---
title: "Employed with a side business or rental? How MTD adds it up"
description: "Have a job plus self-employed or rental income? Your wages don’t count for MTD, but side takings and rent are added together. Examples inside."
url: https://mtdmatch.uk/blog/side-income-and-mtd.html
last_updated: 2026-10-26
language: en-GB
publisher: MTD Match (independent; not affiliated with HMRC)
---

# Employed with a side business or rental? How MTD adds it up

Lots of people have a PAYE job and something on the side – weekend work, an online shop, a rented flat. MTD looks only at the side income, but adds all of it together.

## The rule

Qualifying income = self-employed takings (all businesses) + rent received (UK and overseas). Your salary is ignored.

| Situation | Qualifying income | MTD from |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Teacher (£42k salary) + tutoring £9k | £9,000 | Not yet |
| NHS nurse + two rented flats bringing in £27k | £27,000 | Planned for April 2028 |
| Office worker + Etsy shop £14k + rented flat £18k | £32,000 | April 2027 |
| Delivery driver £24k + personal trainer £11k | £35,000 | April 2027 |

Illustrative figures for 2025/26.

## Under £1,000?

If your side self-employed takings are £1,000 or less a year, the trading allowance means you don’t need to declare them. The same £1,000 limit applies separately to property income.

## Once you’re in

Each business and each property type (UK, overseas) gets its own quarterly update – so someone with a side business and a rental sends two sets of figures each quarter. Software or an accountant handles this together.

## 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

General information about HMRC’s Making Tax Digital rules as of 26 October 2026, not tax advice. MTD Match is not affiliated with HMRC.

**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

- [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)
- [Takings vs profit](https://mtdmatch.uk/blog/turnover-vs-profit.html)
- [Deadlines 2026/27](https://mtdmatch.uk/blog/mtd-deadlines-2026-27.html)
- [Penalties](https://mtdmatch.uk/blog/mtd-penalties.html)
- [Software or accountant?](https://mtdmatch.uk/blog/mtd-software-or-accountant.html)
- [What accountants do](https://mtdmatch.uk/blog/what-uk-accountants-do.html)