When you start earning income from a new self-employment if you are already reporting under MTD what do you do ?
You only need to add income you earn as a sole trader. You do not need to add partnership income, income from a limited company or employment income, but you will still need to include those in your tax return if you have them.
You do not need to start keeping digital records or sending quarterly updates for a new self-employment or property income source straight away, even if you are already using Making Tax Digital for Income Tax. You only need to do this after you have sent a tax return which included the income for the first time.
As an example, if you are under Making Tax Digital from April 2026 and start a new self-employment or property income source on 1 May 2026, you will include this income for the first time in your 2026/27 tax return. After you have submitted that tax return, you will need to start creating digital records and sending quarterly updates for this income source from April 2028.
You can still choose to report the new income in Making Tax Digital for Income Tax from when the income starts if you wish. To do this, you can select the option in your software to switch to sending quarterly updates from the date the income starts.
Making Tax Digital for Income Tax Thresholds
- From April 2026: mandatory for self-employed individuals and landlords with business and property income above £50,000
- From April 2027: mandatory for those with income above £30,000
- From April 2028: expected extension to those with income above £20,000
Key Takeaways
- Only sole trader income needs to be added as a new source
- Partnership, limited company, and employment income are reported separately
- Digital records and quarterly updates start after first tax return submission
- Landlords with multiple UK properties treat them as one business
