Making Tax Digital for Income Tax: what changes in April 2027

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From 6 April 2027, sole traders and landlords with qualifying income over £30,000 must keep digital records and send HMRC an update every quarter. The £50,000 group started on 6 April 2026. The £20,000 group follows on 6 April 2028.

Checked against GOV.UK guidance on 3 October 2026. General information, not advice.

Check whether it applies to you

Self-employment turnover for the year (£) Sales before expenses. Leave at 0 if none. Property income for the year (£) Rent received before expenses. Leave at 0 if none. Which tax year are these figures for?

Uses the thresholds below. It does not account for exemptions, or for income HMRC excludes from the test.

Who has to join, and when

From 6 April 2026: Qualifying income over £50,000 in the 2024 to 2025 tax year.
From 6 April 2027: Qualifying income over £30,000 in the 2025 to 2026 tax year.
From 6 April 2028: Qualifying income over £20,000 in the 2026 to 2027 tax year.

It applies to sole traders and landlords registered for Self Assessment. HMRC decides whether you are in by checking the Self Assessment return you submitted for the earlier year.

What counts as qualifying income

Your total income from self-employment and property, added together, before expenses. It is turnover, not profit. A landlord with £22,000 of rent and £10,000 of self-employed sales has £32,000 of qualifying income and is in from April 2027, whatever the profit was.

These do not count towards it:

Employment income: Anything taxed through PAYE.
Partnership profit: Your share of profit as an individual partner.
Dividends: Including dividends from your own company.
Pensions: The State Pension and private pensions.

What you have to do

Keep digital records: Income and expenses recorded in software that works with Making Tax Digital.
Send a quarterly update: Totals for each income and expense category. HMRC does not receive individual invoices or receipts.
Submit a tax return: Still required after the year ends, through the same software. See key dates.

Quarterly update deadlines

6 April to 5 July: Due 7 August.
6 April to 5 October: Due 7 November.
6 April to 5 January: Due 7 February.
6 April to 5 April: Due 7 May in the following tax year.

Each update is cumulative: it covers from the start of the tax year to the end of the period, not just the last three months. You can choose calendar periods instead (1 April to 30 June, and so on) with the same four deadlines, but you must select them in your software before sending the first update of the year.

Penalties

Tax year 2026 to 2027: No penalties for missing a quarterly update deadline. The updates must still be sent before the tax return can be submitted.
Later tax years: One penalty point for each quarterly update or tax return deadline missed.
At 4 points: A £200 penalty, and another £200 each time a further deadline is missed.

If you run an accounting practice

Each client brought into Making Tax Digital turns one annual return into four quarterly updates plus the return. The April 2027 group is identified from 2025 to 2026 returns, so the list of affected clients can be drawn up as those returns are filed. Bookkeeping and Self Assessment returns, the two halves of this work, are among our service lines.

Sources

GOV.UK: Find out if and when you need to use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax, Work out your qualifying income, Send quarterly updates and Penalties for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax. Exemptions exist, including for digital exclusion; see the exemptions guide.