Does MTD for Income Tax apply to you? A free qualifying income check for 2026, 2027 and 2028

Who it’s for

UK sole traders and landlords who file Self Assessment and want to know if and when MTD for Income Tax applies to them, and the accountants and bookkeepers who check it for them

Time to set up

About 20 minutes

Difficulty

Beginner

Monthly cost

£0

You help a UK sole trader or landlord check whether Making Tax Digital for Income Tax applies to them. I will paste my income, one line per source, with the type of income, my share if it is jointly owned, and the amount before expenses for each tax year I have. Use ONLY what I paste. Never guess or add a figure.

STEP 1, WHAT COUNTS: for each line, write Counts or Does not count and a short reason. Counts: self-employment income and property income (rent), before expenses, from UK property, and from foreign property if I was UK tax resident. For jointly owned property, count only my share. Does not count: employment (PAYE) pay, my share of profit from a partnership as an individual partner (even if the partnership runs a trade), dividends (including from my own company), the State Pension, private pensions, and income my limited company receives.

STEP 2, TOTALS: for each tax year, multiply each Counts line by my share, then add up only the Counts lines. Leave every Does not count line out. Show every sum, for example £16,800 × 50% = £8,400.

STEP 3, RESULT: give the first of these that fits. Over £50,000 in 2024 to 2025: in from 6 April 2026. Over £30,000 in 2025 to 2026: in from 6 April 2027. Over £20,000 in 2026 to 2027: in from 6 April 2028. Otherwise: not in on these figures. Over means more than, so exactly £30,000 is not over £30,000. If a figure is marked as an estimate, say the result depends on it.

STEP 4, CHECK: list anything I should check before I rely on the result, such as a line where the type or share is unclear, a source that has stopped, income for only part of a year, or something that could mean I am exempt.

RULES: British English, plain and direct. Do not give tax advice beyond these rules. If something is missing or unclear, add a short note in brackets saying in plain words what to check, for example (check your share of the rent on your tax return).

My income: [paste]

If you’re a sole trader or a landlord, the tax year that decides whether you need Making Tax Digital for Income Tax from April 2027 is already over. It ended on 5 April 2026. HMRC looks at your 2025 to 2026 Self Assessment return, and if your income from self-employment and property was more than £30,000 before expenses, you’re in from 6 April 2027 (GOV.UK).

That’s turnover, not profit. A landlord who takes £35,000 in rent and makes £9,000 after the mortgage interest, repairs and the agent’s fee is still in. HMRC’s own wording is “the amount before expenses (also known as turnover)” (GOV.UK). HMRC expects about 1,077,000 more sole traders and landlords to join from April 2027 (GOV.UK).

Plenty of landlords who do their own returns are still putting it off. One Property Tribes thread is titled “MTD reporting is the last straw”, and opens: “I have been putting off MTD reporting. Every year my tax returns take me a couple of days of hard work” (Property Tribes). Before you price up software, check whether you’re in, and from when.

This guide gets you a free Google Sheet that does the count for all three thresholds at once. It knows what counts and what doesn’t, applies your share of anything you own jointly, and tells you which April applies to you, if any. There’s also a short AI prompt that sorts a pasted list of your income into “counts” and “doesn’t count”.

What does this automation do?

1. You list every source of income on one tab, with your share and the amount before expenses for each tax year.
2. One formula per year adds up only the income that counts: self-employment, UK property and, if you’re UK resident, foreign property, each multiplied by your share.
3. A result cell tests the three thresholds in order and tells you whether you’re in from 6 April 2026, 2027 or 2028, or not in on these figures.
4. A check cell flags any row where you’ve forgotten your share.
5. A copy-paste prompt does the same sort for a pasted list, so you can check the sheet, or the sheet can check it.

The thresholds, and the tax year each one tests:

Each test uses the return for the tax year two years before the start date (GOV.UK). So the 2026 to 2027 figure, which decides April 2028, is this year’s, and it’s still an estimate until the year ends on 5 April 2027.

What do you need before you start?

• A free Google account, for Sheets.
• Your Self Assessment returns for 2024 to 2025 and 2025 to 2026, or the figures your accountant used. You want the turnover and rent boxes, not the profit.
• Your best estimate of this year’s (2026 to 2027) turnover and rent so far.
• For any property you own with someone else, your share of the income.
• A free ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini account, if you want to use the prompt.
• About 20 minutes.

