For self‑employed

MTD for Income Tax — keep your spreadsheet

Submit quarterly updates and your final declaration from macOS. No re‑keying — just map your totals and file.

ITSA MTD app icon HMRC MTD Ready logo

What you can do

  • Quarterly updates for self‑employment (cumulative totals)
  • Cumulative totals: your latest figures replace the last submission
  • Year‑end adjustments & allowances so figures match tax rules
  • Final declaration — your digital Self Assessment return

Deadlines: each update is due within one month of the quarter end.

Keep your spreadsheets

  • Use our starter template or your own spreadsheet
  • Simple mapping: match your income & expense totals to HMRC categories
  • No CSV export required — the app bridges your totals to HMRC

Works on macOS 13+. iPhone & iPad support is planned.

Good to know (self‑employment updates)

  • Cumulative updates: if something changes, just submit again — your latest totals replace the previous figures.
  • Rolling submissions: you can include figures right up to today when you file an update; you don’t have to stop at the quarter end.
  • Totals‑based: quarterly updates are summary totals (income & expenses). You keep digital records in your spreadsheet; detailed breakdowns are finalised at year end.

Quarterly fields you’ll submit (examples)

Quarterly updates are summary totals. Depending on your turnover, you can submit a minimal set of fields or a fuller breakdown.

If turnover is under £90,000 (minimal)

  • Turnover (sales)
  • Other income (if any)
  • Consolidated expenses (single total)

Otherwise (typical fields)

  • Turnover (business income)
  • Other income (if any)
  • Allowable expenses (e.g., cost of goods, advertising & marketing, office costs, professional fees)
  • Vehicle costs (actual costs or simplified mileage)
  • Home working costs (actual costs or HMRC flat‑rate)

Items like capital allowances and CIS tax deducted are typically finalised at year end as part of the final declaration.

FAQs

Do I have to post every transaction each quarter?

No — quarterly updates are summary totals. Keep your digital records; the app submits the totals.

What if I have multiple trades?

Create a separate spreadsheet (and mapping) per trade so each business has its own quarterly updates.

Can I claim simplified expenses?

If you use HMRC’s simplified methods (e.g., flat‑rate mileage), include those in your expenses totals. You’ll finalise at year end in the final declaration.

Common self‑employment setups

  • Single trade: one spreadsheet; submit one quarterly update per obligation.
  • Multiple trades: use a separate spreadsheet and mapping for each trade.
  • Mixed income: self‑employment now; dividends/savings/pension are added in the final declaration.
HMRC campaign graphic: Tax is changing in April 2026
New to MTD for the self-employed?

See HMRC’s official campaign site to understand who needs to join and what changes in April 2026.

HMRC campaign site

Ready to try it?

We’re onboarding self-employed users on an invite‑only basis for the 2025–26 tax year.