Making Tax Digital for Uber Drivers: What Changed in April 2026
The threshold is measured on your gross fares, not your profit. That one detail drags thousands of Uber drivers into MTD who assumed it did not apply to them.
Published 20 April 2026 · Updated 12 August 2026
For as long as most drivers have been working, tax has meant one return, once a year, filed by 31 January. On 6 April 2026 that changed for a large group of self-employed people — and Uber drivers are heavily represented in it.
What Making Tax Digital actually is
Making Tax Digital for Income Tax (MTD for ITSA) does two things. It requires you to keep your business records digitally in software that connects to HMRC, and it requires you to send HMRC a summary of your income and expenses every three months instead of only once a year.
It does not change how much tax you pay. It does not change the rates, the allowances, or what you can claim. It changes how often you report and the form your records have to take.
Does it apply to you?
This is where drivers get caught, so read this part carefully.
The threshold is your gross fares, not your profit
HMRC calls it 'qualifying income' and defines it as your total income from self-employment and property before expenses — turnover, in other words. A driver taking £62,000 in gross fares with £24,000 of costs and £38,000 of actual profit is over the £50,000 threshold and inside MTD, even though their profit is nowhere near it.
Note also that it is your gross fares — the full fare the passenger paid — not the amount that lands in your account after Uber's service fee. That distinction alone pulls a lot of full-time drivers over the line.
The rollout timetable
| From | If your qualifying income is over | Based on your |
|---|---|---|
| 6 April 2026 | £50,000 | 2024/25 tax return |
| 6 April 2027 | £30,000 | 2025/26 tax return |
| 6 April 2028 | £20,000 | 2026/27 tax return |
So the figure that decides whether you are in MTD right now is the turnover on a tax return you filed some time ago. HMRC writes to people it believes are affected, but the responsibility to check sits with you.
What you have to do, in practice
- Keep digital records of every bit of income and every expense. Spreadsheets alone are not enough unless bridging software links them to HMRC
- Send a quarterly update summarising income and expenses to date. These are cumulative running totals, not four separate mini-returns
- Make any final adjustments at the end of the year — capital allowances, private-use splits, and anything else that needs a decision rather than a number
- Submit a final declaration, which replaces the old Self Assessment return, and pay by 31 January as usual
The quarterly deadlines
| Quarter covers | Update due by |
|---|---|
| 6 April – 5 July | 7 August |
| 6 April – 5 October | 7 November |
| 6 April – 5 January | 7 February |
| 6 April – 5 April | 7 May |
The first update under the new regime fell due on 7 August 2026. If you missed it, deal with it now rather than waiting — the position is far more recoverable than most drivers assume.
What does not change
- Your payment dates. Tax is still due by 31 January, with payments on account on 31 January and 31 July
- Your allowances and rates. Nothing about the calculation changes
- Your expenses. Everything you could claim before, you can still claim
- The 31 January deadline for your final declaration
Why this is genuinely awkward for drivers
Most self-employed people affected by MTD have a laptop, an office and a routine. Driving is not that job. Your records are spread across Uber statements, fuel receipts in the door pocket, a licensing invoice from the council and a phone bill. Doing that four times a year rather than once is real friction.
The upside, once it is running, is that you stop guessing. Quarterly figures mean you know your profit as you go and can put the right amount aside each week rather than discovering the number in January.
How we handle it
We set up MTD-compatible software, connect it to your Uber statements so income flows in automatically, and give you an app for photographing receipts in ten seconds at the pump. Then we prepare and submit all four quarterly updates and the final declaration for you. Your only job is to send receipts as you go.
If you are over the threshold and have not started, get in touch. The grace period on penalties makes this the cheapest moment there will ever be to sort it out.
Would you rather not think about any of this?
That is exactly what we are for. Send us your Uber statements and we will handle the return, the quarterly updates and the deadlines — and tell you honestly if there is a better way for you to be set up.