Am I in Making Tax Digital?
HMRC counts your sales, not your profit — and adds your rent on top. Most people only find out from a letter about a tax return they filed two years ago.
Your answer appears here
Fill in the boxes on the left.
Not an official HMRC service. We are independent. Nothing you type leaves your computer.
Three steps. Ten seconds.
Put in your figures
What came in from self-employment and rent — before costs. Two numbers is usually enough.
See where you stand
In or out, from when, and exactly which parts of your income HMRC counted and which it ignored.
Get your dates
Every deadline you will owe, and what happens if you miss one. Then check the software list if you need it.
The mistake almost everyone makes
HMRC counts what comes in. Not what you keep.
A decorator invoices £60,000. Paint, van and materials take most of it, and he keeps £25,000. Ask him what he earns and he will say twenty-five grand. HMRC says sixty. He is over the line and does not know it.
It also adds things together. A £30,000 business plus £25,000 of rent is £55,000 — over the line, even though neither number is on its own.
Both of those people think they are fine. Neither is. And nothing warns them, because the letter HMRC sends is based on a tax return they filed up to two years ago.
HMRC’s own words, if you want them: “Qualifying income is your total income from self-employment and property. This is the amount before expenses (also known as turnover).”
Who this hits, and when
| From | If your sales are over | How many | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 April 2026 | £50,000 | ~780,000 | live now |
| 6 April 2027 | £30,000 | ~970,000 more | announced |
| 6 April 2028 | £20,000 | more again | announced |
Common questions
What is Making Tax Digital, in plain English?
It is the name HMRC gave to a change in how self-employed people and landlords report their income — the name describes HMRC’s project, not anything you do. In practice: instead of filing one Self Assessment tax return a year, you keep your records in software and send HMRC a short summary four times a year, then finish with a tax return as usual. It began on 6 April 2026 and it is compulsory for anyone it applies to.
Is Making Tax Digital based on profit or turnover?
Turnover. HMRC uses your total income from self-employment and property before any expenses are deducted. A business turning over £60,000 with £25,000 of profit is assessed on the £60,000, so it is in scope even though the profit is well under the threshold.
Do self-employment and rental income get added together?
Yes. Qualifying income is the combined total. Someone with a £30,000 trade and £25,000 of rent has £55,000 of qualifying income and is in scope, even though neither source crosses the threshold on its own.
Which tax year decides whether I have to sign up?
The return you already filed. HMRC checks the Self Assessment return submitted in the previous tax year, so your 2024/25 return decides whether you start on 6 April 2026. That means income earned up to two years before you are mandated.
Does my salary or pension count towards the threshold?
No. Employment income taxed under PAYE, dividends including those from your own company, State and private pensions, savings interest, capital gains, and income from REITs or property funds are all excluded. So is your share of profit from a partnership.
Does my share of a partnership count?
No. HMRC lists your share of profit from a partnership as an individual partner among the income that does not count. Partnerships themselves are deferred from Making Tax Digital with no start date announced.
Does foreign rental income count?
It depends on your residence. Overseas property income counts while you are UK tax resident. If you are not UK tax resident it is excluded. This is the single most commonly misreported rule in coverage of the regime.
What if I own a rental property jointly?
Enter only your share. A couple receiving £60,000 of rent between them have £30,000 each, and each is assessed separately. One owner being exempt does not make the other exempt.
When are the deadlines?
Four updates a year, due 7 August, 7 November, 7 February and 7 May, then your tax return by 31 January following the end of the tax year. Each update is cumulative: it restates the whole year to date rather than only the months since the last one.
What happens if I miss a quarterly update?
HMRC is not applying penalty points for late quarterly updates during the 2026/27 tax year. After that, reaching four points means a £200 penalty. If you signed up voluntarily before being mandated, the threshold is two points.
Can I get an exemption?
Some exemptions are automatic and need no application: qualifying income of £20,000 or less, having no National Insurance number, trusts filing an SA900, personal representatives of someone who has died, and Lloyd’s members filing SA103L. Others must be applied for and granted, including digital exclusion, the foster and kinship carer exemption which runs to April 2027, and the non-UK resident exemption. Until an application is granted you are still in scope.
You can check our working
Every rule here is written down with a link to the HMRC page it came from and the date a person last read it. That was 8 August 2026. Where we could not find something in HMRC’s own words, we say so instead of pretending.
See every rule and its source — including the four things we had wrong before checking, and what changed.
Tax Threshold gives information, not tax advice. It applies published rules to figures you type. It cannot see your tax return and knows nothing about your circumstances beyond what you enter. For anything that turns on detail — jointly-owned property, a business that started mid-year, income you are unsure how to classify — talk to an accountant.