Being below the £50,000 threshold today could give you the impression that Making Tax Digital is someone else’s problem. But the threshold is moving — and it is moving down. From 6 April 2027, the qualifying income threshold will fall to £30,000, meaning some people who are currently outside MTD will have to start using…
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Working for a company based outside the UK does not automatically mean your employment income is taxed outside the UK. If you are UK tax resident, you will normally pay UK tax on your foreign income. Your tax residence is determined under the UK Statutory Residence Test and is based on factors including the number…
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Having a full-time job does not automatically mean you are outside Self Assessment. Your employer may already deduct Income Tax from your salary through PAYE, but HMRC also looks at income you receive from other activities. A weekend side job, freelance work, online content, or income from renting out property can create a separate tax…
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Think you are outside Making Tax Digital because your business does not make £50,000? It may not be that simple. For MTD, HMRC looks at qualifying income — your gross income from self-employment and property before expenses, rather than your profit after costs. If you have several sources, they can be combined. For example, £27,000…
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If you were expecting to register for Making Tax Digital when you had more time, there is an important change to know about. From September 2026, HMRC has started signing up sole traders and landlords who are required to use MTD but have not registered themselves. The process is happening in stages, and HMRC will…
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Starting as self-employed in the UK comes with a few tax surprises that are easy to miss. For example, a business expense is not automatically allowable just because you paid for it while working. The rules can be more specific, particularly for costs such as working from home, travel, meals and equipment. Another common trap…
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Making Tax Digital is bringing major changes to how many self-employed people manage their tax, but there are still plenty of misconceptions about what MTD actually requires. One common myth is that MTD replaces the Self Assessment tax return — it does not. Quarterly updates provide HMRC with information throughout the year, but an End…
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Your income has fallen below the Making Tax Digital threshold. Does that mean you can immediately stop keeping digital records and sending quarterly updates? Not necessarily. HMRC looks at your qualifying income and when the change happened. If your income falls below the relevant threshold after the tax year has already started, you generally remain…
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Cash may not leave a bank statement, but it still counts as part of your business records. If a customer pays you in cash, you should record the income just as you would a bank transfer — including the date, amount and what the payment was for. The same applies to cash expenses: a receipt…
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You submitted your Self Assessment, closed your laptop — and then noticed a mistake. Maybe you entered the wrong figure, forgot an allowable expense or left out some information. The good news is that discovering an error does not automatically mean you will be fined. In most cases, you can amend your return within 12…
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