My farm makes a small profit. Am I really caught by Making Tax Digital?

Possibly, because it is measured on gross turnover before your costs, not on profit. A farm with over £50,000 of turnover on the 2024/25 return is in from April 2026, even if the profit after costs is modest. Check rather than assume.

Do the quarterly updates mean paying tax four times a year?

No. The quarterly updates are running summaries, not payments. The tax is still calculated and paid once a year through the return. It is more filing through the year, not more payments.

Making Tax Digital for Farmers

Written and reviewed by the Agricultural Accountants editorial team. Last reviewed 27 July 2026.

Making Tax Digital for Income Tax reaches farmers the same way it reaches any sole trader, and the threshold is lower than many expect. It is measured on gross turnover, so a farm with a mortgage and a modest profit can still be over the line and filing quarterly from April 2026.

This service is the setup and the filing, so the quarters are something that happens rather than four new deadlines at the worst times of the year.

Who Is In, and From When

From 6 April 2026, farmers with gross turnover over £50,000 on the 2024/25 return must keep digital records and file quarterly. The threshold drops to £30,000 in April 2027 and £20,000 in April 2028. It is measured on gross turnover before costs, which is set out in our guide-level terms and confirmed by GOV.UK.

Because it is turnover, not profit, a farm that does not feel like a high earner can still be caught, so the first job is simply telling you whether you are in and when.

The Software, Set Up Once

We set up compatible farm accounting software, migrate your records into it, and get the digital record-keeping running so the quarterly updates come out of it rather than from a separate exercise. Where you already use farm software, we work with what you have.

The point is that the records are kept as you go, so the quarters are a export-and-file, not a scramble.

The Quarters, Filed for You

We file the four quarterly updates and the final declaration, so the deadlines are ours to meet, not yours to remember during harvest or lambing. The updates are running totals, not tax calculations, and nothing is paid at that point; the tax is still worked out and paid as part of the year-end return covered in our accounts and returns service.

The genuine upside is that a farm doing this properly knows its position through the year rather than the following January.

Fees for Making Tax Digital

A fixed annual fee covering the software setup, the record-keeping support and the four quarterly filings plus the final declaration, quoted before we start so the whole year is one known number.

If your turnover is under the threshold and you are not caught yet, we will tell you that rather than sell you a service you do not need.