“As you only have two properties, just check that the income from that is over £50k pa. If not, you do not need to do MTD yet.”
We hear this most. a landlord telling another one to check before panicking, OpenRent Community forum, 31 July 2026 — someone in the same position as you.
A letter arrived with “Making Tax Digital” on it, or the phrase turned up somewhere and nobody has told you plainly whether it means you. It is a fair question badly served: the rules have moved three times, and the pages explaining them are written as if you already knew the last version.
So here it is in one line. If your gross self-employment income plus gross property income was over £50,000 on the tax return you filed for 2024 to 2025, you are in now. If it was not, your date is further out, or you are exempt without doing anything.
Two numbers from a return you have already filed. Runs entirely in your browser — nothing is sent anywhere, and we never ask who you are.
Check if I am in MTD → My four deadlines → Free forever · no cookies, no trackers · what counts as qualifying incomeFree to read. No sign-up, no cookies, no trackers. We never ask for your name, National Insurance number, or tax figures — the tools on this site run entirely in your browser.
Every entry below was read at its own source on the date printed beside it · the newest reading on this page is 5 September 2026 · the regulation links go to legislation.gov.uk, not to us · the rest of this site’s GOV.UK corpus was last checked 14 August 2026
Making Tax Digital for Income Tax is being switched on in three waves, and which wave you are in depends on one figure: your gross self-employment income plus your gross property income, before expenses, on a tax return you have already filed. Over £50,000 means you are in now. This page lists what has actually changed, in date order, with the regulation behind each one.
If the answer turns out to be yes, these are the dates you inherit. Your next quarterly update is due 7 November 2026, and because updates are cumulative it covers 6 April to 5 October 2026 — so it also catches up 7 August 2026 if you missed it. Your tax return for 2026 to 2027 is due 31 January 2028, and that one is still in the points system. And from September 2026 HMRC has been signing people up itself, in stages, if they had not signed up.
You are not alone, and this is the measured version of that sentence. HMRC put 864,000 sole traders and landlords in scope for this tax year (HMRC, 5 February 2026), and reported on 12 August 2026 that 436,000 had sent a first quarterly update and 570,000 had signed up. We have not subtracted one from the other to make a "how many are behind" headline — they were published six months apart and count different things — but you can see the size of the room you are standing in.
fifteen minutes, tonight, and it may end with you doing nothing at all
None of those three steps costs money. Anyone charging you to do them is selling you something HMRC gives away.
Where these come from, on GOV.UK: quarterly updates and their deadlines · the tax return · who has to use MTD, and when · working out qualifying income · the recognised-software finder · what to do if HMRC signed you up.
| Qualifying income | On the tax return for | You must use MTD from |
|---|---|---|
| Over £50,000 | 2024 to 2025 | 6 April 2026 — already in force |
| Over £30,000 | 2025 to 2026 | 6 April 2027 |
| Over £20,000 | 2026 to 2027 | 6 April 2028 |
| £20,000 or less | — | Automatically exempt, unless your circumstances change |
Qualifying income is gross self-employment income plus gross property income, before expenses, taken from the tax return you filed in the previous tax year. Sources: find out if and when you need to use MTD and work out your qualifying income (GOV.UK).
Newest first. Each row says what moved, who it lands on, which instrument or guidance page carries the rule, and the day we read that source. Nothing is here that we could not open at source; what did not survive that check is listed underneath.
GOV.UK published new guidance: from September 2026 HMRC will sign up taxpayers who should be using Making Tax Digital for the 2026 to 2027 tax year and have not signed up, in stages, contacting them afterwards.
Who this hits Sole traders and landlords already over the line on their 2024 to 2025 return who have not signed up. Your overdue and upcoming quarterly updates are listed in your HMRC online account.
The rule Guidance, not new law. Nothing was made or brought into force for this; it describes how HMRC intends to use powers it already had.
Source Check what to do if HMRC has signed you up for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax (GOV.UK, published 24 August 2026) — read 5 September 2026.
GOV.UK last updated its qualifying-income guidance, adding what to do when your income sources have ceased before a tax year starts, and how an amendment to an earlier tax return affects the figure HMRC checks.
Who this hits Anyone working out whether they are over the line, and anyone whose self-employment or letting stopped part-way through a year.
The rule A guidance revision. The definition it explains is statutory; the wording of the explanation is not.