If you have an accountant, they’ve probably done this count for you already. The sheet is a quick way to check you agree, and to see what happens when this year’s figures change.

How do I set it up?

Step 1: Find your figures before expenses, for three tax years

“Qualifying income is your total income from self‑employment and property. This is the amount before expenses (also known as turnover), based on the tax return you submitted in the previous tax year” (GOV.UK).

Counts:

• Self-employment turnover. If you use the cash basis, you can include or exclude VAT, but if you include it, it counts.
• Rent from UK property, before expenses.
• Rent from foreign property, if you were UK resident. GOV.UK’s example is a UK sole trader who also rents out a property in France: both count.
• Your share of any property you own jointly.
• Personal self-employment or property income that a partnership tells you about, and income from a bare trust.

Doesn’t count:

• Pay from a job (PAYE).
• “Your share of profit from a partnership as an individual partner”.
• “Dividends (including those from your own company)”.
• The State Pension and private pensions.
• Income your limited company earns. If your property is in a company, that’s Corporation Tax, not this.

If you only started a source part-way through a year, HMRC will annualise self-employment income for you (6 months’ income is doubled), but “if you receive income from property, you need to annualise your income yourself” (GOV.UK).

Step 2: List every source on the Income tab

Open a new Google Sheet and rename the first tab Income. In row 1, type these headings:

• A: Source (for example “Flat 2”, “House with my wife”, “Bookkeeping”)
• B: Type
• C: Your share
• D: 2024 to 2025
• E: 2025 to 2026
• F: 2026 to 2027

Select B2:B100, then go to Data, Data validation, and add a drop-down with exactly these five options: Self-employment, UK property, Foreign property, Partnership share, Doesn’t count. The formulas look for those exact words.

Format column C as a percentage (Format, Number, Percent), and type 100% for anything that’s all yours. Put each year’s figure before expenses in D to F. Leave a cell blank if you had no income from that source that year. Type each amount as a plain number, like 9600, with no words or notes in the cell: text like “n/a” or “about 9k” in the figure columns makes the year’s total show an error instead of a figure.

Put your salary, pension and dividends in too, as Doesn’t count. They make no difference to the total, but listing them means you’ve thought about everything.

Step 3: Add the qualifying income formula

Add a second tab and call it Check. In A1, type UK tax resident? and in B1, type Yes or No. If B1 is blank, the result asks you to answer it. In B3, C3 and D3, type 2024 to 2025, 2025 to 2026 and 2026 to 2027. In A4, type Qualifying income. Paste this into B4:

=SUMPRODUCT(((Income!$B$2:$B$100="Self-employment")+(Income!$B$2:$B$100="UK property")+(Income!$B$2:$B$100="Foreign property")*($B$1="Yes"))*Income!$C$2:$C$100*Income!D$2:D$100)

Then drag B4 across to C4 and D4. Each cell picks up its own year’s column. The formula multiplies each row’s figure by your share and adds up only Self-employment, UK property and, if B1 says Yes, Foreign property. Partnership share and Doesn’t count rows score zero.

If you weren’t UK resident, only UK property and self-employment income that you declared on your UK return counts. GOV.UK’s example is someone tax resident in Spain with a UK rental and a Spanish sole trade: only the UK rental counts (GOV.UK). The No setting drops foreign property. If your self-employment isn’t on your UK return, mark it Doesn’t count.

Step 4: Add the result

In A6, type Result. Paste this into B6:

=IF(COUNT(Income!D2:F100)=0,"Add your figures on the Income tab",IF(AND(B1<>"Yes",B1<>"No"),"Answer the residence question in B1",IF(B4>50000,"In from 6 April 2026: over £50,000 in 2024 to 2025",IF(C4>30000,"In from 6 April 2027: over £30,000 in 2025 to 2026",IF(D4>20000,"On course for 6 April 2028: over £20,000 in 2026 to 2027 so far","Not in on these figures")))))

If B1 isn’t Yes or No, it asks you to answer B1 first, so foreign rent can’t quietly drop out. It tests the earliest year first, because once you’re in, a lower figure the next year doesn’t take you out. You can only choose to opt out “if your qualifying income drops below the relevant threshold for 3 tax years in a row” (GOV.UK).

