My income fell below £30,000 after 2025/26: do I still join Making Tax Digital in April 2027?

By Patrick Roper ACA, ICAEW chartered accountant. Last reviewed 1 November 2026. Figures next checked by 1 December 2026.

Yes. The test is your gross rent and self-employed income on the 2025/26 return. If that was over £30,000 you join on 6 April 2027, even if a tenant left or a property was sold in 2026/27. HMRC lets you opt out only when your qualifying income has been below the threshold for three consecutive tax years, or when an amendment to the return HMRC reviewed takes you below the line. The one exception is if all your rental and self-employed income has stopped altogether.

The year that counts

HMRC assesses qualifying income from the Self Assessment return you submitted in the previous tax year. For a start on 6 April 2027, that is the 2025/26 return, due by 31 January 2027. What happens to your income in 2026/27 does not change the April 2027 start; it affects whether you can leave later.

The threshold also keeps falling. Over £20,000 in 2026/27 brings people in from 6 April 2028. A landlord who drops from £34,000 to £26,000 is still over the line that applies to the next year.

Four situations

Leaving once you are in

HMRC's "if your circumstances change" guidance gives two routes out:

• An amended return. If you amend the return HMRC reviewed and your qualifying income falls below the threshold, you can opt out. An amendment made after the tax year has started works for that year too if it takes you under.
• Three years below the line. If qualifying income is at or under the threshold for three consecutive tax years, HMRC uses the fourth quarterly update of the third year to confirm it and the opt-out option appears in your online account. HMRC's own example: someone who joined in April 2026 and is at £20,000 or under for 2026/27, 2027/28 and the 2028/29 updates can opt out for 2029/30, provided the fourth 2028/29 update is sent by 7 May 2029.

Opting out deletes the updates already sent for that year and you file an ordinary Self Assessment return instead. You can also choose to stay in voluntarily.

What to do now

1. Confirm the gross figure on your 2025/26 return. If it is over £30,000, plan for April 2027.
2. If a source has ceased, record the date it stopped on the return. If everything has stopped, contact HMRC before 6 April 2027.
3. If the return is wrong, amend it before the tax year starts; an amendment made in time changes the answer.
4. If you are in for 2027/28 and expect to stay under £20,000, file the four updates on time each year; the three-year clock only runs on figures HMRC can see.