Making Tax Digital for tutors: what changed in April 2026

Making Tax Digital for Income Tax went live on 6 April 2026. If your gross income from self-employment and property is over £50,000, you must now keep digital records and send HMRC quarterly updates, and the first one is due by 7 August 2026. Most part-time tutors are below the threshold for now, but the threshold drops in 2027 and again in 2028, so every tutor should know where they stand.

Does Making Tax Digital apply to me as a tutor?

It applies from April 2026 if your combined gross income from self-employment and property was more than £50,000 in your 2024-25 tax return. Gross means turnover before any expenses, and all your sole-trade income counts together: a tutor earning £30,000 from tuition and £25,000 from a rental property is over the line. The threshold falls to £30,000 in April 2027 and £20,000 in April 2028, which will pull in a large share of full-time tutors. The official checker is on GOV.UK.

What actually changes?

Two things. First, records must be digital: income and expenses kept in software or structured spreadsheets rather than a shoebox of receipts. Second, instead of one annual Self Assessment, you send a summary update each quarter through MTD-compatible software, then a final declaration after year end. For 2026-27 the quarterly deadlines are 7 August 2026, 7 November 2026, 7 February 2027 and 7 May 2027. The tax you owe and when you pay it do not change; only the reporting rhythm does.

What happens if I miss a quarterly update?

HMRC is running a soft-landing on the new quarterly updates: no penalty points for late quarterly submissions in 2026-27. The final declaration and the tax payment itself carry normal penalties from day one, so the year-end deadline remains the one that really bites. Treat the first year as the year to build the habit while lateness is cheap.

I am under the threshold. Should I ignore this?

No, for two reasons. The falling threshold means a full-diary tutor charging £40 to £50 an hour can cross £30,000 gross comfortably, which brings mandation in April 2027, and you will file the 2026-27 return under the old rules while needing digital habits ready for the year after. Starting clean digital records now costs nothing and removes the scramble later. Our guides to tax, DBS and insurance for self-employed tutors and what tutors can claim as expenses cover the fundamentals that do not change.

A minimal MTD-ready setup for a tutoring business

• One place where every lesson, invoice and payment is recorded as it happens, not reconstructed at year end.
• A separate bank account for tutoring income, so gross turnover is one filter away.
• Digital invoices with numbering and dates, rather than ad-hoc bank transfers with no paper trail. Our tutor invoice guide covers what each invoice needs.
• A quarterly 30-minute diary slot to review income and expenses, so the update becomes a check rather than a project.
• If you are mandated: MTD-compatible software or an accountant who files for you. HMRC keeps a list of recognised software.

TutorLab keeps the tutoring side of this tidy by design: every session logged, every invoice issued and paid through Stripe in one place, and your income history exportable when your accountant or software needs it. It is not tax software and does not file your updates, but it means the numbers going into them are already clean.

The one-line summary

Over £50,000 gross: you are in MTD now, and your first quarterly update is due by 7 August 2026. Under it: keep proper digital records this year anyway, because the £30,000 line arrives in April 2027 and the best time to build the habit is a quiet summer term.