Use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax

Add or cease income sources

Find out how to add or cease income sources for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax.

If you need to add or cease a source of self-employment income, property income or both, you must tell HMRC using your online account or agent services account if you’re an agent.

Adding a new self-employment or property income source  

If you’re a sole trader  

You will need to add the new income you earn as a sole trader. You do not need to add partnership income, income from a limited company or employment income, but you will still need to include those in your tax return if you have them.  

If you’re a landlord  

If you’re already a UK landlord and start renting out another property in the UK, this is not treated as a new income source. This is because the property will form part of your existing property business. Your:   

• UK properties are treated as one ‘UK property business’ — this includes UK furnished holiday lettings income from April 2025  

• non-UK properties are treated as one ‘foreign property business’  

Where the new property forms part of an existing property business, you need to create digital records for any related income and expenses from when you start to receive rent from the property. This applies to both UK and foreign property businesses.  

How to add a new self-employment or property income source  

If you have a new self-employment or property income source, you only need to start creating digital records and sending quarterly updates for the new income source after you have included it in a tax return.  

 You’ll need to:   

1. Check that your compatible software can report your new income source.    

2. Add the new income source to your HMRC online services account or agent service account before you submit your tax return using your software to include the new income source.  

3. Give details about your new income source, such as the start date. For property income sources, this is the date you started to receive rental income.  

4. Start creating digital records and sending quarterly updates for the new income source after you have submitted a tax return including the new income source for the first time. 

For example, if you need to use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax and start a new self-employment or property income source on 1 July 2026, you must include this income source for the first time in your 2026 to 2027 tax return. You must submit your 2026 to 2027 tax return by 31 January 2028. After you have submitted that tax return, you will need to start creating digital records and sending quarterly updates for this income source from 6 April 2028. 

If you prefer, you can choose to report the new income in Making Tax Digital for Income Tax from when the income starts. To do this, you can select the option in your HMRC online services account or agent services account to switch to sending quarterly updates from the date the income starts.  

After you have added the income source, you should check your software to make sure the new income source is there. If it is not there, you may need to refresh it in your software. You can then send quarterly updates for your new income source.  

Adding other income sources  

There are some records you do not need to keep digitally but can choose to do so. Keeping these records digitally can help you maintain a more complete view of your tax affairs, as you estimated tax bill will include the income source.

If your compatible software has the option, you can choose to report other income sources during the tax year, such as income from:  

• a partnership  

• dividends (including those from your own company)  

If you choose not to report these income sources during the tax year, you must include all of them in your tax return before you submit it using your software.  

Ceasing income sources  

Ceasing a self-employment or property income source  

Ceasing a self-employment or property income source means that your business has stopped trading or you have stopped receiving income from properties.

You can use your HMRC online services account or agent services account to tell HMRC when this happens by entering the date the business or property income ended. You must tell HMRC by the quarterly update deadline for the period the business or property income stopped. The ceased source will then be included in your tax return.  

What you need to do depends on if you’re ceasing all sources or a single source of self-employment or property income.  

Ceasing a single self-employment or property income source  

If only one of your income sources ceases, you must tell us using your HMRC online services account or agent services account and complete all outstanding quarterly updates for that source from when the income was active. You will:   

• no longer receive quarterly update reminders for that source, if you have opted to receive digital communication  

• still receive a reminder to submit your tax return for the year   

You must continue creating digital records and sending quarterly updates for any continuing sources of self-employment or property income.   

For example, if your self-employment or property income ceased in May 2026, you must send the quarterly update due by 7 August 2026, but you will not need to submit any further quarterly updates for that income. The income from the ceased source will then be included in your 2026 to 2027 tax return.

If you stop renting out a UK property but still rent out other properties, then your property business is continuing, and you do not need to tell HMRC.  

Ceasing all sources of self-employment or property income  

If you are ceasing all of your self-employment or property income sources, you must:   

• use your HMRC online services account or agent services account to tell us the date the income source ceased   

• send the final quarterly update for the period that includes the date the income ceased

• include the ceased income in your tax return — you must still send your tax return for the tax year the income ceased, using Making Tax Digital for Income Tax software  

After the tax year in which the income ceased, you will not need to use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax. You will still need to store your digital records to support your tax return. You can find out how long to keep your records.

Ceasing other income sources  

If you stop receiving other types of income, such as from employment, a pension, dividends or savings interest, you do not need to take any action in your HMRC online services account or agent services account.  

You must tell us about these changes through your tax return for the tax year the income stopped.