Time flies by pretty quickly, and the introduction of Making Tax Digital for Income Tax (MTD) has been on the horizon for a while now, but the deadlines are fast approaching, so now’s the time to start preparing...
MTD for Income Tax is a new way for sole traders (i.e. self-employed individuals like yourself) and landlords to report their income and expenses to HMRC and submit your tax returns. When MTD for Income Tax becomes applicable to your childminding business – you will be required to use software that works with MTD for Income Tax to:
- create, store and correct digital records of your self-employment and property income and expenses.
- send your quarterly updates to HMRC.
- submit your tax return by 31 January the following year.
To find out more information, including when to start and how it works, visit HMRC’s new
MTD for Income Tax website.
MTD for Income Tax is designed to make things easier for you, as having all your data on a digital system and recording it in real time will give you a fuller picture of your tax responsibilities and keep you on track.
When does MTD for Income Tax come into force?
MTD for Income Tax will officially roll out and become compulsory in three phases, depending on your ‘Qualifying Income’. Your Qualifying Income is the total income / turnover generated from your childminding business, including any property income you have:
- £50,000+ for the 2024-2025 tax year: compulsory from 6 April 2026
- £30,000+ for the 2025-2026 tax year: compulsory from 6 April 2027
- £20,000+ for the 2026-2027 tax year: compulsory from 6 April 2028
What do I need to do?
We’ve developed some initial Q&As for SCMA members to help you navigate the transition to MTD for Income Tax, how it applies to you, and what steps you need to take.
SCMA members can refer back to our email regarding MTD from 28 July 2025, or
login to the Membership Dashboard and go to the 'Resources' section to read our Q&A on Making Tax Digital for Income Tax.
Further Information and Support
SCMA is a member of HMRC’s ‘Trade and Advisory Forum’ so that we remain close on ongoing developments and can liaise with HMRC about the support required for childminders.
We will continue to keep members up-to-date and we will share information about our upcoming MTD for Income Tax webinar – exclusively for SCMA members – as soon as the details have been confirmed.
In the meantime, please take some time to think about MTD for Income Tax, what steps you need to take – and check if you're eligible to volunteer for the testing phase, which would give you time to try out the process with the benefit of extra support from the HMRC Digital Customer Support Team.