to tell you what should happen before the start of the tax year.
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Guidance has been updated to confirm the tool will not ask about foreign income and that you can use the tool on behalf of someone else. Guidance about if you need to use the service from 6 April 2027 has been updated to confirm what will happen ahead of 6 April 2027.
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The Autumn Budget 2024 announced that Making Tax Digital for Income Tax will be extended to sole traders and landlords with qualifying income over £20,000 by the end of this Parliament.
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Information about when you need to use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax has been added. A link to an interactive guidance tool to check if you need to use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax has been added. Guidance about what is included in your qualifying income has been removed from this page.
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Information added to confirm how HMRC assess your qualifying income for a tax year and how we assess your qualifying income if you jointly own a property and only receive notice of your share of the income after expenses have been deducted.
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Information about who will and who will not need to sign up has been updated.
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The guidance has been updated to clarify when you will need to sign up for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax and when you will not need to.
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Thresholds for meeting the requirements for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax have been added for April 2026 and April 2027.
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Information has been added for you to check if you can use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax. Additional information has been added for what is included in your qualifying income, how you should report other income and how residence and domicile affect your qualifying income.
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You only need to follow the Making Tax Digital for Income Tax rules for your UK self-employment and property income if you're resident or domiciled outside the UK.
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