{"id":6952,"date":"2026-04-22T10:08:49","date_gmt":"2026-04-22T09:08:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.bainesjewitt.co.uk\/blog\/?p=6952"},"modified":"2026-04-22T09:08:52","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T09:08:52","slug":"are-you-exempt-from-making-tax-digital-for-income-tax-hmrc-clears-up-the-confusion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.bainesjewitt.co.uk\/blog\/are-you-exempt-from-making-tax-digital-for-income-tax-hmrc-clears-up-the-confusion\/","title":{"rendered":"Are you exempt from Making Tax Digital for Income Tax? HMRC clears up the confusion"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Making Tax Digital (MTD) for Income Tax is in full swing, but there is still confusion in the air over who is exempt from these requirements.<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p>Recent updates from HMRC have cleared this up, explaining who qualifies for these exemptions and what the year one waiver really means.<\/p>\n<p>The clock is ticking, so if you believe you are eligible for exemption, you don\u2019t want to leave it too late to apply.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>Am I exempt from Making Tax Digital?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>HMRC\u2019s guidance clarifies that individuals who are not physically or mentally able to submit digital records, those without a National Insurance number and certain non-resident taxpayers who file using supplementary pages are automatically exempt.<\/p>\n<p>It also explains which taxpayers are eligible for a one-year waiver from quarterly reporting for the first tax year of MTD for Income Tax.<\/p>\n<p>You might qualify for this if, in your 2024-25 Self-Assessment tax return, you:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Claimed averaging relief using the SA103 or SA104 supplementary page<\/li>\n<li>Claimed qualifying care relief<\/li>\n<li>Used the SA107 supplementary page to report trust or estate income<\/li>\n<li>Used the SA109 supplementary page to report residence and foreign income and gains and were not a UK resident<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Those who fall into these categories do not need to follow the MTD requirements straight away.<\/p>\n<p>You can submit your 2025-26 tax return as normal by 31 January 2027.<\/p>\n<p>HMRC has also confirmed that those to whom this applies have an automatic exemption.<\/p>\n<p>However, be careful as this waiver only lasts one year.<\/p>\n<p>From the 2027-28 tax year, most individuals earning over \u00a330,000 will need to comply and you need to make sure you are following the rules.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>How can I apply for an exemption?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>You might believe that you fall into one of these exemption categories, but not all exemptions are automatically applied.<\/p>\n<p>If it is not, you will need to apply to HMRC directly by phone or in writing.<\/p>\n<p>This application should include your personal details, current method of filing tax returns, an explanation of why you cannot comply and supporting evidence.<\/p>\n<p>Those who fall into the first phase this tax year need to submit their application and be approved by 7 August 2026.<\/p>\n<p>Missing this deadline means you automatically fall into MTD for Income Tax requirements for this tax year.<\/p>\n<p>HMRC aims to respond to applicants within 28 days, although it can take longer if further information is required.<\/p>\n<p>You should not sit around and wait for the verdict and you need to continue to remain compliant with the MTD for Income Tax requirements.<\/p>\n<h3><strong>What if I am not exempt from MTD for Income Tax?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>Most landlords and sole traders are not exempt and you need to be preparing your digital record-keeping and quarterly submissions.<\/p>\n<p>You also need to mark your calendars and start getting everything in order for the first submission deadline on 7 August 2026.<\/p>\n<p>If you do believe you are exempt, we can help guide you through the application process.<\/p>\n<p>Making Tax Digital for Income Tax is uncharted territory for all taxpayers. Let us help you understand the rules and stay compliant.<\/p>\n<p><strong>For further guidance on MTD for Income Tax, contact our team.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Making Tax Digital (MTD) for Income Tax is in full swing, but there is still confusion in the air over who is exempt from these requirements.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":6954,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,28,33,7],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bainesjewitt.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6952"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bainesjewitt.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bainesjewitt.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bainesjewitt.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bainesjewitt.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6952"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.bainesjewitt.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6952\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6953,"href":"https:\/\/www.bainesjewitt.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6952\/revisions\/6953"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bainesjewitt.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6954"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.bainesjewitt.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6952"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bainesjewitt.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6952"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.bainesjewitt.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6952"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}