Source Work out your qualifying income for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax (GOV.UK, last updated 16 July 2026) — read 5 September 2026.
The digital start date for the first cohort. From this day, people over the first line on the tax return they filed for 2024 to 2025 had to keep digital records and send quarterly updates from recognised software.
Who this hits Sole traders and landlords whose gross self-employment and property income together came to over £50,000 on that return.
The rule The Income Tax (Digital Obligations) Regulations 2026, SI 2026/336, reg 5(1). Reg 5(1) fixes the digital start date at 6 April 2026 for a person who was a relevant person on that day with a 2024 to 2025 return obligation.
Source The Income Tax (Digital Obligations) Regulations 2026, regulation 5 (legislation.gov.uk) — read 5 September 2026.
The 2026 regulations came into force and reg 48 revoked both the Income Tax (Digital Requirements) Regulations 2021 and their 2024 amendment. Guidance or commentary still citing SI 2021/1076 is citing revoked law.
Who this hits Anyone reading older MTD material. The 2021 instrument now carries the word “revoked” in its own title on legislation.gov.uk.
The rule The Income Tax (Digital Obligations) Regulations 2026, SI 2026/336, reg 48. Reg 48 revokes (a) the Income Tax (Digital Requirements) Regulations 2021 and (b) the Income Tax (Digital Requirements) (Amendment) Regulations 2024.
Source The Income Tax (Digital Obligations) Regulations 2026, regulation 48 (legislation.gov.uk) — read 5 September 2026.
The page that tells you whether and when you need to use Making Tax Digital was last updated, covering the 2026 to 2027 tax year and the exemptions. It prints the three lines and the April each one starts.
Who this hits Anyone checking their own position. This is the GOV.UK page that states all three thresholds together in plain words.
The rule A guidance update. The thresholds it prints are set by regulation, cited in the entries below.
Source Find out if and when you need to use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax (GOV.UK, last updated 26 March 2026) — read 5 September 2026.
The 2026 regulations were made, laid before the House of Commons the following day. Reg 27 sets the qualifying amount at £50,000 for 2024 to 2025, £30,000 for 2025 to 2026, and £20,000 for 2026 to 2027 and later years.
Who this hits Everyone in or near scope. This is the provision your April date is worked out from, whichever wave you are in.
The rule The Income Tax (Digital Obligations) Regulations 2026, SI 2026/336, reg 27. Reg 27 is the qualifying amount for a tax year. Regs 22 to 24 then decide which tax year is tested for which cohort, and reg 5 fixes the start date.
Source The Income Tax (Digital Obligations) Regulations 2026, regulation 27 (legislation.gov.uk) — read 5 September 2026.
GOV.UK first published its page on penalties for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax, covering the points-based late submission regime and the reformed late payment charges that come with it.
Who this hits Anyone in the first wave. The page also carries the concession: no penalty points for a late quarterly update in the 2026 to 2027 tax year, which does not extend to the tax return or to late payment.
The rule The guidance page names no legislation of its own. What we could read at source is set out in the omissions below.
Source Penalties for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax (GOV.UK) — read 5 September 2026.
GOV.UK recorded that the Autumn Budget 2024 had announced extending Making Tax Digital for Income Tax to sole traders and landlords with qualifying income over £20,000. At that point it was an announcement: no date, no instrument.
Who this hits Sole traders and landlords under the second line. The commencement date arrived later, with the 2026 regulations.
The rule An announcement. It is recorded in the update history of the GOV.UK eligibility page, which is where we read it.
Source Find out if and when you need to use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax — updates to this page (GOV.UK) — read 5 September 2026.
The 2024 amendment came into force. Reg 19 replaced the income exemption in the 2021 regulations, putting the line at £50,000 measured on 2024 to 2025 income, then £30,000 for later years, and removed end-of-period statements.
Who this hits Everyone who had been told to expect a £10,000 threshold. This instrument was itself revoked on 1 April 2026 and its content is now in reg 27 of the 2026 regulations.
The rule The Income Tax (Digital Requirements) (Amendment) Regulations 2024, SI 2024/167, reg 19. Reg 19 substituted reg 21(3) of SI 2021/1076. The instrument is now marked revoked on legislation.gov.uk.