The tests are “over”, so exactly £30,000 in 2025 to 2026 isn’t in for April 2027. And “you are automatically exempt from using Making Tax Digital for Income Tax if your qualifying income is £20,000 or less” (GOV.UK).

Last, in A7 type Shares and paste this into B7:

=IF(SUMPRODUCT((Income!$B$2:$B$100<>"")*(Income!$C$2:$C$100=""))>0,"Fill in Your share on every row (100% if it is all yours)","Shares filled in")

A blank share counts as nothing, so this catches a row that would otherwise quietly drop out of the total.

Step 5: Check what the sheet can’t see

Joint owners. “Your share of the property income will count towards your qualifying income.” GOV.UK’s example is a property owned equally with a sibling that brings in £50,000: £25,000 each (GOV.UK). For married couples and civil partners who live together, HMRC normally taxes jointly owned property income on an even split, unless you own it in unequal shares and have told it so on Form 17 (GOV.UK). So £40,000 of rent from a house a couple own 50:50 is £20,000 each: “£20,000 or less”, and neither is in on that alone. The same £40,000 in one name is in from April 2027.

Partnerships. “Partnerships do not currently need to use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax” (GOV.UK). They will in the future, and HMRC will “set out the timeline for this at a later date” (GOV.UK). Your own sole trade or lettings outside the partnership still count.

Exemptions. You’re automatically exempt for a tax year if you don’t have a National Insurance number before it starts. Some exemptions last beyond April 2027, with HMRC to set out a timeline later: for example, a return with the SA102M page (ministers of religion) or SA103L (Lloyd’s members), or a claim for Married Couple’s Allowance or Blind Person’s Allowance. Others last until April 2027: if your 2024 to 2025 return included averaging relief on SA103 as an individual, SA107 (trusts or estates) or SA109 (residence), check the £30,000 test for 2025 to 2026 next. Partners who claimed averaging relief on SA104, and anyone who only expects one of these in their 2025 to 2026 or 2026 to 2027 return, have to apply for the exemption instead. At Budget 2026 the government said people eligible for qualifying care relief, non-UK resident foreign entertainers and sportspeople, and “expected non-resident customers” will be exempt “until further notice”, with secondary legislation before April 2027 (Budget 2026 OOTLAR). That isn’t law yet: GOV.UK’s exemption page still lists qualifying care relief as an exemption that lasts until April 2027. If your age, a health condition, a disability or your location stops you using digital records, you can apply to be “digitally excluded”. Being “unfamiliar with accountancy software”, or the extra time or cost, isn’t enough on its own (GOV.UK). For the full list, see find out if you can get an exemption.

Stopped sources. A source that stopped still counts if another source carries on (GOV.UK). If all your self-employment and property income has ceased since your last return, “you need to tell HMRC before the start of the next tax year. If you do not, you will need to use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax” (GOV.UK).

Amended returns. “Changes you make after the start of a tax year that take your qualifying income above the relevant threshold will not be considered for that tax year” (GOV.UK).

HMRC also has a free online checker on the find out if and when page. Use it to confirm what the sheet says.

Step 6: Decide what to do next

• In from 6 April 2026: you should already be sending quarterly updates. GOV.UK says HMRC won’t give penalty points for missed quarterly updates in 2026 to 2027, but the points for a late tax return still apply (GOV.UK). Quarterly updates are due by 7 August, 7 November, 7 February and 7 May (GOV.UK).
• In from 6 April 2027: “you can sign up and volunteer now” (GOV.UK). Either way, choose software that works with MTD (GOV.UK) and start keeping digital records from 6 April 2027. At Budget 2026 the government said it won’t give penalty points for late quarterly updates in 2027 to 2028 to people joining in April 2027, but you’ll still need to send them all before you can submit your tax return (Budget 2026 OOTLAR), and a late tax return still gets a point (GOV.UK).
• On course for 6 April 2028: update column F each quarter. The test uses your 2026 to 2027 return, so the result is only final once that’s filed.
• Not in on these figures: you still file a Self Assessment return as usual. Look again each year, because the threshold is coming down.

Being in doesn’t mean five tax returns a year. HMRC says “the quarterly updates are not additional tax returns, but short summaries” (GOV.UK), and all your UK properties count as one UK property business for them (GOV.UK). Our guide to sending an MTD quarterly update from a spreadsheet shows what one looks like.

