Making Tax Digital is here.
Your next deadline is 7 November.
If you grossed over £50,000 from self-employment on your 2024/25 tax return, you're already in MTD. Your first quarterly update was due by 7 August 2026 and the next one is due by 7 November.
The content on this page is for information only and does not constitute financial advice. Please speak to a financial advisor or tax consultant for advice on your specific circumstances.
Key dates for MTD
The dates that matter
6 April 2026 — MTD went live for sole traders and landlords who grossed over £50,000 on their 2024/25 tax return
7 August 2026 — Q1 update due (covering 6 April – 5 July)
7 November 2026 — Q2 update due (6 July – 5 October)
7 February 2027 — Q3 update due (6 October – 5 January)
7 May 2027 — Q4 update due (6 January – 5 April)
31 January 2028 — final declaration for the 2026/27 tax year
April 2027 — the £30,000 threshold joins, based on your 2025/26 tax return
April 2028 — the £20,000 threshold follows
The 60-Gig Problem
You think you earn £35K.
HMRC thinks you earn £51K.
Making Tax Digital thresholds are based on your gross income — the total fees you're paid before commission, expenses and mileage deductions. Not your profit. Not your take-home. Your gross.
Most performers think in net terms. You know what you actually take home after your agency's cut and your travel costs. But HMRC doesn't see it that way. They see every fee, at full value, before anything comes off.
Two things catch people out:
It's decided by a past tax year, not this one. Whether you're in MTD now depends on the gross income you reported on your 2024/25 Self Assessment return. The April 2027 wave is decided by your 2025/26 return — the one due by 31 January 2027. If you're having a big year right now, it's your future mandation date you're building.
Your day job doesn't count. The threshold only looks at gross income from self-employment and property. Wages from a PAYE job, pensions, dividends and interest are ignored. A performer with a £30K day job and £25K of gigs is measured on the £25K — not the £55K.
Do the maths or use our free MTD threshold calculator.
Threshold table
| Gigs / year | Avg fee | Gross income | 2026 (£50K) | 2027 (£30K) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 40 | £700 | £28,000 | Below | Below |
| 40 | £800 | £32,000 | Below | Above |
| 50 | £700 | £35,000 | Below | Above |
| 50 | £900 | £45,000 | Below | Above |
| 60 | £850 | £51,000 | Above | Above |
| 70 | £800 | £56,000 | Above | Above |
A performer doing 60 gigs at £850 each has a gross income of £51,000 — over the threshold — even if their taxable profit after commission and expenses is half that.
Important: the £50,000 threshold is live now. The £30,000 threshold follows in April 2027, and £20,000 in April 2028. If you're a working performer, this is coming for you — it's just a question of when.
What Actually Changes
What Making Tax Digital means — in plain English
MTD replaces the annual Self Assessment scramble with ongoing digital record-keeping throughout the year. It sounds bigger than it is. Here's what's actually different:
Digital records throughout the year
You keep a digital log of your income and expenses as they happen — not scraped together from memory and bank statements in January. Every gig fee, every expense, every mileage claim, recorded digitally as you go. If you're in MTD, this requirement started on 6 April 2026.
Quarterly summary updates
Four times a year, you send HMRC a summary of your income and expenses. These aren't full tax returns — they're summary figures, and they're cumulative, so if you make a mistake one quarter you simply correct it in the next update. Your accountant can handle the submission, or you can use HMRC-recognised software.
Under £90,000 turnover, which covers most performers, you only submit three figures: total income, total expenses and net profit. You are not uploading receipts or individual transactions.
One thing that surprises people: you submit an update every quarter even if you had no income that period.
Final declaration at year end
At the end of the tax year, a final declaration replaces your old Self Assessment. Same idea, but built on the digital records you've kept all year. For 2026/27, it's due by 31 January 2028.
The safety net
At the Autumn Budget 2025, the government confirmed that taxpayers joining MTD in April 2026 won't receive penalty points for late quarterly updates during the 2026/27 tax year. So if you missed the 7 August deadline, you're not in penalty territory. HMRC still expects digital records and quarterly updates though, and the soft landing does not cover your final declaration. Catching up now is far easier than catching up in November.
Quarterly deadlines for 2026/27
Q1 (6 Apr – 5 Jul): due 7 August 2026
Q2 (6 Jul – 5 Oct): due 7 November 2026
Q3 (6 Oct – 5 Jan): due 7 February 2027
Q4 (6 Jan – 5 Apr): due 7 May 2027
How Gigflow Handles This
Your records, sorted. Throughout the year.
Gigflow tracks your gig income, expenses and mileage digitally — which is exactly what MTD requires for day-to-day record-keeping. You manage your gigs. Your tax records build themselves.
Digital income records
Every gig logged with date, fee, agency, and category. The digital income record MTD requires — created automatically as you track your work.
UK tax year reporting
April-to-April reports aligned to UK tax years. Export as CSV or PDF and hand it straight to your accountant or bridging software.
Agency commission tracking
Tiered commission structures tracked automatically across multiple agencies. Your gross fee, your commission, and your net — always clear, always accurate.
Mileage at HMRC rates
Automatic mileage calculated at 55p per mile (first 10,000) and 25p thereafter, based on your home postcode and the venue's location. A 60-mile round trip is £33 off your taxable profit — and over a full gigging year, mileage is often the biggest deduction performers forget to claim.
Expense tracking with categories
Log expenses with categories and receipt capture. No more shoeboxes of receipts, no more guessing what that £47 charge was for in March.
One-tap invoicing
Generate and send invoices after every gig. The digital paper trail MTD expects, created in seconds.
The Honest Position
Record-keeping, not tax filing. Here's exactly where we stand.
Built by a performer, for performers
Gigflow was created by Lillie, a working vocalist doing 50+ gigs a year, and Sam, a web developer — because the tools that existed weren't built for how performers actually work.
Simple pricing. Start free.
Upgrade when you're ready.
Free for your first 10 gigs — no card required. Go Pro when Gigflow becomes the thing you can't gig without.
That's less than the cost of one unclaimed mileage trip per month.
Most performers recover far more than £9.99 in mileage deductions alone.
