Independent: QuarterReady is not HMRC and does not give tax advice. How this site is funded
QuarterReady MTD, minus the fog

For UK Amazon, Etsy, eBay & TikTok Shop sole traders

Don’t let a marketplace payout decide your MTD start date.

HMRC tests the qualifying-income figures on your return—usually gross self-employment and property income before expenses and tax allowances. Combine the right figures, check the threshold, then choose a record-keeping route without a sales call.

Run the browser-only check Understand the £30k rule
  • No sign-up
  • Figures stay in your browser
  • HMRC sources linked
1,077,000people in HMRC's published £30k–£50k cohort for April 2027
4 cumulative updatesper business; the fourth is normally due 7 May after year-end
1 totalqualifying self-employment + your property-income share

Tool 01

Check the published MTD income thresholds

Use whole-pound figures from your Self Assessment return—not profit and not simply the net amount a marketplace deposited. This threshold-only check stops on cases it cannot calculate; HMRC makes the real determination.

1
Which personal income sources appear on the relevant returns?

Choose all qualifying sources shown, including a ceased source when another source continues. Do not include a limited company’s turnover.

2
Have you already submitted a Self Assessment return?

HMRC says you do not need to start MTD for Income Tax until after your first return.

3
Check the limits of this small calculator

If a special case applies, the tool will stop and send you to HMRC instead of guessing.

Ignoring income being below a threshold, have you checked HMRC's other exemption rules and confirmed none applies?

These include automatic and temporary exemptions as well as digital exclusion. Check HMRC's exemption guidance ↗

Are all figures based on 12-month accounting periods?

HMRC annualises shorter or longer periods; this tool does not.

Have all sole-trade and property sources shown on those returns now ceased?

A ceased source can still count if another source continues; if every source ceased, the result changes.

4
Enter the qualifying-income figures you know

Enter whole pounds as reported or expected on the return. Use £0 only when a selected source genuinely had no qualifying income. Unknown historical figures stop the check; the future estimate may be left entirely blank.

2024/25 tax return Tests April 2026
2025/26 tax return Tests April 2027
Add a 2026/27 estimate Tests April 2028

Planning estimate only. HMRC will use the qualifying income on the relevant return.

QuarterReady does not send or store these entries. Avoid entering customer data, tax references, or account numbers.

Tool 02

Your spreadsheet may not need replacing

HMRC says compatible software can connect to existing spreadsheet records. The right route depends on what you use now and how much change you actually want.

How do you keep records today?
What matters most?
How complicated is the setup?

Plain-English guides

Read the part that is tripping you up

01 Threshold

The £30,000 MTD rule without the accounting fog

Gross or profit? One marketplace or all of them? Exactly £30,000 or more?

Read the guide 02 Workflow

Can you keep using Excel or Google Sheets?

Where bridging software fits and what must become digital.

See the routes 03 Marketplaces

Sales, fees, refunds and the payout in your bank

A reconciliation framework that keeps unlike numbers separate.

Open the worksheet 04 Deadline

First MTD quarterly update: due 7 August 2026

What to send, which period it covers and the truth about first-year penalties.

Use the checklist 05 Seller reports

Platform report vs payout vs MTD qualifying income

Why four related totals can differ—and the audit trail that connects them.

Separate the numbers 06 Etsy

Which Etsy files do you use for MTD records?

Orders, sales, statements and deposits—mapped to the job each actually does.

Build the workflow

Products we are assessing

Grow the shop. Reconcile the payout. Get help filing.

Grow

eRank for Etsy keyword and listing research

Start with its free plan. Pay only when the daily research limits repeatedly block useful work.

Read the independent fit guide
Reconcile

Link My Books for repeated marketplace settlements

Potentially useful if you already use Xero or QuickBooks Online. Not standalone accounting software.

Read the independent fit guide
File

Taxfix when you want a UK accountant involved

A human-filed tax-return route, plus separate MTD plans. Check exactly which service you need.

Read the independent fit guide

Source-led, not vibes-led

Every rule should survive a click back to HMRC.

Tax rules and software status change. We date-stamp the check, show the exact assumptions, and send you to the official service for the final answer.

Read the methodology
HMRCStart dates and thresholds HMRCSoftware and spreadsheet routes HMRCDigital-record requirements
Core rules checked 13 July 2026

Commercial disclosure

Useful first. Commercial second.

QuarterReady is preparing applications to the eRank, Link My Books and Taxfix affiliate programmes. Product links are currently ordinary direct links, so QuarterReady earns nothing from them today. Once an application is accepted and a tracked link is activated, that link and its surrounding commercial section will be labelled before engagement: “Ad — QuarterReady earns commission on eligible sign-ups or purchases made through this link.”

Commission will never change an HMRC threshold or turn an unsuitable product into a recommendation. The official software finder and non-commercial spreadsheet route remain available.