Are you in? It’s your takings, not your profit
Add up everything customers paid you in the 2025/26 tax year – cash, card, contactless and any event or catering bookings – before stock, pitch fees or anything else. If that total (plus any rent from property) is over £30,000, MTD applies from 6 April 2027. Over £50,000 and you’ve been in since April 2026.
Over £50,000
Over £30,000
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Customers pay at the stall in cash and by card reader | Sales / turnover | Count the cash at the end of each day and note it; card reader reports cover the rest. |
| Your card reader provider pays out minus its fee | Gross income + an expense (card fees) | Record the full sale as income and the fee as an expense. |
| You pay the market operator or council for your pitch | Allowable expense – pitch fees / rent | Keep the receipt or booking confirmation, even for cash pitch fees. |
| You buy stock at the wholesaler or cash and carry | Cost of goods – stock purchases | Record it when you pay. Keep the till receipt – photograph it before it fades. |
| You pay cash for supplies out of the day’s takings | Turnover in full + a separate expense | Don’t just bank what’s left. Record the full takings and the cash expense separately. |
| Food that doesn’t sell and is thrown away | Wastage – already covered by stock cost | No extra entry needed under the cash basis; you already deducted it when you bought it. |
| You take money from the cash tin for your weekly shop | Drawings – not an expense | Fine to do, but note it so your cash records still add up. |
| 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 market trader claim?
✓ Usually allowable
- Pitch fees, stall rent and event or festival trader fees
- Stock and ingredients
- Gazebo, tables, display stands, signage and chalkboards
- Cooking equipment, gas bottles and generator fuel (street food)
- Packaging, napkins, cups, bags and labels
- Card reader fees and subscriptions
- Public and product liability insurance
- Food hygiene training and any council street trading licence
- Van costs or business mileage to markets and the wholesaler
- Commercial kitchen hire for prep
✗ Not allowable
- Food and drink you eat yourself on market days
- Stock you take home for your family (record it as drawings)
- Parking fines and penalties
- Everyday clothing (aprons and protective clothing are fine)
- Money you take out for yourself (drawings)
Rules that matter for market traders
Cash takings
HMRC knows market trading is cash-heavy and compares businesses with others of a similar type and size. The safest habit is a daily takings note: cash counted, card total, cash paid out. Small cash takings that never reach the bank are still income.
Food businesses must register
If you sell food, you need to register with your local council’s environmental health team before you start trading – registration is free. Hygiene training, temperature probes and cleaning supplies are allowable expenses.
Pitch fees and licences
Pitch fees, market tolls, street trading licences and event fees are all allowable – including ones paid in cash to a market inspector. Ask for a receipt every time; if you can’t get one, write down the date, market and amount the same day.
Vans: mileage or actual costs
If you use a van mainly for the stall, you can claim actual costs (fuel, insurance, repairs) for the business share, or use 45p a mile for the first 10,000 business miles. Pick one method per vehicle and stick with it.
Worked example
Dave runs a street food stall at markets and events around Manchester (illustrative example)
| Takings (turnover) | £42,000 |
| less Ingredients and packaging | −£13,800 |
| less Pitch and event fees | −£6,200 |
| less Gas, generator fuel and van running costs | −£3,100 |
| less Equipment (griddle, gazebo, chiller) | −£1,500 |
| less Card reader fees | −£700 |
| less Insurance, hygiene training and licence | −£850 |
| Profit | £15,850 |
| Income tax (estimate) | £656 |
| Class 4 National Insurance (estimate) | £197 |
| Total tax for the year | £853 |
| Put aside each month | £71 |
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 market trader: download the card reader report, add up your daily cash notes, photograph the wholesaler receipts you’ve been collecting in the van, add pitch fees and fuel – then press submit. A five-minute daily habit of noting the takings saves hours at the deadline.
| 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: Online sellers and traders.
| Option | What you get | Per month |
|---|---|---|
| You do it yourself | MTD-compatible software. You keep the records and send the updates. | £0–£20up to £240 a year |
| Accountant files for you | You keep records in an app; they check them, send the 4 quarterly updates and the final declaration. | £40–£75about £480–£900 a year |
| Full service | They do the bookkeeping too – you share receipts and bank feeds, they handle the rest. | £80–£150about £960–£1,800 a year |
What pushes the price up: stock, several selling platforms and hundreds of small sales; 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 market traders ask
I only trade at weekend markets. Does MTD apply?
If your takings from the stall are over £1,000 a year you need to register for Self Assessment. MTD applies only if your gross takings (plus any rental income) go above the threshold – your wages from a job don’t count.
Can I claim stock I throw away?
Under the cash basis you’ve already deducted it when you bought it, so there’s nothing extra to claim.
The market inspector takes cash and doesn’t give receipts. Can I still claim?
Yes, as long as the cost is genuine. Write down the date, market and amount the same day, and ask the operator for a statement if they can provide one.
Do I count event bookings and catering jobs?
Yes. Private catering, weddings and festival bookings are part of the same business and count towards your turnover.
Sources
- 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
- Send quarterly updates using Making Tax Digital for Income Tax – GOV.UK
- Find software that works with Making Tax Digital for Income Tax – GOV.UK
- 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.