Updated on 6 April 2026

When can I stop using Making Tax Digital?

The new Making Tax Digital rules apply to you once your income from self-employment and/or property letting exceeds the relevant Making Tax Digital threshold, unless you are exempt. On this page we look at what happens if your income falls below the relevant Making Tax Digital threshold or if your income source to which Making Tax Digital applies ceases altogether.

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Fall in gross income from self-employment and/or property

If the level of your total gross income from self-employment and/or property (known as qualifying income) exceeds the relevant Making Tax Digital threshold and you are not exempt, then you are legally required to use Making Tax Digital to report income and expenses from self-employment and/or property letting and to complete your annual tax return.

If your qualifying income reduces so that it falls below the relevant threshold in one tax year, then you must still follow the Making Tax Digital rules unless your qualifying income remains below the relevant threshold for three consecutive tax years. If this does happen then you are no longer legally required to use Making Tax Digital and can opt out – but you can continue to use Making Tax Digital voluntarily if you wish.

HMRC will use the data from the fourth quarterly update of the third tax year, together with the Making Tax Digital tax returns submitted for the two previous tax years to check that your qualifying income has been below the relevant threshold for the three consecutive tax years. The fourth quarterly update of the third year should be submitted by the following 7 May therefore you can opt out of Making Tax Digital before the first quarterly update of the next tax year becomes due.

If HMRC think you are eligible to opt out of Making Tax Digital, there will be an option to do so in your HMRC online services account. You will then need to comply with traditional self assessment, but you will also need to monitor your qualifying income in future in case you breach the Making Tax Digital threshold at a later date and need to follow the Making Tax Digital rules once again.

Ceasing self-employment and/or property letting

If you are already using Making Tax Digital and your self-employment and/or property income ceases completely

If this means you no longer have any source of income to which Making Tax Digital reporting could apply, then you are no longer in scope of Making Tax Digital. You need to notify HMRC that the source has ceased using your HMRC online services account and also file your last quarterly update covering the quarter in which the income finishes. You will also need to complete a Making Tax Digital tax return covering the tax year in which the income ceased.

For subsequent tax years, if you still need to file a tax return, then you will need to file a traditional self assessment tax return once again.

If you still have an ongoing source of income to which Making Tax Digital applies, see the section below.

If you are already using Making Tax Digital and have more than one source of self-employment and/or property income and one source ceases

This means that as you still have income sources to which Making Tax Digital applies, you still have some qualifying income, and therefore you must continue to use Making Tax Digital and continue filing quarterly updates and Making Tax Digital tax returns. This is the case even if your remaining qualifying income is below the relevant Making Tax Digital threshold. See our section Fall in gross income from self-employment and/or property above for more information.

If your only income is from self-employment and you are required to use Making Tax Digital but your self-employment ceases completely before your start date

Once your qualifying income breaches one of the Making Tax Digital thresholds, you are required to start to use Making Tax Digital from the April after the filing deadline for the tax year in which the threshold was exceeded.

However if your self-employment ceases completely in the period before your start date then you are no longer required to use Making Tax Digital at all. You will need to contact HMRC to tell them and then you should receive written confirmation from HMRC that you do not need to use Making Tax Digital.

Example – self-employment ending before start date

Greta has qualifying income from self-employment shown on her 2025/26 tax return of £35,000, this means her Making Tax Digital start date is April 2027. If her self-employment ceases completely in December 2026, as this is before April 2027 she does not have to use Making Tax Digital from April 2027 as she has no other sources of income to which Making Tax Digital applies. She needs to notify HMRC that her self-employment has ceased.

If your only income is property income and you are required to use Making Tax Digital but your property income ceases completely before your start date

However, if your property income ceases completely in the period before your start date then you are no longer required to use Making Tax Digital at all. You will need to contact HMRC to tell them and then you should receive written confirmation from HMRC that you do not need to use Making Tax Digital.

