Who this affects
The April 2027 band catches sole traders and landlords whose qualifying income is above £30,000 but at or below £50,000. Qualifying income is your gross income from self-employment plus gross rental income, added together, before any expenses.
The £50,000+ group was already brought in from April 2026. The £20,000+ group is expected in April 2028. Partnerships have their own timeline still to be confirmed.
How to work out if you are in scope
HMRC uses the figures from your latest submitted Self Assessment return. For the April 2027 start, that means your 2025 to 2026 tax return.
- Add up gross self-employment turnover (before expenses)
- Add gross UK and overseas property income (before expenses)
- If the total is above £30,000, you are in the April 2027 band
PAYE salary, dividends, savings interest and pension income do not count towards the threshold. But they are still taxed and still go on your annual return.
What you have to do differently
Three things change from 6 April 2027:
- Keep digital records of every business transaction (invoices, expenses, mileage)
- Send HMRC a quarterly update summarising income and expenses
- File a Final Declaration once a year to replace the current Self Assessment return
Paper ledgers and shoeboxes of receipts stop being HMRC-compliant. Spreadsheets alone are not enough either — they need bridging software to talk to HMRC.
What to do in 2026 to be ready
Start using MTD-compatible software for at least the tax year running into April 2027 so you have a clean set of digital records before the rules apply. Get comfortable categorising income and expenses now, when there is no penalty for getting it wrong.
Fixxa keeps every quote, invoice and payment as a digital record from the day you sign up, so when your quarterly obligation kicks in you already have a year of clean data behind you.