---
title: "Making Tax Digital for graphic designers, illustrators and copywriters"
description: "Freelance designer, illustrator or copywriter? How Making Tax Digital applies to your fees, platform payments and software, and what each quarter involves."
url: https://mtdmatch.uk/blog/mtd-for-graphic-designers.html
last_updated: 2026-10-26
language: en-GB
publisher: MTD Match (independent; not affiliated with HMRC)
---

# Making Tax Digital for graphic designers, illustrators and copywriters

If you design logos, illustrate books, write web copy or produce brand work for clients as a freelancer, you are self-employed – and Making Tax Digital (MTD) for Income Tax will reach you soon, if it hasn’t already.

Creative freelancers often have lumpy income: a big branding project one month, nothing the next. MTD doesn’t change when you pay tax, but it does ask you to keep your records **up to date every quarter** – which can actually make the quiet months less stressful.

**In short:** If you’re a self-employed graphic designer and your takings (plus any rent) were over £30,000 before costs in the 2025/26 tax year, Making Tax Digital for Income Tax applies to you from 6 April 2027. Over £50,000 and it has applied since 6 April 2026; the threshold is planned to fall to £20,000 from April 2028. You’ll keep digital records in HMRC-recognised software, send four quarterly updates a year (due 7 August, 7 November, 7 February and 7 May) and file a final declaration by 31 January.

## Are you in? It’s your takings, not your profit

Add up everything clients paid you in the 2025/26 tax year – project fees, retainers, day rates, Fiverr or Upwork payments (before fees), print and merchandise sales, and licence fees or royalties from work you produce as part of your business – before taking off software or anything else. If that total (plus any rent from property you let) is over £30,000, MTD applies from **6 April 2027**. Over £50,000 and you have been in since April 2026.

### April 2026: Over £50,000

### April 2027: Over £30,000

### April 2028: Over £20,000

planned

## Your work in accountant language

What actually happens in your working life, what your accountant and HMRC call it, and what to do about it.

| What happens | Accountant calls it | What you do |
| --- | --- | --- |
| A client pays 50% upfront for a rebrand | Turnover – recorded when received (cash basis) | Record it when it is paid, even if the work isn’t finished yet. |
| Fiverr or Upwork releases your payment after taking its cut | Gross income + an expense (platform fees) | Record the full order value as income and the fee separately as an expense. |
| A publisher pays you a royalty on a book you illustrated | Turnover (royalties from your trade) | Record the gross royalty shown on the statement. |
| Your Adobe Creative Cloud subscription renews | Allowable expense – software | Keep the emailed invoice. |
| You buy a font licence or stock images for a client job | Allowable expense – direct costs | Keep the licence receipt and note which job it was for. |
| You buy a new drawing tablet | Equipment – deductible in the year you buy it (cash basis) | Keep the receipt and photograph it into your app. |
| You pay yourself by moving money to your personal account | Drawings – not an expense | Fine to do, but it does not reduce your tax. |
| Every three months | Quarterly update | Your software sends HMRC your income and expense totals. |
| After 5 April | Final declaration | Confirm the year’s figures; tax is worked out and due by 31 January. |

## What can a graphic designer claim?

### ✓ Usually allowable

- Design and writing software (Adobe, Figma, Affinity, grammar and SEO tools)
- Computers, drawing tablets, monitors and printers (business share)
- Font licences, stock photos and mock-up templates
- Art materials, printing and sample costs
- Freelance platform fees and payment processing charges
- Portfolio website, hosting and domain costs
- Professional indemnity insurance
- Professional body memberships relevant to your work
- Courses that update skills you already use
- Home office costs – the flat rate or a fair share of bills

### ✗ Not allowable

- Software or kit you mainly use for personal projects
- Books, films and exhibitions you enjoy for general inspiration
- Coffee shop drinks while you work
- A course to retrain in a completely new career
- Money you take out for yourself (drawings)

## Rules that matter for graphic designers

### Platform payments: record the gross amount

Fiverr, Upwork and similar sites pay you after taking their fee. MTD turnover is the full amount the client paid, so record that as income and the fee as an expense. Your profit is the same either way, but the gross figure decides whether MTD applies.

### Royalties and licence fees

If illustrating or writing is your business, royalties and licence fees for that work are normally part of your trading income and count towards the MTD threshold. Keep every royalty statement – they often arrive only once or twice a year.

### Upfront payments and retainers

Under the cash basis, a 50% deposit or a monthly retainer counts when you receive it. If you refund a client, record the refund when it goes out.

## Worked example

**Megan, a freelance brand designer in Glasgow (illustrative example)**

|  |  |
| --- | --- |
| Takings (turnover) | £34,800 |
| less Software subscriptions | −£1,150 |
| less Laptop and drawing tablet | −£2,100 |
| less Fonts, stock images and printing | −£950 |
| less Platform and payment fees | −£1,400 |
| less Website, insurance and memberships | −£620 |
| less Use of home (flat rate) | −£312 |
| Profit | £28,268 |
| Income tax (estimate) | £3,140 |
| Class 4 National Insurance (estimate) | £942 |
| Total tax for the year | £4,081 |
| Put aside each month | £340 |

**In MTD from 6 April 2027.** MTD looks at the £34,800 of takings, not the £28,268 profit.

Estimate for 2026/27 using England, Wales & NI rates, assuming no other income. Scotland has different income tax bands.

