Making Tax Digital: £30,000 Earners Must Join From April 2027

Tax Queen

Tax Expert @ Pie

3 min read

Does This Affect You?

If you're self-employed, you rent out property, or you do both, and that income adds up to more than £30,000 a year, then yes. From 6 April 2027, you'll need to keep your records digitally and send HMRC a short update every 3 months.

The word that catches people out is "turnover". HMRC means your gross income, before you take off any expenses or allowances. Say you're a decorator who brings in £24,000 and you rent out a flat for £9,000 a year. Your total is £33,000, so you're in, even if your actual profit is far lower.

HMRC uses your 2025/26 Self Assessment tax return to decide whether you're over the line. That's the return due by 31 January 2027, so the numbers you file this winter decide what happens next April.

Already Using MTD?

If your income was over £50,000, you've been on MTD since April 2026 and nothing changes for you. Your next quarterly update is due on 7 November.

What Making Tax Digital Actually Means

MTD is HMRC moving tax records off paper and into software. Instead of scrambling to pull everything together in January, you log your income and expenses as you go, then send HMRC a summary every quarter.

Two terms you'll hear a lot:

Digital records: your income and expenses stored in software, not a notebook or a carrier bag of receipts.
Quarterly updates: short summaries of those totals. HMRC is clear that these are not extra tax returns.

At the end of the year, you'll still finalise your tax return, just through your MTD software instead of the old way. If you want the full picture, our simple guide to Making Tax Digital for Self Assessment walks through it step by step.

When Quarterly Updates Are Due

For most people, the deadlines will be 7 August, 7 November, 7 February and 7 May. Each one covers the 3 months before it.

What You Need to Do Now

1. Check Your Numbers

Add up your self-employment and property income for 2025/26, before expenses. If it's over £30,000, MTD applies to you from April.

2. Sign Up on GOV.UK

You can sign up now. To do it, you need to be registered for Self Assessment and have sent a tax return in the last 2 years. If you have an accountant, they can sign you up instead.

3. Choose Your Software

Quarterly updates must go through HMRC-recognised software, and HMRC keeps a list on GOV.UK. Our complete guide to Making Tax Digital software explains what to look for.

Pie Tax is HMRC-recognised self-assessment software built for sole traders and landlords, and Making Tax Digital is free with Pie Tax. You get digital records, quarterly updates and your final return in one place. Want to see it before you commit? Here's how Pie Tax works, from linking your bank to sending your update.

4. Start Keeping Digital Records Early

You don't have to wait until April. Getting into the habit now means fewer surprises when it's mandatory, and a much easier January. A self assessment tax app like Pie Tax sorts your transactions as they come in, so your records build themselves.

Who Doesn't Have to Join?

Some people are exempt. That includes people who are "digitally excluded", meaning it isn't reasonable for them to use software because of age, disability, where they live or another reason. If that sounds like you, check the exemption rules on GOV.UK before April.

Earning under £30,000? Don't relax too much. The threshold drops to £20,000 from April 2028, bringing even more sole traders and landlords in. Our breakdown of HMRC's digital tax requirements for the self-employed and landlords covers the full timeline.

Why Signing Up Early Makes Sense

HMRC's main reason is time. Sign up now and you can check your details are right from the start, try your software properly and get used to the process before it counts.

There's also a bigger win. When your records are up to date all year, tax return time stops being a weekend lost to bank statements. You already know where you stand.

Cost is the other worry people have. Before you pick a tool, check what you'd actually pay. You can see Pie Tax pricing upfront, with no surprises.

Get Ready With Pie Tax

Six months sounds like plenty. It goes fast, especially with a January deadline in the middle. The people who get set up now will have the least stress next spring.

If you're comparing options, here's why sole traders and landlords choose Pie Tax. It's built for people who aren't tax experts and don't want to be.

Download the Pie Tax app or sign up today for free and get your records MTD-ready before April.

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