Does Making Tax Digital apply to you?
Two minutes, no sign-up needed. The checker below tells you which April start date is yours.
Making Tax Digital for Income Tax applies if your gross qualifying income (property and self-employment added together, before expenses) is more than £50,000 (from April 2026), more than £30,000 (from April 2027) or more than £20,000 (from April 2028), based on the income reported on a previous tax return.
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Choose an answer to carry on.
Which income counts towards the MTD threshold?
- More than £50,000 gross qualifying income → MTD applies from April 2026 (already live)
- More than £30,000 gross qualifying income → MTD applies from April 2027
- More than £20,000 gross qualifying income → MTD applies from April 2028
“Gross qualifying income” means your property and self-employment income added together, before any expenses. If you are a UK tax resident, property income counts wherever the property is, in the UK or abroad (HMRC’s guidance on working out your qualifying income sets this out). For jointly-owned property, only your share counts. Exactly at the threshold isn’t caught: MTD applies when your qualifying income is more than the figure, not when it equals it.
Which tax year’s income decides my MTD start date?
HMRC decides your start date from the qualifying income on a tax return you have already filed, not from what you earn in the year MTD starts.
- Your 2024-25 return decides whether MTD applies to you from April 2026
- Your 2025-26 return decides whether MTD applies to you from April 2027
- Your 2026-27 return decides whether MTD applies to you from April 2028
If your property or self-employment income started recently and hasn’t appeared on a return yet, you join later: HMRC brings you in from the April after the first return that shows you above the threshold.
Does my employment salary or pension count towards the MTD threshold?
No. Only gross income from property and self-employment counts. A PAYE salary, a pension, dividends, savings interest and capital gains are excluded, so a large salary alongside a small side business does not mandate you on its own.
Is there an MTD qualifying income calculator?
The sum doesn’t need one: add your gross property income and gross self-employment income together, before any expenses, and compare the total with the thresholds. The free checker on this page does that for you, and also tells you which year’s tax return HMRC will judge your start date on.
This checker covers the common cases. For anything unusual (trusts, partnerships, foreign income), check with your accountant or HMRC.