Deadlines & law changes · 2 min
Earning over £30k? MTD comes for you in April 2027.
The first wave took the £50k earners in 2026. From April 2027 the threshold drops to £30,000 — ordinary sole-trader territory — with £20,000 pencilled for 2028. You have time to prepare unhurriedly. This is the unhurried version.
Deadlines & law changes · Updated 24 September 2026
The wave schedule, plainly
Making Tax Digital for Income Tax arrived for sole traders and landlords over £50,000 in April 2026. From April 2027 the qualifying-income threshold drops to £30,000, and the government has signalled £20,000 for April 2028. Each wave means the same thing: digital records in recognised software, quarterly updates to HMRC, a final declaration instead of the old January return. 'Qualifying income' is broadly your gross self-employment and property income combined — the definition that decides whether a side business plus a rental tips you in, so check yours against gov.uk's tool rather than guessing.
The honest framing: this is the digitisation of ordinary self-employment, arriving on a timetable. The £30k wave reaches the plumber, the childminder with a rental, the freelance designer — people whose tax admin is currently one grim January weekend. For them the change is real but the preparation is genuinely light if it starts early, which is the entire point of this page existing in 2026.
The unhurried timeline
Now to April 2027
Nothing is required of you. The single highest-value move is a habit, not a purchase — open a separate bank account for the business money if you haven't, and let it become the clean record MTD will want.
April 2027 (the natural switch point)
Start digital records at the year boundary — recognised software or a bridged spreadsheet — so the old year closes old-style and the new year is born compliant. The April-reset guide covers this properly.
Summer 2027
Your first quarterly update lands about four months in — August 2027 for the standard quarters. By then the records habit is three months old and the update is a glance.
The cost, honestly
Recognised software runs from free tiers to modest monthly subscriptions; many accountants bundle it. The threat isn't expense — it's the shoebox meeting a quarterly rhythm unprepared.
Where we honestly fit (and where we don't)
We're not tax software or accountants, but we know Making Tax Digital (MTD) affects you. The admin habits MTD needs, like digital records and automated flows, are what we talk about here. Our voice-note-to-record trick and automation layer make these habits affordable. Ask me anything about how it works. For tax decisions, like whether you're affected or what to claim, that's your accountant's job. Our accountants' playbook helps them do it faster.
Free tool · runs right here
Free Business Score
See how your business looks online — findability, website health, reviews and more — with the few fixes worth doing first.
No sign-up · instant · it’s me that runs it — the same tool, live on this site.
Tell Katalis roughly how your self-employment income works and she'll explain what the 2027 wave means for your particular shape of business.
Ask if you're in scope →Prefer to just ask? Chat with Katalis · More from the blog