Materials versus labour, domestic cash jobs and a seasonal diary. Many painters sit right around the £30,000 line, so here's how Making Tax Digital for Income Tax applies to you, and exactly when it starts.
MTD for Income Tax is measured on gross income before expenses, and it phases in by income. Because decorators often sit near the £30,000 line, the timing is worth pinning down.
Because the threshold looks at gross income, the paint and materials you buy and recharge count towards it. A steady domestic round with materials passing through can cross £30,000 sooner than the take-home suggests, so check your gross total.
When you're in scope, your annual Self Assessment return is replaced by four short quarterly updates and a year-end final declaration, all through recognised software.
Snap merchant receipts as you buy, so a materials run for a big job is matched to the right quarter.
Paint you recharge flows through your takings. Record what you charge and what you paid so you're taxed on the difference.
Cash still counts. Log it on the app when you're paid and your records stay complete for the quarter.
If you hover around £30,000, keeping tidy records means you'll know the moment you tip into scope from April 2027.
Painting on construction sites? CIS may be deducted from your labour. It still counts towards your tax, reconciled through MTD. See our CIS guide.
You're up a ladder, not sat at a desk. Clear Books lets you keep records from your phone and gives HMRC exactly what MTD needs, whenever you're in scope.
Log jobs and materials as you go, watch your gross income against the thresholds, and be ready to submit when your wave lands.
