Making Tax Digital for creators

Making Tax Digital for Income Tax is a change to how self-employed people and landlords report to HMRC, not a change to the tax rates themselves. Once in scope, you keep digital records, submit quarterly updates and still submit an annual tax return through compatible software.

The thresholds are based on qualifying income: the gross turnover from your self-employment added to any property income, before expenses are deducted. Our tax config sets out the phasing HMRC has confirmed — income over £50,000 brings you in from April 2026, over £30,000 from April 2027, and over £20,000 from April 2028 — and your specific start date is worked out from an earlier tax return, so growth this year can determine when you join.

For creators, the practical challenge is usually reconciling multiple platform payouts, currencies and payment schedules into a single, digitally-linked set of records each quarter, rather than the reporting itself. Sponsorship invoices, AdSense statements and subscription platform payouts all need to flow into the same software without manual re-keying breaking the digital link HMRC requires.

The final declaration at the end of the year is where personal allowances, reliefs, trading losses and any other income get applied, much as they do on a Self Assessment return today. The quarterly updates before it are simply running totals of income and expenses, so there is no tax to pay at each submission, only at the usual payment dates.

Some people are exempt, including those digitally excluded for reasons such as age, disability or location, and there are separate rules for very low income and for the year someone starts or stops trading. We check your circumstances rather than assuming MTD applies automatically once income crosses a headline number.

Source: Income Tax rates and allowances (gov.uk) · Self Assessment (gov.uk)