Making Tax Digital for Income Tax: Data required by HMRC

What information do you need to submit under Making Tax Digital for Income Tax? What are the requirements for relevant persons under the VAT threshold? What are the categories of information required?

This is a freeview 'At a glance' guide to the 'update Information' that relevant persons will be required to submit for Making Tax Digital (MTD) for income tax.

This list has been updated and major changes are noted.

• From April 2026, MTD for Income Tax will start to become mandatory for self-employed businesses and landlords, see Making Tax Digital: Index & timeline.
• HMRC has finalised categories of 'update information' that relevant persons within the charge to Income Tax must provide in each quarterly update covering:
  • The quarterly update period start date,
  • The quarterly update period end date, and 
  • Totals of the amounts falling within income and expenses, in the categories set out below (this list has been updated and major changes are noted).
• The quarterly updates will be submitted by the 7th of the following month to your relevant quarter date.
• Relevant persons under the VAT threshold will only be required to submit two figures, total income and total expenditure instead of the totals of the amounts falling within each category listed.
• Relevant persons over the VAT threshold must provide totals of the amounts falling within the categories listed below:

Non-property businesses

Income

• Turnover, takings, fees, sales or money earned.
• Any other business income.

Expenses

• Cost of goods bought for resale or goods used.
• Construction industry: payments to subcontractors.
• Wages, salaries and other staff costs.
• Car, van and travel expenses.
• Rent, rates, power and insurance costs.
• Repairs and renewals of property and equipment.
• Phone, fax, stationery and other office costs.
• Advertising.
• Business entertaining costs.
• Interest on bank and other loans.
• Bank, credit card and other financial charges.
• Irrecoverable debts written off.
• Accountancy, legal and other professional fees.
• Depreciation and loss/profit on sale of assets.
• Other business expenses.
• * Consolidated expenses [new].

Property businesses (each business being reported separately) 

Property businesses (non-FHL) UK 

Income on property

• Total rents.
• Other income from property.
• Premiums for the grant of a lease.
• Reverse premiums and inducements.

Expenses for property 

• Rent, rates, insurance, ground rents.
• Property repairs and maintenance.
• Non-residential property finance costs [new heading].
• Residential property finance costs [new heading].
• Residential finance costs brought forward [new heading].
• Legal, management and other professional fees.
• Costs of services provided, including wages.
• Travel expenses [new heading].
• Other allowable property expenses.
• * Consolidated costs [new heading].

Property businesses (non-FHL) Overseas

Income on property

• Total rents.
• Other income from property.
• Premiums for the grant of a lease. 

Expenses for property 

• Rent, rates, insurance, ground rents.
• Property repairs and maintenance.
• Non-residential property finance costs [new heading]..
• Residential property finance costs [new heading].
• Residential finance costs brought forward [new heading].
• Legal, management and other professional fees.
• Costs of services provided, including wages.
• Travel expenses [new heading].
• Other allowable property expenses..
• * Consolidated costs [new heading].

Furnished Holiday Lettings (FHL)

Income

• Total amount of rent and any income for services provided to tenants.
• Rental received (UK only).
• Income from services provided to tenants.

Expenses for furnished holiday lettings UK & EEA [this list has been redrafted]

• Rent, rates, insurance and ground rents.
• Property repairs and maintenance.
• Property finance costs.
• Legal, management and other professional fees.
• Cost of services provided, including wages.
• Travel expenses.
• Other allowable property expenses.
• *Consolidated expenses.

Retail sale businesses

The gross daily retail sales digital record must include:

• All payments as they are received by the relevant person or on the relevant person’s behalf, from its own cash - paying retail consumers. This includes payments by cheque, debit or credit card, maestro, visa or similar electronic transactions and electronic cash.
• The full value of all credit or other non-cash retail sales received by the relevant person or on the relevant person’s behalf. This includes the full value of credit sales, the cash value of payment in kind for retail sales, the face value of gift, book and record vouchers received and any other payments for retail sales, including those sales completed via third-party online sales platforms.

The following may be excluded when calculating the amount of daily gross takings:

• Counterfeit notes.
• Illegible credit card transactions.
• Inadvertent acceptance of foreign currency (where discovered after their acceptance).
• Inadvertent acceptance of out-of-date coupons which are not honoured by promoters.
• Instalments in respect of credit sales.
• Receipts recording for supplies which are to be recorded outside of the election.
• Refunds to a consumer for overcharges or faulty/unsuitable goods.
• Float discrepancies.
• Unsigned or dishonoured cheques from cash customers.
• Use of training tills.
• Void transactions.

Adjustments and claims

Below is list of further adjustments and claims that taxpayers will need to consider in the final tax return/update.

Allowances and other adjustments: non-property business

• Annual Investment Allowance.
• Capital allowances for main pool costs.
• Capital allowances for special pool costs.
• Capital allowances for single asset pool costs.
• Zero-emission goods vehicle allowance.
• Customers’ Premises Renovation Allowance.
• 100% and other enhanced capital allowances.
• Allowances on sale or cessation of customers' use.
• Balancing charge on sale or cessation of customers’ use (only where Customers’ Premises Renovation Allowance has been claimed).
• Balancing charge on sales of other assets or on the cessation of customers' use.
• Adjustment for change of accounting practice.
• Averaging adjustment.
• Adjusted profit or loss for the year.
• Adjustment to profits chargeable to Class 4 National Insurance contributions.
• Zero-emissions car allowance.
• Electric charge point allowance.
• Structures and buildings allowance.
• (Freeport) enhanced Structured Building Allowance (SBA).

Allowances and other adjustments (Property business)

• Private use adjustment.
• Balancing charges.
• Zero-emission good vehicle allowance.
• Other capital allowances.
• Cost of replacing domestic items.
• Adjusted profit or loss for the year.
• Loss brought forward used against this year’s profits (UK only).
• Rent-a-room exempt amount (UK only).
• Annual investment allowance (UK only).
• Customers’ Premises Renovation Allowance (UK only).
• Property income allowance (UK only).
• Zero-emissions car allowance (UK only).
• Electric charge point allowance (UK only).
• Structures and buildings allowance (UK only).
• Freeport enhanced Structured Building Allowance (SBA) (UK only).

Allowances and other adjustments (UK and EEA)

• Private use adjustment.
• Capital allowances.
• Balancing charges.
• Adjusted profit or loss for the year.

Useful guides on this topic

Making Tax Digital: Index & timeline
When does Making Tax Digital (MTD) apply? What does Making Tax Digital really mean? How will it affect you? Does MTD mean quarterly reporting? Is my business exempted from Making Tax Digital?

Compare software for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax
What's the cheapest software I can use for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax? What is the best value software that I can use?

MTD: Toolkit for accountants
What is the current timetable for Making Tax Digital? How will it work? Which clients will be excluded? What planning needs to be undertaken?  

Making Tax Digital: Survival guide (for the self-employed & landlords)
This is a freeview factsheet for the many self-employed taxpayers, company owners and property landlords who are unaware of HM Revenue and Custom's radical plans to transform the tax online filing system. 

MTD: Income Tax Pilot Tool
Making Tax Digital (MTD) for Income Tax. Are you eligible to take part in the MTD Pilot?

Making Tax Digital: Pricing for Accountants
How much can you charge? How much should you charge?

VAT thresholds
Certain thresholds must be reached for either the registration or deregistration of VAT.

External link

22 February 2024: Making Tax Digital for Income Tax: updated notice 

Regulations 6 and 8 of The Income Tax (Digital Requirements) Regulations 2021 as amended by The Income Tax (Digital Requirements) (Amendment) Regulations 2024 list the categories of 'update information'.