Making Tax Digital
Do you need to register for Making Tax Digital?
Read to find out more
Making tax digital is a hot topic of discussion at the moment and for good reason. It’s one of the biggest tax shake ups since self assessment was introduced in 1997!
If you’re earning money as an influencer through brand deals, affiliate links, ad revenue, or digital products—HMRC sees you as a business. And that means Making Tax Digital (MTD) is something you can’t ignore.
The good news? It’s not as complicated as it sounds once you understand the basics. We’ve put together a clear guide specifically for influencers and content creators below.
If you earn over £50k a year as an influencer and you are not a ltd company you will need to register for making tax digital. This isn’t just £50k turnover from paid work, it’ll included any gifted items and holidays, affiliate link earnings, sponsored posts and ad revenue.
You can no longer just keep a spreadsheet - you must be using software. This is a non negotiable for HMRC. There are some great option out there such as xero, and some banks offer free software. Remember though paid software is an allowable expense.
You will have to submit quarterly returns. Every 3 months, you’ll send a summary of your income and expenses to HMRC. At the end of the year, you’ll confirm everything and submit a final declaration.
Common mistakes influencers make are: not declaring gifted items, mixing personal & business finances, not tracking income properly and leaving everything until January. So while it seems scary at the start, making tax digital will stop these things from happening.
While it may feel daunting and causing a headache there are some upsides. You’ll always know how much tax you owe (no surprises), better visibility on your profit, easier to scale your business, and it’s more professional when working with brands.