Source The Income Tax (Digital Requirements) (Amendment) Regulations 2024, regulation 19 as made (legislation.gov.uk) — read 5 September 2026.
The original digital requirements regulations were made. Reg 21 exempted a person whose qualifying income was not more than £10,000. That is the figure in older articles, and it has not been the operative one since March 2024.
Who this hits Nobody, now. It is here because the number is still quoted in accountancy blog posts and forum threads written before the 2024 amendment.
The rule The Income Tax (Digital Requirements) Regulations 2021, SI 2021/1076, reg 21(3). The as-made text. The live version of this instrument is titled “(revoked)” and its provisions are struck through.
Source The Income Tax (Digital Requirements) Regulations 2021, regulation 21 as made (legislation.gov.uk) — read 5 September 2026.
A changelog is only worth reading if the omissions are visible too. These are the things we went looking for and did not put in.
HMRC publishes the official list of software recognised for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax, and its own guidance says plainly that “free products are available for those with simple tax affairs”. We drove that finder ourselves on 1 September 2026 and it returns recognised products costing £0 — for sole traders and for landlords, including bridging tools that submit straight from a spreadsheet you already keep. We take no commission from any of them, we rank none of them, and this site carries no affiliate links.
HMRC's official software finder (gov.uk) · how bridging software works · the free two-number check · your own four dates
Signing up for Making Tax Digital is free at GOV.UK. So is the checker on this page, and so is every answer on this site.
The deadline calculator takes your tax year and your update-period choice and returns the four dates, the exact cumulative period each update covers, and which of them fall at a weekend. It generates them from the same date functions our tests check against SI 2026/336, rather than from a list somebody typed.
The planner asks what you have — self-employment, UK property, property abroad — and works out how many separate quarterly update streams that makes, then gives you a dated timetable and a calendar file. Property abroad is a second business, which HMRC’s own online checker does not ask about.
→ The deadline planner · why property abroad is a second business
Making Tax Digital for Income Tax began on 6 April 2026 for people whose qualifying income was over £50,000. The instrument behind it is The Income Tax (Digital Obligations) Regulations 2026, SI 2026/336, in force 1 April 2026. Quarterly updates fall on 7 August, 7 November, 7 February and 7 May, and the periods are cumulative: reg 12 defines each period as running from the start of the tax year, not from the end of the last quarter.
It depends which line your qualifying income crosses, and on which tax return. Over £50,000 on your 2024 to 2025 return means you are in already, from 6 April 2026. Over £30,000 on your 2025 to 2026 return means 6 April 2027. Over £20,000 on your 2026 to 2027 return means 6 April 2028. At or below £20,000 the exemption is automatic and there is nothing to apply for. The three amounts sit in SI 2026/336, reg 27, and your start date in reg 5.
No. The Income Tax (Digital Obligations) Regulations 2026 were made 23 March 2026 and came in force 1 April 2026, and SI 2026/336, reg 48 revoked the Income Tax (Digital Requirements) Regulations 2021 together with their 2024 amendment. Anything you read citing SI 2021/1076 is citing revoked law. What HMRC did soften is penalties: there are no penalty points for a late quarterly update in the 2026 to 2027 tax year, a concession that does not reach the tax return or late payment.
Everything above is free and stays free, and if your records are already in order the free pages on this site are enough on their own. The kit is the bookkeeping half done for you: a spreadsheet already carrying HMRC’s quarterly update categories, a walkthrough that names free HMRC-recognised tools, and a deadline calendar file. It does not submit anything to HMRC — only software on HMRC’s recognised list can do that, and recognised products costing nothing exist. If that sounds like something you do not need, you do not need it.
Andrew at Axion Labs
Some people who land on this page turn out not to be in Making Tax Digital at all, and I'd rather you found that out here in two minutes than after paying for a year of software. The threshold is gross and it's combined — turnover, both sources added together, before expenses. If that puts you under the line, there's nothing to apply for and nobody to ring. Close the tab with my blessing.
General information about UK tax rules, not tax advice. Your own circumstances and HMRC's official guidance govern your position. If you are unsure, speak to an accountant or contact HMRC. Each row above carries a link to the page it came from and the day we opened it. Tax rules move — if the newest reading date on this page is more than a couple of months old, open the links and check us. Found an error? Email hello@getaxionlabs.com and we will correct it.
Thank you. That goes straight to the person who writes these pages.
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