Making Tax Digital for Income Tax checker, 2026/27
If you are self-employed or a landlord, this checker uses your qualifying income to estimate whether, and from when, you must follow Making Tax Digital for Income Tax rules, keeping digital records and sending quarterly updates to HMRC.
The making tax digital for income tax checker runs on the rates and thresholds HMRC has published for the 2026/27 tax year, so the figures you see reflect the position your company is actually filing on rather than a historic set of bands. Change any input and the result recalculates immediately, with no sign-up and nothing sent anywhere.
If you are a director of a UK limited company, use it as a first look before a decision rather than as the decision itself. Thresholds are based on gross (turnover) income from self-employment and property combined, before expenses, as announced by HMRC: £50,000 from April 2026, £30,000 from April 2027, and £20,000 from April 2028. Real company positions bring in other income, reliefs, group structures and prior year adjustments that a single page of inputs cannot see, which is why the workings are written out below under vat. Read those, then check the numbers against your own accounts, and speak to us if anything looks materially different from what you expected.
Last reviewed 12 September 2026 for the 2026/27 tax year. Reviewed by Waqas Sagar, Member of ICAEW, Fellow of ACCA, Fellow of AAT.
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Result, 2026/27
MTD for Income Tax status
Applies from
Total qualifying gross income
Quarterly updates required if mandated
Illustration only, figures are based on the rates you have selected and the information entered. Please check your own position with us before acting.
Estimates for the 2026/27 tax year using published GOV.UK rates. Switch between 2026/27 and 2025/26 above.
How this is calculated
Making Tax Digital for Income Tax uses your gross qualifying income, self-employment turnover plus gross property income, added together before any expenses are deducted, based on the figures reported in your tax return for the relevant look-back year.
HMRC is phasing in the requirement: those with qualifying income above £50,000 must comply from 6 April 2026, based on their 2024/25 tax return; the threshold drops to £30,000 from 6 April 2027, and a further reduction to £20,000 has been announced for 6 April 2028, though this should be checked against the latest HMRC guidance nearer the time.
This checker simply compares your entered income against the current published thresholds and tells you the phase you fall into, but it cannot account for exemptions HMRC may grant, for example on grounds of digital exclusion.
What MTD for Income Tax actually requires
If mandated, you must keep digital records of your business and property income and expenses using compatible software, send a quarterly summary update to HMRC for each source of income, and submit a final declaration after the tax year end, replacing the current Self Assessment return process for those income sources.
Quarterly updates are cumulative summaries, not full tax calculations, but they do require more frequent, disciplined record keeping than the traditional once-a-year approach most sole traders and landlords are used to.
Getting ready ahead of your mandation date
Moving to compatible digital bookkeeping software well before your mandation date, rather than in the final months, avoids a rushed transition and gives you time to iron out how expenses, mileage and property costs are recorded quarter by quarter.
If you are close to a threshold, keep an eye on your qualifying income each year, since a good year can bring your mandation date forward, and it is based on a look-back year rather than the current year's income.
What this means for your company
Treat the result as a planning figure for the 2026/27 tax year. If it changes what you were about to do, take a director's salary, a dividend, a large asset purchase or a filing decision, check it against your own accounts first. We can review the position with you and confirm the tax treatment before you commit.
Frequently asked questions
What counts as qualifying income for MTD for Income Tax?
Gross turnover from all self-employments plus gross rental income from all UK properties, added together before deducting any expenses. It is based on the income reported on your Self Assessment return for the relevant look-back tax year, not the current year.
Do limited company directors need to worry about MTD for Income Tax?
Not for their salary or dividends, which are not qualifying income. It only applies to income from self-employment (sole trade or partnership trading income reported personally) and UK property, so a director with only salary and dividends from their company is not affected by these rules.
What happens if my income drops below the threshold after I'm mandated?
Once mandated, HMRC's published approach allows you to stop only if your qualifying income falls below the threshold for three consecutive years, so a single lower-income year is unlikely to remove the obligation immediately; check current HMRC guidance for the exact exit rules.
Do I still file a Self Assessment return under MTD for Income Tax?
The quarterly updates and final declaration replace the need for a traditional Self Assessment return for your qualifying trades and property income, though you may still need to declare other income, such as dividends or capital gains, through the final declaration process.
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