Making Tax Digital for Childminders

Written and reviewed by the Childcare Accountants editorial team. Last reviewed 29 July 2026.

Making Tax Digital for Income Tax changes how self-employed childminders keep records and report to HMRC: digital records and quarterly updates instead of one return a year. For most childminders it is not here yet, but it is close, and when it lands depends on turnover.

This is the timetable and how to get ready.

When It Reaches You

Making Tax Digital for Income Tax starts on 6 April 2026 for people with qualifying income above £50,000, extends to those above £30,000 from April 2027, and to those above £20,000 from April 2028. Qualifying income is your gross self-employment income before expenses.

That gross measure matters for a childminder, because it is taken before your household share, food and other costs come off. A childminder can be over a threshold on gross income while their profit is much lower, so it is worth knowing which phase you fall into.

What Actually Changes

Once you are in, you keep your records digitally, send HMRC a summary update every quarter through compatible software, and finalise the year with a digital declaration instead of a single return. It is more touch-points, but it is not more tax.

For a childminder already noting income and expenses as they go, it is a small change. For one working from a carrier bag of receipts each January, the year before the start date is the time to fix that.

Getting Ready

We set clients up on compatible software, connect it to the account fees land in, and run the quarterly updates as part of the ongoing service, so the deadlines are ours to watch. For a childminder the quarterly habit also makes the household-costs and food claims easier to keep straight.

Getting on top of this early, rather than in the quarter it begins, is the difference between a non-event and a scramble. To get set up, see the childminder service.

Common questions

When does Making Tax Digital affect childminders?

From 6 April 2026 for qualifying income above £50,000, from April 2027 above £30,000, and from April 2028 above £20,000. Qualifying income is gross self-employment income before expenses.

Is qualifying income my turnover or my profit?

Closer to turnover. It is gross income before expenses, so a childminder can be over a threshold on gross income even though profit after the household share, food and other costs is much lower.

Does Making Tax Digital mean more tax?

No. The tax rules are unchanged. What changes is the admin: digital records, quarterly updates through software, and a digital year-end declaration instead of one annual return.

What do I need to do to get ready?

Move onto compatible software and note income and expenses as you go, ideally the year before your start date. We handle the setup and the quarterly filing so the deadlines are ours to watch, not yours.