MTD for the Self-Employed – Dead Simple Has You Sorted
Freelancer. Sole trader. Self-employed. Whatever you call yourself, if you earn over £50,000 a year, Making Tax Digital is coming for you from April 2026. Here’s what it means — and why it doesn’t have to be a headache.
Does MTD Apply to You?
MTD for Income Tax applies to self-employed people and sole traders whose gross income — that’s your turnover before expenses — is over the threshold.
| Your gross income | MTD applies from |
| Over £50,000 | April 2026 |
| Over £30,000 | April 2027 |
| Over £20,000 | April 2028 |
If you’re a freelancer juggling multiple clients, a sole trader with a mix of income streams, or self-employed with some rental income on top — it all counts together towards your qualifying income.
Not sure if you’re over? Drop us an email and we’ll work it out with you.
So What’s Actually Changing?
Right now, most self-employed people and sole traders do one self-assessment a year — either themselves or through an accountant. Job done.
From April 2026, if your gross income is over £50,000, that changes. You’ll need to:
- Keep digital records of your income and expenses throughout the year
- Submit a quarterly update to HMRC (four times a year, not once)
- Do a final year-end declaration confirming everything
The self-assessment deadline (31 January) stays the same. The difference is you can’t leave everything until then anymore.
Why Do Freelancers and Sole Traders Find This Trickier Than Most?
Because your income rarely follows a neat pattern. A bumper month, a quiet patch, a late invoice, a client who pays slowly. Unlike an employee with a predictable salary, self-employed income moves around — and MTD still expects four tidy submissions a year regardless.
That’s exactly where having someone handle it for you makes the difference. You focus on the work. We handle the quarterly updates, the bookkeeping, and the self-assessment — all year round.
What We Do for You — From £25pm
Most Popular
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Crescent Moon
£25pm
- Self-assessment tax return included
- Setup on HMRC-recognised MTD Software
- We file your quarterly MTD submissions on time, using the figures you provide
- FreeAgent included (save £330 / year)*
- Best for: clients confident their bookkeeping is accurate without checks
- *FreeAgent is included free for clients with a Mettle, NatWest, or Royal Bank of Scotland business account.
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Half Moon
£55pm
- Everything in Crescent Moon, plus:
- Self-assessment tax return included
- We review & correct your bookkeeping before filing to HMRC, so you stay fully compliant
- Quarterly compliance checks built in
- FreeAgent included (save £330 / year)*
- Best for: peace of mind with our MTD expert checks before filing
- *FreeAgent is included free for clients with a Mettle, NatWest, or Royal Bank of Scotland business account.
Most Popular
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Full Moon
From £85pm
- Everything in Half Moon, plus complete peace of mind:
- Self-assessment tax return included
- Full bookkeeping handled by us
- Full bank reconciliation included
- FreeAgent included (save £330 / year)*
- Best for: clients wanting a complete hands-on service from our team
- *FreeAgent is included free for clients with a Mettle, NatWest, or Royal Bank of Scotland business account.
FreeAgent — Your Books, Sorted Automatically
FreeAgent is the software we use to run your books. It connects to your business bank account and pulls in your transactions automatically — so we can see what you’ve been paid, categorise your income, and track your expenses without you having to manually input a thing.
It’s HMRC-recognised for MTD and rated best in class. On its own it costs £33/month. With us, it’s included free provided you open a Mettle account (also Free)
You get a real-time view of what you owe HMRC — so no nasty surprises at year end.
The Deadlines You Need to Know
| Quarter covers | Submit by |
| 6 April – 5 July | 7 August |
| 6 July – 5 October | 7 November |
| 6 October – 5 January | 7 February |
| 6 January – 5 April | 7 May |
Plus your final declaration by 31 January — same as your self-assessment always was.
Miss a submission? You’ll start collecting penalty points. Two points and it’s a £200 fine, with more to follow. We make sure that never happens.
Sound Like the Right Fit? Drop Us a Line.
We’ll aim to get back to you same day.
That link will open your email with the subject line already filled in. Just tell us a bit about your situation and we’ll take it from there.
Need More Info?
Not ready to email yet? Head back to our MTD hub for more guides, software reviews and deadline info.
👉 Visit the Making Tax Digital Hub
Yes. HMRC adds up all your self-employment income and any rental income to calculate your qualifying income. If the combined total tips you over the threshold, you’re in scope.
The threshold is based on your previous tax year’s self-assessment return. So if 2024/25 takes you over £50,000, you’re in from April 2026 — even if the following year is quieter. Once you’re in, you need to stay below threshold for three consecutive years to drop out.
No. We set FreeAgent up for you, connect it to your bank, and handle everything from there. Your job is to make sure income goes through your business account. That’s genuinely it.
Yes — and it’s included in the package. MTD doesn’t replace your self-assessment, it runs alongside it. The quarterly updates feed into your final figures, and we file everything on your behalf.
Quite a lot — home office costs, equipment, software subscriptions, travel, professional development, phone bills. We review your expenses as part of the service to make sure you’re not leaving money on the table.
Drop us an email. We’ll work it out with you — no obligation.
