Free calculator · 2026/27 rates
MTD ITSA Readiness Checker
Making Tax Digital for Income Tax replaces the annual Self Assessment tax return with digital record keeping and quarterly updates. It starts in April 2026 for the highest earners and rolls down in two further waves. The threshold is your gross income before expenses, not your profit, which catches many people who assume they are below the line. Enter your income sources below to see when you are mandated, what you will have to file, and whether one of the narrow exemptions applies.
Ask an accountant about your figureMTD ITSA Readiness Checker
Making Tax Digital for Income Tax replaces the annual Self Assessment tax return with digital record keeping and quarterly updates. It starts in April 2026 for the highest earners and rolls down in two further waves. The threshold is your gross income before expenses, not your profit, which catches many people who assume they are below the line. Enter your income sources below to see when you are mandated, what you will have to file, and whether one of the narrow exemptions applies.
Total sales/fees across ALL sole trader businesses, before deducting any costs. Use the figure from box 15 of your SA103, not your profit.
Total rents received across all UK and overseas properties, before mortgage interest, agent fees or repairs. Your share only, if jointly owned.
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How the checker works, and two worked examples
MTD ITSA applies to sole traders and landlords whose combined gross income from self-employment and property exceeds the mandation threshold. The test uses turnover and gross rents before any expenses, taken from your Self Assessment return, not your taxable profit. The waves are: over £50,000 mandated from 6 April 2026 (tested on the 2024/25 return), over £30,000 from 6 April 2027 (tested on 2025/26), and over £20,000 from 6 April 2028, which is announced government policy but not yet in regulations. Limited companies, and partnerships for now, are outside MTD ITSA.
Once mandated you must keep digital records, send a quarterly update for each income source through MTD-compatible software, and file a year-end final declaration in place of the traditional return. That means a sole trader who also lets a flat files 8 quarterly updates a year plus the final declaration. The quarterly updates are simple totals of income and expenses, not 4 mini tax returns, but they do require software: spreadsheets alone only work with bridging software on top.
Worked example 1: a plumber with £42,000 of turnover and £14,000 of gross rent from one buy-to-let has qualifying income of £56,000. That is over £50,000, so mandation starts 6 April 2026, with 8 quarterly updates a year (4 for the trade, 4 for the property) plus the final declaration. Note the trap: the plumber's combined profit might only be £30,000, but profit is irrelevant, the test is gross.
Worked example 2: a freelance designer with £34,000 of turnover and no property income is under £50,000 but over £30,000, so mandation starts 6 April 2027, tested on the 2025/26 return. Obligations: 4 quarterly updates a year for the single self-employment source, digital records, and the year-end final declaration. If turnover dropped to £19,000, no announced wave would apply and annual Self Assessment continues.
Exemptions are narrow. Foster carers within qualifying care relief are excluded, people without a National Insurance number are exempt year by year, and the digitally excluded (through age, disability, location or religious belief) can apply to HMRC for exemption, but it must be applied for and approved, it is not automatic. Everyone else who crosses a threshold is in.
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