Example – property income ending before start date

Arthur has qualifying income from property shown on his 2025/26 tax return of £32,500, this means his Making Tax Digital start date is April 2027. If his property income ceases completely in June 2026, as this is before April 2027 he does not have to use Making Tax Digital from April 2027 as he has no other sources of income to which Making Tax Digital applies. He needs to notify HMRC that his property income has ceased.

If you have more than one source of self-employment and/or property income and one source ceases completely before your start date

However, if one of your sources of self-employment or property letting ceases completely in the period before your start date, as you still have income sources to which Making Tax Digital applies, you still have some qualifying income, and therefore you must still start to use Making Tax Digital from your original start date. This is the case even if your remaining qualifying income is below the relevant Making Tax Digital threshold. See our section Fall in gross income from self-employment and/or property above for more information.

You will need to enter the date the self-employment or property income ceased in your HMRC online services account once you have signed up for Making Tax Digital.

Example – two sources of qualifying income, and one ends before start date

Walter has gross income from self-employment of £47,000 and from property letting of £10,000 shown on his 2024/25 tax return. This means his total qualifying income is £57,000, and so his Making Tax Digital start date was April 2026. His self-employment ceased completely in December 2025, but as he has ongoing qualifying income (from his property letting) he still must use Making Tax Digital from his original start date of April 2026, even though his gross rental income of £10,000 is below the Making Tax Digital thresholds. If his rental income remains at £10,000 per annum and he does not have any self-employment income then he will need to follow the Making Tax Digital rules for 3 consecutive tax years (2026/27, 2027/28 and 2028/29) before he is able to stop using Making Tax Digital.

Frequently asked questions

I can’t afford to pay for my software any longer, can I stop using Making Tax Digital?

You cannot choose to stop using Making Tax Digital because you can no longer afford to pay for the software. Assuming your self-employment or property income is ongoing, you can only stop using Making Tax Digital if your gross income from self-employment and/or property has been below the relevant Making Tax Digital threshold for three consecutive tax years, or you are (or become) exempt.

You could consider applying for an exemption, particularly if there is a specific reason why you can no longer afford the software, such as you have become ill and are having to reduce your workload. If you do not qualify for exemption, or HMRC do not grant you an exemption, then you run the risk of incurring penalties for not following the Making Tax Digital rules. You may consider switching to alternative software, such as free software, to enable you to meet the Making Tax Digital requirements.

My computer has broken and I can’t afford to replace it, can I stop using Making Tax Digital?

You cannot choose to stop using Making Tax Digital because you can’t afford to replace computer hardware. Assuming your self-employment or property income is ongoing, you can only stop using Making Tax Digital if your gross income from self-employment and/or property has been below the relevant Making Tax Digital threshold for three consecutive tax years, or you are (or become) exempt.

You could consider applying for an exemption, particularly if there is a specific reason why you can’t afford to replace the hardware, such as you have become ill and are having to reduce your workload. If you do not qualify for exemption, or HMRC do not grant you an exemption, then you run the risk of incurring penalties for not following the Making Tax Digital rules. You may need to look at switching to another method of enabling you to meet the Making Tax Digital requirements, such as using an app on your mobile phone.

I have had an accident and so won’t be working for a few months, can I stop using Making Tax Digital?

You cannot choose to stop using Making Tax Digital, even temporarily. Assuming your self-employment or property income is ongoing, you can only stop using Making Tax Digital if your gross income from self-employment and/or property has been below the relevant Making Tax Digital threshold for three consecutive tax years, or you are (or become) exempt.

You could consider applying for an exemption if your ill health means you will be unable to deal with your tax affairs digitally. HMRC may grant you a temporary exemption, depending on how long the period is that you expect to be unable to work. However, if it is relatively short-term, it is more likely that you will need to continue following the Making Tax Digital rules, even if this means that you need to file quarterly updates with nil income and expenses amounts until you are working again.