Get ready for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax

This guide is for sole traders and landlords in the UK who file Self Assessment and need to work out whether Making Tax Digital (MTD) for Income Tax applies to them, and from when. Many people get their start date wrong because they test the wrong income figure, or discover too late that HMRC is signing people up automatically. You will check your qualifying income and exemptions, sign up or authorise an agent, set up digital record keeping, and build a calendar of quarterly updates and the final declaration. It complements the separate guide on choosing MTD software, so software choice is only touched on here. Rules are as published by HMRC at October 2026; check GOV.UK for any changes.

What is inside

• Full step-by-step method9 detailed steps with decision points
• Ready-to-use templatesQualifying income worksheet · Email agreeing MTD duties with your accountant · My MTD calendar for one tax year
• Timed action plan7 stages from “Today” to “By 31 January after your first MTD year”
• Costly mistakes to avoid4 traps and what to do instead
• Complete checklist11 items to tick off
• Insider tips and fixes4 tips and 4 common problems solved

Step by step

1. Work out your qualifying income and start date

   Qualifying income is your total income from self-employment and property before expenses, so it is turnover and gross rent, not profit; income from all your sole trades and UK and foreign property (if you are UK resident) is added together. It does not include employment pay, pensions, dividends or your share of partnership profits, and for jointly owned property you count only your share. HMRC tests it from your Self Assessment return: qualifying income over £50,000 in 2024 to 2025 means you started from 6 April 2026; over £30,000 in 2025 to 2026 means you start from 6 April 2027; and over £20,000 in 2026 to 2027 means you start from 6 April 2028; check GOV.UK in case these phases change. For example, rent of £18,000 plus sales of £14,000 is £32,000, so you would start in April 2027 even though your profit is much lower. If you started trading or letting part-way through a year, the income is scaled up to a full year, which you must do yourself for property. Use HMRC's online checker on GOV.UK to confirm your date and save the result.