## What a quarterly update looks like

A typical quarter for a freelance designer: tick off each client payment against your invoices, download your platform earnings report, and add the software and stock-image receipts from your inbox. Note any royalty statements that arrived. Then submit from your software, or let your accountant do it. Done monthly, it is a 20-minute job.

| Quarter | Period | Submit by |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Q1 | 6 Apr – 5 Jul | 7 Aug |
| Q2 | 6 Jul – 5 Oct | 7 Nov |
| Q3 | 6 Oct – 5 Jan | 7 Feb |
| Q4 | 6 Jan – 5 Apr | 7 May |
| Final declaration | The whole tax year | 31 Jan following |

Quarterly updates are summaries – they don’t change *when* you pay. Tax is still due by 31 January (plus payments on account on 31 January and 31 July if they apply to you).

## What will an accountant cost?

Typical monthly fees under MTD for Income Tax for: **Sole trader, one business**.

| Option | What you get | Per month |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **You do it yourself** | MTD-compatible software. You keep the records and send the updates. | **£0–£15** (up to £180 a year) |
| **Accountant files for you** | You keep records in an app; they check them, send the 4 quarterly updates and the final declaration. | **£30–£60** (about £360–£720 a year) |
| **Full service** | They do the bookkeeping too – you share receipts and bank feeds, they handle the rest. | **£60–£120** (about £720–£1,440 a year) |

**What pushes the price up:** lots of transactions every month, or more than one income stream; records kept on paper rather than in an app; being VAT-registered; catching up on missed updates or late returns.

### What a fixed-fee quote should include

- All 4 quarterly updates *and* the final declaration (your tax return)
- The MTD software licence – or whether you pay for it separately
- Whether they do the bookkeeping or only check what you’ve recorded
- A reminder before each deadline and an estimate of the tax to put aside
- Whether VAT (20%) is added on top – not every practice charges it

Accountancy fees for your business are an allowable expense, so they reduce your tax bill.

Indicative ranges from published UK price lists, checked October 2026. Not a quote – your fee depends on how many transactions you have, how tidy your records are and where you live.

## Questions graphic designers ask

### My income is all over the place. Does MTD mean paying tax every quarter?

No. Quarterly updates are just a summary of your figures. You still pay tax on 31 January and, if you make payments on account, 31 July.

### Do book royalties count towards the MTD threshold?

If illustrating or writing is your trade, royalties from that work are normally trading income and count. If it is a one-off unrelated to any business, it may be treated differently – check with an accountant.

### Can I claim my Adobe subscription?

Yes, if you use it for client work. If you also use it for personal projects, claim the business share.

### I’m employed as a designer and freelance in the evenings. Am I affected?

Your salary does not count. Your freelance takings do – if they (plus any rental income) go over the MTD threshold, MTD applies.

## Sources

- [Find out if and when you need to use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax](https://www.gov.uk/guidance/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](https://www.gov.uk/guidance/work-out-your-qualifying-income-for-making-tax-digital-for-income-tax) – GOV.UK
- [Send quarterly updates using Making Tax Digital for Income Tax](https://www.gov.uk/guidance/use-making-tax-digital-for-income-tax/send-quarterly-updates) – GOV.UK
- [Find software that works with Making Tax Digital for Income Tax](https://www.gov.uk/guidance/find-software-that-works-with-making-tax-digital-for-income-tax) – GOV.UK
- [Penalties for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax](https://www.gov.uk/guidance/penalties-for-making-tax-digital-for-income-tax) – GOV.UK

This guide is general information about HMRC’s Making Tax Digital rules as of 26 October 2026, not tax advice. MTD Match is an independent introduction service and is not affiliated with HMRC. Check gov.uk or speak to an accountant about your own situation.

**Written by the MTD Match team:** We turn HMRC’s Making Tax Digital guidance into plain English for each trade, cite the GOV.UK pages we rely on and update every guide when the rules change.

[How we check our guides](https://mtdmatch.uk/methodology.html) · [About us](https://mtdmatch.uk/about.html)

## Related guides

- [Content creators](https://mtdmatch.uk/blog/mtd-for-content-creators.html)
- [Freelance developers](https://mtdmatch.uk/blog/mtd-for-freelance-developers.html)
- [Musicians](https://mtdmatch.uk/blog/mtd-for-musicians.html)
- [Photographers](https://mtdmatch.uk/blog/mtd-for-photographers.html)
- [Your year in accountant language](https://mtdmatch.uk/blog/accounting-terms-plain-english.html)
- [What is MTD?](https://mtdmatch.uk/blog/what-is-making-tax-digital.html)
- [The £30,000 wave (April 2027)](https://mtdmatch.uk/blog/mtd-30000-threshold-april-2027.html)