Are you in? It’s your takings, not your profit
Add up everything clients paid you in the 2025/26 tax year – deposits, session prices, piercings, jewellery, flash sales, prints and convention work – before taking off booth rent or supplies. If that total (plus any rent from property you let) is over £30,000, MTD applies to you from 6 April 2027. Over £50,000 and you have 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 |
|---|---|---|
| A client pays a £100 deposit to book a sleeve session | Turnover when received (cash basis) | Record the deposit as income the day it lands. |
| The client pays the balance in cash on the day | Turnover | Record the cash before you leave the studio. |
| The studio keeps 40% of your takings as rent | Gross income + allowable expense (booth rent) | Record the full price as income and the studio’s share as an expense. |
| You order needles, cartridges, ink and barrier film | Allowable expense – supplies | Save the invoice or order email to your app. |
| You buy a new rotary machine or power supply | Equipment – deductible when paid for (cash basis) | Keep the receipt. |
| You do a guest spot in another city with a train and two hotel nights | Allowable expense – business travel | Keep tickets and the hotel bill. |
| You sell prints or flash designs online | Turnover – sales | Record the full sale price; platform and payment fees are expenses. |
| You take money out for your rent | Drawings – not an expense | It doesn’t reduce your tax. |
| Every three months, then after 5 April | Quarterly updates, then final declaration | Software sends your totals to HMRC; at year end you confirm the figures and tax is due by 31 January. |
What can a tattoo artist claim?
✓ Usually allowable
- Booth rent or the studio’s percentage of your takings
- Needles, cartridges, inks, grips and tubes
- Gloves, barrier film, cling film, green soap and cleaning supplies
- Machines, power supplies, lights and chairs
- Piercing jewellery and stock you sell
- Local authority registration and licence fees
- Insurance and bloodborne pathogens / infection control training
- Convention tables, guest spot travel and accommodation
- Drawing tablet, software and design apps used for client work
- Booking app, card machine and payment fees
✗ Not allowable
- Tattoos you get yourself
- Everyday clothing worn at the studio
- Travel from home to your usual studio
- Food and drink at conventions beyond reasonable overnight subsistence
- Fines and penalties
- Money you take for yourself (drawings)
Rules that matter for tattoo artists
Deposits
Under the cash basis, a deposit is income when you receive it, even if the tattoo is months away. If a client cancels and you keep the deposit, it stays income. If you refund it, the refund comes off your takings in the period you pay it.
Percentage rent: record the full price
If the studio takes a percentage of each tattoo, your turnover is still the full price the client paid. The studio’s cut is your expense. Recording only what you take home makes your turnover look smaller – which could mean you miss that MTD applies.
Cash and card both count
A lot of tattoo money is cash. HMRC can compare your turnover with card data and similar businesses, so keep a simple daily note of cash taken and enter it into your app each week.
Guest spots and conventions
Travel, accommodation and table fees for working away are normally allowable, because the trip is for business. Money you take at a convention abroad is still part of your UK income.
Worked example
Dan rents a booth in a Brighton tattoo studio (illustrative example)
| Takings (turnover) | £44,500 |
| less Studio percentage (35% of takings) | −£15,575 |
| less Needles, ink and hygiene supplies | −£3,200 |
| less New machine and power supply | −£850 |
| less Convention table fees and travel | −£1,400 |
| less Insurance, licence and training | −£420 |
| less Booking app, card and design software fees | −£690 |
| Profit | £22,365 |
| Income tax (estimate) | £1,959 |
| Class 4 National Insurance (estimate) | £588 |
| Total tax for the year | £2,547 |
| Put aside each month | £212 |
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 tattoo artist: export deposits and payments from your booking app or card reader, add the cash from your daily notes, check the studio’s statement of their percentage or your booth rent, and upload supplier invoices and any convention receipts. Then your software sends the totals to HMRC. Fifteen minutes on a quiet Monday is usually enough.
| 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–£15up 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–£60about £360–£720 a year |
| Full service | They do the bookkeeping too – you share receipts and bank feeds, they handle the rest. | £60–£120about £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 tattoo artists ask
Do I record a deposit when I take it or when I do the tattoo?
When you take it. Under the cash basis, money is income when it reaches you. If you refund it later, record the refund then.
The studio takes 40% and pays me the rest. Is my turnover the 60%?
No. Your turnover is the full price the client paid, and the studio’s 40% is an expense. Your profit is the same either way, but turnover decides whether MTD applies.
Can I claim my own tattoos?
No. Tattoos you get yourself are personal, even if they help promote your style.
I do one-off designs for clients elsewhere. Does that count?
Yes. Design fees from your tattoo work are part of the same business and go in 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.