---
title: "What is Making Tax Digital for Income Tax? A plain-English guide"
description: "Making Tax Digital in five minutes: who it applies to, what changes, what stays the same, and the dates for 2026, 2027 and 2028."
url: https://mtdmatch.uk/blog/what-is-making-tax-digital.html
last_updated: 2026-10-26
language: en-GB
publisher: MTD Match (independent; not affiliated with HMRC)
---

# What is Making Tax Digital for Income Tax? A plain-English guide

Making Tax Digital (MTD) is HMRC’s move from one paper-style tax return a year to digital records and a short update every three months. Here is what it means in practice.

## What changes

- **Digital records.** You keep your income and expenses in HMRC-recognised software, or a spreadsheet connected with bridging software. A shoebox of receipts is no longer enough.
- **Quarterly updates.** Four times a year, your software sends HMRC a summary of income and expenses.
- **Final declaration.** After the tax year, you confirm the figures by 31 January. This replaces the Self Assessment tax return.

## What stays the same

- **When you pay.** Tax is still due on 31 January, with payments on account on 31 January and 31 July if they apply to you.
- **How much you pay.** MTD doesn’t change tax rates or what you can claim.
- **Your employment income.** Wages taxed through PAYE are not part of MTD.

## Who is in, and when

| From | If your qualifying income is over | Based on your tax return for |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 6 April 2026 | £50,000 | 2024/25 |
| 6 April 2027 | £30,000 | 2025/26 (due 31 January 2027) |
| 6 April 2028 (planned) | £20,000 | 2026/27 |

Qualifying income is your **gross** self-employment takings plus your **gross** rental income, before any costs. See [why MTD counts takings, not profit](https://mtdmatch.uk/blog/turnover-vs-profit.html).

## Who isn’t in (for now)

- Limited companies (they have their own tax system).
- Partnership income.
- People HMRC accepts as “digitally excluded” – for example because of age, disability or location – who apply for an exemption.

## What to do now

1. Add up your 2025/26 takings and rent. Over £30,000? You’re in from April 2027.
2. Decide: software and do it yourself, or an accountant who handles the quarterly updates for you. See [software or accountant?](https://mtdmatch.uk/blog/mtd-software-or-accountant.html)
3. Start keeping records digitally now, so April isn’t a scramble.

## 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)
- [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)
- [Side income & MTD](https://mtdmatch.uk/blog/side-income-and-mtd.html)
- [What accountants do](https://mtdmatch.uk/blog/what-uk-accountants-do.html)