Making Tax Digital for Income Tax: who is in scope, and when

Once Making Tax Digital for Income Tax applies to you, you keep digital records, send quarterly updates and submit your tax return. HMRC’s policy papers call that last step the final declaration. Whether it applies to you depends on your qualifying income, and on the date when the threshold for that income takes effect.

This post sets out who is in scope and when, what counts as qualifying income, and what you are asked to do once you are in scope. The facts come from GOV.UK and were checked on 1 October 2026. For your own position, read the GOV.UK guidance on finding out if and when you need to use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax. This post is a summary. It is not advice about your circumstances.

The short version

From 6 April 2026, Making Tax Digital for Income Tax applies to people whose qualifying income for the 2024 to 2025 tax year was over £50,000.
From 6 April 2027, it applies to people whose qualifying income for the 2025 to 2026 tax year was over £30,000.
From 6 April 2028, it applies to people whose qualifying income for the 2026 to 2027 tax year is over £20,000.
Once you are in scope, you keep digital records, send quarterly updates and submit your tax return (the final declaration).

Who is in scope, and from when

The start date depends on your income. The first date has the highest threshold, and each later date has a lower one.

The first date is 6 April 2026. From that date, Making Tax Digital for Income Tax applies to people whose qualifying income for the 2024 to 2025 tax year was over £50,000. On 6 April 2027 the threshold falls to £30,000, and the test uses the 2025 to 2026 tax year. On 6 April 2028 it falls to £20,000, and the test uses the 2026 to 2027 tax year.

Each date is a step down. Each step brings in people with less qualifying income than the step before it.

Each start date therefore tests an earlier tax year than the one in which it begins. If your income is close to a line, check the GOV.UK guidance.

The rules name two kinds of income, self-employment and property. They apply to sole traders and landlords who are registered for Self Assessment. Partnerships do not currently need to use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax. Some people are exempt automatically, and others can apply for an exemption. Read the GOV.UK guidance on exemptions.

What counts as qualifying income

Qualifying income is your gross income from self-employment and property, before expenses. You add the two together.

Three things follow from that wording.

It is gross income. Expenses are not taken off before the test, so your profit can be lower than your qualifying income.
It has two parts, self-employment income and property income.
The two parts are added together, so the test looks at one combined figure.

A person with both self-employment income and property income therefore has one qualifying income figure, not two. That combined figure is the one you compare with the threshold.

What you do once you are in scope

Making Tax Digital for Income Tax has three parts.

Keep digital records. A quarterly update summarises them, as the next section explains.
Send quarterly updates. You send them to HMRC. Each one covers an update period.
Submit your tax return. After your last quarterly update, you submit your tax return through your software. You declare that the information is correct and complete to the best of your knowledge. HMRC’s policy papers call this step the final declaration.

There is also a rule about order. You must send your quarterly updates before you can submit your tax return. An update you have not sent is a step still to do before the return.

What a quarterly update is

A quarterly update is a summary. It has totals for each income category and each expense category. HMRC does not receive your individual records. The records themselves are not sent.

Each update covers the period from the start of the tax year to the end of the update period. An update for a later period therefore covers more of the year than an update for an earlier period.

The source for this section is the GOV.UK guidance on sending quarterly updates.

Penalty points in 2026 to 2027

HMRC will not apply penalty points for late quarterly updates in the 2026 to 2027 tax year. Penalty points still apply to late tax returns.

Two notes go with that. First, GOV.UK states it for the 2026 to 2027 tax year, and this post says nothing about later years. Second, the updates come before the tax return, and penalty points still apply to a late tax return.

What to do now

Add up your gross income from self-employment and property, before expenses. Add the two together.
Compare the total with the threshold for each start date above, using the tax year named for it, then read the GOV.UK guidance to see whether you are in scope and from when.
If you are in scope, keep digital records of income and expenses. A quarterly update holds totals for each category.
If you are in scope, send your quarterly updates before you submit your tax return.
Note that penalty points still apply to late tax returns.

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