Making Tax Digital · Aerial & Satellite Engineers
Making Tax Digital for aerial and satellite engineers: do you need it?
170 days until it starts for sole traders over £30,000
Checked against GOV.UK, 14 October 2026.
The short answer for aerial and satellite engineers
A self-employed aerial engineer on call-outs, installs and the odd new-build cabling job sits near the line, so the check is worth doing properly: every job for 2025 to 2026 added up before expenses. Over £30,000 means 6 April 2027. Between £20,000 and £30,000 means this year decides April 2028.
The thresholds, from GOV.UK (26 March 2026): over £50,000 for 2024 to 2025 started on 6 April 2026, over £30,000 for 2025 to 2026 starts on 6 April 2027, over £20,000 for 2026 to 2027 starts on 6 April 2028. All counted as turnover, before expenses.
The figure HMRC checks
HMRC checks your qualifying income: everything that came in from self-employment and property, before expenses. GOV.UK calls it turnover. Wages from a PAYE job don't count.
The figure is what you invoiced, not what landed in the bank. GOV.UK says the deductions a contractor takes count as advance payments towards your tax and National Insurance bill, and qualifying income is counted before expenses, so the 20% that came off is still part of your turnover.
A worked year, in aerial and satellite engineers' numbers
An aerial engineer took £29,000 in 2025 to 2026 from aerial and dish installs, TV wall mounts and a run of call-outs, no CIS deducted. £6,200 went on aerials, cable, brackets, a meter, ladders and fuel. HMRC's figure is £29,000, so not from April 2027. Over £20,000 in 2026 to 2027 brings 6 April 2028.
- Invoiced, before expenses
- £29,000
- Materials, costs, subbies
- £6,200
- HMRC's figure
- £29,000
Not yet: 6 April 2028, if 2026 to 2027 is over £20,000
Under £30,000 for 2025 to 2026, so not from April 2027. Over £20,000 in 2026 to 2027 brings it in from 6 April 2028.
Need it? Sort it in two minutes.
InstaQuote, 7 days free, then from £47 a month only if you carry on. ANNA opens from inside it, free for your first year. About 2 minutes.
- InstaQuote does the quotes, the invoices and the chasing.
- ANNA is the MTD software your updates go to HMRC through, free for your first year.
- You do the job.
- Not sure where to start? Reply to your welcome email and I'll set it up with you.
- ANNA gives you a personal tax calendar with reminders, so no quarter slips past.
- Prefer your accountant? They can still do it, and your records are ready for them.
I'm Tom, the founder. Ten years in the trade, every quote done in the van. If it's not quicker than what you do now, bin it and tell me why.
AdInstaQuote: 7 days free, then from £47 a month only if you carry on. ANNA: £0 monthly fee to start, MTD for Self Assessment free for the first year, and a personal tax calendar with reminders (anna.money, 14 October 2026). InstaQuote may be paid by ANNA if you open an account through us. ANNA's terms apply.
CIS and aerial and satellite engineers
Fitting an aerial or a dish for a homeowner isn't on GOV.UK's list of construction work, so there's no deduction. On a new build, a contractor paying you for cabling that forms part of the building's systems can deduct 20% from the labour; their paperwork tells you. For Making Tax Digital every job counts in full.
The rate, from GOV.UK: 20% if you're registered for CIS, 30% if you're not, nothing if you have gross payment status. Whoever deducts must give you a statement, and that statement is your proof.
The records aerial and satellite engineers lose
- Call-outs at £70, paid by card on the doorstep and never invoiced.
- Aerials, cable and brackets bought from the distributor online, used over months.
- The ladder, the meter and the van insurance, paid once a year and forgotten.
Every three months your software sends HMRC totals for each income and expense category, not the receipts themselves. The updates are due on 7 August, 7 November, 7 February and 7 May, and each one covers the tax year so far.
InstaQuote holds those quotes, invoices and expenses as you work, so they can go into your Making Tax Digital software as the digital records. It isn't that software itself. ANNA, our partner, is the software your updates and return go to HMRC through.
Questions aerial and satellite engineers ask
I'm under £30,000. Can I ignore this until 2028?
You can wait, but the April 2028 check uses your 2026 to 2027 turnover, which is this year, and over £20,000 brings you in. Keeping records now means the first update is a tap.
A builder deducted 20% from a new-build cabling job. Why?
Cabling that forms part of a building's systems can count as construction work, so a contractor can deduct. They must give you a statement; the deduction counts towards your tax, and your turnover is the gross.
TV wall mounts and sound bars. Is that even the same business?
It's all income from your self-employment, and it all adds to the same turnover for the threshold. One set of records, one total.
I'm under £30,000 but over £20,000. Do I need to do anything now?
Not for April 2027. GOV.UK's April 2028 check uses your 2026 to 2027 turnover against £20,000, so this year decides it. Keep digital records now and the first update, if it comes, is a tap.
Does HMRC sign me up when I go over?
You sign up, or an agent does. GOV.UK says you need to be registered for Self Assessment and to have sent a return in the last two years. HMRC reviews your return each year to see if you've passed the threshold; for the 2026 group it started signing people up itself from September 2026 where they hadn't, so don't bank on being left alone.
What does a quarterly update actually contain?
Totals for each income and expense category for the year so far, from 6 April. GOV.UK says HMRC doesn't receive the individual invoices or receipts, and you can correct a figure in the next update rather than resending.
Does InstaQuote file my Making Tax Digital updates?
No. InstaQuote holds the quotes, invoices and expenses so they can go into your Making Tax Digital software as the digital records; it isn't that software itself. ANNA, our partner, is the software your updates and return go to HMRC through, from the business account you open inside your InstaQuote account.
Checked against GOV.UK
- GOV.UK: Check if you're eligible for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax (updated 26 March 2026)
- GOV.UK: Work out your qualifying income (updated 11 September 2026)
- GOV.UK: Use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax (updated 7 September 2026)
- GOV.UK: Send quarterly updates (updated 7 September 2026)
- GOV.UK: Penalties for Income Tax Self Assessment volunteers (updated 12 March 2026)
- GOV.UK: Penalties for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax (updated 30 March 2026)
- GOV.UK: Sign up for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax (updated 13 October 2026)
- GOV.UK: Create digital records (updated 7 September 2026)
- GOV.UK: Find software that's compatible (updated 13 July 2026)
- GOV.UK: Apply for an exemption (updated 17 August 2026)
- GOV.UK: CIS deductions from your payments (read 14 October 2026)
- GOV.UK: HMRC's Transformation Roadmap (no MTD for Corporation Tax) (updated 21 July 2025)
- GOV.UK: What is the Construction Industry Scheme (what counts as construction work) (read 14 October 2026)
- GOV.UK: What you must do as a CIS subcontractor (deductions) (read 14 October 2026)
- GOV.UK: What you must do as a CIS contractor (statements, monthly returns) (read 14 October 2026)
