HMRC After Dark
Tax tips and financial fun from your late night ledger whisperer #taxfluencer
HMRC After Dark • 9 October 2026 Six months, thirty grand, and one very polite letterHello, lovely. Picture a Sunday in January. Payout screenshots in one folder, the banking app open, a cup of tea going cold beside you. You get there, you always do. Now picture doing a lighter version of that four times a year instead of once, so January is a tidy-up rather than an excavation. That is the shift heading for a lot more self-employed people next April, and this week HMRC fired the six month starting pistol. The newsOn 5 October 2026, HMRC confirmed that Making Tax Digital for Income Tax extends to sole traders and landlords with qualifying income above £30,000 from 6 April 2027. HMRC estimates around 1,077,000 more people will need to join. It already applies to those above £50,000 since April 2026, and HMRC says the line drops again to £20,000 from April 2028. Source: HMRC press release, 5 October 2026 and GOV.UK: check if you're eligible In plain words✓ The year that counts is 2025 to 2026. That is the return you file by 31 January 2027. If your qualifying income on it is over £30,000, you are in from 6 April 2027. ✓ Being in means: keeping digital records, using HMRC recognised software, and sending quarterly updates of income and expenses. HMRC describes those as short summaries, not extra tax returns. Your usual year end return still happens. ✓ HMRC writes to people it finds over the line, but GOV.UK is clear it is still your responsibility to check, letter or no letter. ✓ You can join early if you are registered for Self Assessment and have sent a return in the last two years. ■ Heads up: money in, not profit Qualifying income is your gross income from self-employment and property, before any expenses. So a creator whose platforms paid out £32,000 across the year, with £8,000 of costs, is over the £30,000 line even though the profit is £24,000. Count every stream: subscriptions, tips, customs, clip sales, cash nights. Your move this month1. Add up your 2025 to 2026 money in from every platform and income stream, before expenses. 2. Over £30,000? Browse HMRC's compatible software finder and consider signing up early, so you learn the rhythm before it counts. 3. Under it? Lovely. Use the breathing room to build the habit now, because £20,000 is the next stop. 4. Diary check: paper returns for 2025 to 2026 are due by 31 October 2026, online returns and payment by 31 January 2027 (HMRC, 8 October 2026). ★ The reframe Quarterly updates sound like more admin. Look again: they are four scheduled dates with your own money. You see what your work is earning while it is happening, not ten months later in a panic. Visibility is not a burden. It is leverage. Before you goJust starting out? The Excel tax tracker in the Products section is the beginner friendly option: one place for your money in and money out, built for simple setups with one or two income streams. It is a record keeper for beginners, not Making Tax Digital software, so if you are over the line, pair your records with HMRC recognised software. Got a question, however simple? Message me at HMRC After Dark. I'm here to translate. Keeping your own records? Please start with The Adult Creator's UK Tax Survival Guide 2026/27. Think of it as your beginner info pack: the ten most common mistakes and exactly how to sidestep them. You built the value. My role is to make sure it is counted, and that you keep what is yours. General information only, based on HMRC and GOV.UK guidance published as of 9 October 2026. Not personal tax advice. HMRC AFTER DARK • hmrcafterdark.kit.com • @hmrcafterdark |
HMRC After Dark
Tax tips and financial fun from your late night ledger whisperer #taxfluencer