Making Tax Digital · Cleaners
Making Tax Digital for cleaners: 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 cleaners
A self-employed cleaner on regular domestic and end of tenancy work sits closer to the line than most trades, so the check matters: every clean for 2025 to 2026 added up, cash included, before products and fuel. 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 cleaners' numbers
A cleaner took £28,000 in 2025 to 2026 from regular homes, end of tenancy cleans for a letting agent and two builders' cleans, no CIS deducted. £3,100 went on products, a carpet machine, insurance and fuel. HMRC's figure is £28,000, so not from April 2027. Over £20,000 in 2026 to 2027 brings 6 April 2028.
- Invoiced, before expenses
- £28,000
- Materials, costs, subbies
- £3,100
- HMRC's figure
- £28,000
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 cleaners
Regular cleaning isn't construction work, so homeowners, landlords and offices paying you normally deduct nothing. The one exception on GOV.UK's list is cleaning the inside of a building after construction work: a builder paying you for a builders' clean on a new house can deduct 20% from the labour. 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 cleaners lose
- Weekly cleans paid by bank transfer with no invoice, forty customers, two thousand payments a year.
- Products bought with the household shop and never separated out.
- The letting agent's end of tenancy work, paid monthly on a statement.
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 cleaners ask
Two thousand small payments a year. How does anyone keep that as records?
By letting the app match the bank feed to the customer. Each payment is recorded the day it lands; the quarterly update only needs the total for the year so far, which the software adds up.
A builder paid me for a sparkle clean on a new house and took 20% off. Why?
GOV.UK lists cleaning the inside of buildings after construction work as construction work, so a contractor can deduct 20% from the labour on a builders' clean. Your normal domestic cleaning is outside CIS. Your turnover is the gross either way.
I'm under £30,000 but I also rent out a room. Does that count?
Property income counts, added to self-employment income, before expenses. £28,000 of cleaning plus £7,000 of rent is £35,000, which is over the line for April 2027. Check whether a relief applies to the room, which your accountant or GOV.UK can confirm.
I clean for a letting agent and for private homes. Is that two businesses?
GOV.UK adds all your self-employment income together for the threshold, and keeps one set of records per business. Whether cleaning for an agent and for homes is one business or two is one for your accountant; the threshold answer is the same either way.
Is there free MTD software for a cleaner?
GOV.UK says free products exist for people with simple tax affairs, and some cap transactions, which matters with two thousand payments a year. Through InstaQuote, ANNA gives sole traders MTD for Self Assessment free for the first year; InstaQuote is 7 days free then from £47 a month.
When will I know for sure whether I'm in from 2028?
The 2028 check uses your 2026 to 2027 turnover, which ends on 5 April 2027. GOV.UK says HMRC reviews your return each year; over £20,000 means 6 April 2028. Keep records now and you'll know your own figure before HMRC tells you.
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)
