Making Tax Digital for sole traders: dates and thresholds
The dates, the thresholds and what changes, each taken from GOV.UK and linked so you can check it. Then what Tradelynx Books does today, and what it does not.
From 6 April 2026 if your qualifying income from self-employment and property was over £50,000 in 2024 to 2025, from 6 April 2027 for over £30,000 in 2025 to 2026, and from 6 April 2028 for over £20,000 in 2026 to 2027. You keep digital records, send four quarterly updates and submit a year-end tax return through your software.
Who it applies to, and from when
Making Tax Digital for Income Tax applies to sole traders and landlords registered for Self Assessment whose qualifying income is over the threshold for the tax year. It arrives in three stages:
- From 6 April 2026: qualifying income over £50,000 in the 2024 to 2025 tax year.
- From 6 April 2027: qualifying income over £30,000 in the 2025 to 2026 tax year.
- From 6 April 2028: qualifying income over £20,000 in the 2026 to 2027 tax year.
Source: GOV.UK, Find out if and when you need to use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax.
What qualifying income means
Qualifying income is your total income from self-employment and property, added together, before expenses. HMRC calls this your turnover. If you have £27,000 of self-employment income and £25,000 of rental income, your qualifying income is £52,000. HMRC assesses it from the Self Assessment tax return for the relevant year, and you check your own position the same way.
Income from employment, dividends, the State Pension, private pensions and your individual share of partnership profits does not count towards it.
Source: GOV.UK, Work out your qualifying income.
What you have to do
- Keep digital records. Your self-employment and property income and expenses, recorded in compatible software, dated and categorised.
- Send four quarterly updates a year. Each one is a total for each income and expense category, sent through your software; HMRC does not receive individual receipts or invoices. The updates are cumulative, covering the tax year so far, so a mistake in one quarter is corrected in the next. The standard periods run from 6 April to 5 July, 5 October, 5 January and 5 April, due by 7 August, 7 November, 7 February and 7 May.
- Submit your tax return by 31 January. After the tax year ends you add any other income, check everything is complete, confirm the tax calculation and submit the return through your software, by 31 January following the end of the tax year.
Sources: GOV.UK, Use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax, Send quarterly updates and Submit your tax return.
What Tradelynx Books does today, and what it does not
Tradelynx Books keeps MTD-ready digital records. Work done through Tradelynx lands as evidenced lines with its provenance, expenses and off-platform income are recorded with an edit history (corrections are voided, never silently deleted), and quarters follow the Making Tax Digital update periods. It works anywhere in Great Britain.
Tradelynx is not yet HMRC-recognised software. The quarterly updates and the year-end return are not sent from Books today. You, or your accountant, file from the export until recognition completes. We say this plainly because the difference matters on the day your first quarterly update is due.
Books is £15 per month (includes any VAT that applies), free until Tradelynx is HMRC-recognised, plus three months. You are told before any charge, and you keep your records either way. Details and sign-up: Tradelynx Books.
Common questions
When does Making Tax Digital for Income Tax start for sole traders?
From 6 April 2026 if your qualifying income was over £50,000 in the 2024 to 2025 tax year, from 6 April 2027 if it was over £30,000 in 2025 to 2026, and from 6 April 2028 if it was over £20,000 in 2026 to 2027. It applies to sole traders and landlords registered for Self Assessment.
What counts as qualifying income for Making Tax Digital?
Your total income from self-employment and property added together, before expenses. HMRC checks it against the Self Assessment return for the relevant tax year. Employment income, dividends, pensions and your share of partnership profits do not count.
Does Tradelynx Books file to HMRC?
Not yet. Tradelynx Books keeps MTD-ready digital records and is not yet HMRC-recognised software, so the quarterly updates and the year-end return are not sent from Books today. You, or your accountant, file from the export until recognition completes.
Sources
- GOV.UK: Find out if and when you need to use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax
- GOV.UK: Work out your qualifying income for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax
- GOV.UK: Use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax
- GOV.UK: Sign up for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax
There is a longer read on the same subject on the blog: the deadline for sole traders, and what to have ready.