Making Tax Digital
Making Tax Digital for Uber Drivers
Since 6 April 2026, drivers with gross income over £50,000 have had to keep digital records and update HMRC every three months. We check whether it applies to you, set the whole thing up, and file every update on your behalf.
£50,000
Threshold from April 2026
Measured on gross income
£30,000
Threshold from April 2027
Catches many more drivers
4
Updates a year
7 Aug, 7 Nov, 7 Feb, 7 May
£200
Penalty at four points
Points apply from 2027/28
The Problem
The problem: the threshold is not what most drivers think
HMRC measures Making Tax Digital against your qualifying income, which it defines as your total income from self-employment and property before expenses. In plain terms: your turnover, not your profit.
For a driver that means your gross fares — the full amount the passenger paid, before Uber's service fee comes off. So a driver with £62,000 of gross fares, £24,000 of costs and £38,000 of actual profit is inside MTD, even though their profit is nowhere near £50,000.
That single detail pulls thousands of full-time drivers into a regime they have assumed does not apply to them. HMRC does write to people it believes are affected, but the responsibility to check sits with you — and it decides based on a tax return you filed a while ago.
What we do for you
- A straight answer on whether MTD applies to you, based on your actual figures
- MTD-compatible software set up and included in your fee
- Your Uber and Bolt statements connected so income flows in automatically
- A receipt app that takes about ten seconds at the pump
- All four quarterly updates prepared and submitted for you
- Year-end adjustments and the final declaration handled as normal
- Sign-up with HMRC dealt with on your behalf
What MTD actually changes — and what it does not
It changes two things: your records have to be kept digitally in software that talks to HMRC, and you have to send a summary of income and expenses every three months instead of once a year.
It does not change how much tax you pay, when you pay it, what you can claim, or the rates and allowances. Your tax is still due by 31 January, with payments on account on 31 January and 31 July. This is about reporting frequency, not about the bill.
The quarterly deadlines
Quarterly updates are cumulative running totals for the year to date, not four separate mini-returns. The deadlines are fixed: 7 August, 7 November, 7 February and 7 May.
At the end of the year you make any final adjustments — capital allowances, private-use splits, and anything else that needs a judgement rather than a number — and submit a final declaration by 31 January. That replaces the old Self Assessment return.
Why this is genuinely awkward for drivers
Most people caught by MTD have a laptop, a desk and a routine. Driving is not that job. Your records are scattered across weekly Uber statements, fuel receipts in the door pocket, a licensing invoice from the council and a phone bill — and now that has to happen four times a year rather than once.
The upside, once it is running properly, is that you stop guessing. Quarterly figures mean you can see your profit as the year goes along and put the right amount aside each week instead of finding out in January.
There is a penalty grace period — this is the moment to fix it
HMRC is not applying penalty points for late quarterly updates during the 2026/27 tax year. From the following year, each missed update earns a point and four points means a £200 penalty.
That makes this the cheapest year there will ever be to get your systems right. If you missed the first update on 7 August 2026, the position is far more recoverable than you might assume — but it is worth dealing with now rather than at the next deadline.
Already over £50,000 in fares?
Then you are running a substantial business, and it is worth checking whether a limited company would leave more in your pocket. Drivers at this level are often the ones with the most to gain — we will show you the numbers either way.
Look at the limited company optionQuestions
MTD questions drivers ask
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