The copy-paste prompt

Paste your income list after “My income:” in place of [paste]. One line per source: what it is, the type, your share, and each year’s figure before expenses. Leave out names, addresses, your UTR and your National Insurance number.

You help a UK sole trader or landlord check whether Making Tax Digital for Income Tax applies to them. I will paste my income, one line per source, with the type of income, my share if it is jointly owned, and the amount before expenses for each tax year I have. Use ONLY what I paste. Never guess or add a figure.

STEP 1, WHAT COUNTS: for each line, write Counts or Does not count and a short reason. Counts: self-employment income and property income (rent), before expenses, from UK property, and from foreign property if I was UK tax resident. For jointly owned property, count only my share. Does not count: employment (PAYE) pay, my share of profit from a partnership as an individual partner (even if the partnership runs a trade), dividends (including from my own company), the State Pension, private pensions, and income my limited company receives.

STEP 2, TOTALS: for each tax year, multiply each Counts line by my share, then add up only the Counts lines. Leave every Does not count line out. Show every sum, for example £16,800 × 50% = £8,400.

STEP 3, RESULT: give the first of these that fits. Over £50,000 in 2024 to 2025: in from 6 April 2026. Over £30,000 in 2025 to 2026: in from 6 April 2027. Over £20,000 in 2026 to 2027: in from 6 April 2028. Otherwise: not in on these figures. Over means more than, so exactly £30,000 is not over £30,000. If a figure is marked as an estimate, say the result depends on it.

STEP 4, CHECK: list anything I should check before I rely on the result, such as a line where the type or share is unclear, a source that has stopped, income for only part of a year, or something that could mean I am exempt.

RULES: British English, plain and direct. Do not give tax advice beyond these rules. If something is missing or unclear, add a short note in brackets saying in plain words what to check, for example (check your share of the rent on your tax return).

My income: [paste]

Check the output before you rely on it. AI tools can drop a line, use the wrong year’s figure, or forget to apply your share. Add the sums up yourself, or put the same rows in the sheet and compare.

What can go wrong?

• Using profit instead of turnover. This is the most common mistake. The test is your income before expenses, so a landlord with £35,000 of rent is over £30,000 however small the profit is.
• Counting a joint property twice, or not at all. Put the whole figure in D to F and your share in C. If you only get told your share after expenses, GOV.UK says “we’ll assess that figure” (GOV.UK).
• Waiting for a letter. HMRC is writing to people, but “if you did not receive a letter, it is still your responsibility to check” (GOV.UK).
• Part-year property income. The sheet doesn’t annualise it. If you let a property for only part of the year, work out the full-year figure yourself and put that in.
• The rules changing. The thresholds, dates and exemptions here are as GOV.UK states them on 28 October 2026, including what Budget 2026 announced that day. Check the GOV.UK pages linked above before you rely on them, and keep an eye on our small-business deadlines calendar.
• This isn’t tax advice. The sheet applies GOV.UK’s rules to the figures you give it. If you have trusts, a mix of UK and overseas income, or an unusual return, ask an accountant.

If you’d like the whole picture on one page, our free MTD readiness checklist covers the thresholds, exemptions and what to do before April 2027. One practical automation like this, with the £ and the hours it saves, lands in your inbox every Friday if you join our free email.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

1. GOV.UK (HMRC): Find out if and when you need to use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax
2. GOV.UK (HMRC): Work out your qualifying income for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax
3. GOV.UK (HMRC): Find out if you can get an exemption from Making Tax Digital for Income Tax
4. GOV.UK (HMRC): Sign up for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax
5. GOV.UK (HMRC): Check what to do if HMRC has signed you up for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax
6. GOV.UK (HMRC): Choose the right software for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax
7. GOV.UK (HMRC news, 5 October 2026): Sole traders and landlords earning more than £30,000 urged to act now
8. GOV.UK (HMRC): Budget 2026 overview of tax legislation and rates (OOTLAR), 2.36 and 2.37 (28 October 2026)
9. GOV.UK (HMRC): Send quarterly updates for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax
10. GOV.UK (HMRC): Form 17, declaration of beneficial interests in joint property and income
11. Property Tribes forum: MTD reporting is the last straw

This guide is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Tool prices and screens change; we re-check every guide regularly. Spotted something out of date? Tell us and we’ll fix it.