Making Tax Digital · Security & CCTV Installers
Making Tax Digital for security and CCTV installers: 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 security and CCTV installers
A self-employed security installer supplying the kit is over £30,000 of turnover on a few dozen systems, because the panel, the cameras and the recorder are in every price, and the monitoring contracts add income every month. Over £30,000 for 2025 to 2026 means 6 April 2027.
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 security and CCTV installers' numbers
A security installer took £49,500 in 2025 to 2026: alarms and CCTV for homes and small businesses, annual maintenance visits and a few monitoring contracts, no CIS deducted. £21,000 went on panels, cameras, recorders, cable and the van. HMRC's figure is £49,500, so 6 April 2027.
- Invoiced, before expenses
- £49,500
- Materials, costs, subbies
- £21,000
- HMRC's figure
- £49,500
Making Tax Digital from 6 April 2027
Over £30,000 in the 2025 to 2026 tax year, so it starts on 6 April 2027. That tax year has ended, so the figure HMRC checks is the one on your 2025 to 2026 return. Only an amended return before 6 April 2027, or all your trade and property income stopping, changes it, and a short first year gets scaled up to 12 months (GOV.UK, qualifying income, 11 September 2026).
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 security and CCTV installers
Fitting an alarm or cameras for a homeowner or a shop isn't on GOV.UK's list of construction work, so there's normally no deduction. On a new build, a contractor paying you for wiring that forms part of the building's lighting or power 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 security and CCTV installers lose
- Monitoring and maintenance contracts paid annually by direct debit, each needing a record the day it lands.
- Cameras and recorders bought from the online distributor on a personal card at midnight.
- Call-outs to false alarms at £60, paid by card at the door and never invoiced.
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 security and CCTV installers ask
Annual maintenance contracts paid up front. Income on the day?
Record them when the money arrives, so they're in the right quarter's totals. Your accountant can advise on spreading it at year end; the quarterly update only needs the totals of what came in.
A builder took 20% off an invoice for wiring a new build. Is security work CIS?
Alarms and cameras on their own aren't on GOV.UK's construction list. Wiring that's part of the building's lighting or power systems is. A contractor who deducts must give you a statement, and your turnover is the gross amount.
Business customers want VAT invoices. Does VAT change the threshold?
The threshold is your turnover from self-employment and property before expenses. VAT registration is a separate question with its own threshold. Keep both straight in the same records.
Do annual contracts paid in one go need splitting across quarters?
Not for the update. GOV.UK says each update is category totals for the year so far, so a contract paid in June simply sits in the June total. How it's treated at year end is your accountant's call.
Can my accountant do my sign-up and updates?
Yes. GOV.UK says an agent can sign you up and act for you, as long as you're registered for Self Assessment and sent a return in the last two years. Your monitoring contracts, call-outs and camera orders need to be digital entries for them to work from, and the app keeps them as you invoice.
What if I'm late with a quarterly update?
From the 2027 to 2028 tax year it's one penalty point per late update and £200 when you reach four, then £200 for each one after. GOV.UK expires a point after 24 months, but at four you need 12 months of on-time filing and anything outstanding from the last 24 months sent before they go. Record jobs as they're paid and the update is already built.
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)
