MTD Timeline 2027–2028 for Driving Instructors: Every Date You Need

Making Tax Digital for Income Tax doesn’t arrive as one deadline. It’s a run of dates spread over two years, and the return that decides whether you’re in was for a tax year that has already ended. This guide puts every date an ADI needs in order, from October 2026 to your first tax return through MTD software.

For the background on thresholds and what counts as income, read our main guide to Making Tax Digital for driving instructors. This page assumes you know roughly what MTD is and want the calendar.

Dates come from GOV.UK as checked on 16 October 2026. It isn’t tax advice. If your income is close to a threshold, check GOV.UK or ask an accountant.

The two dates that decide when you start

HMRC uses the qualifying income on an earlier tax return to decide your start date. Qualifying income is your lesson income before expenses.

Source: GOV.UK, check if you’re eligible.

Most full-time ADIs are in the April 2027 group. At £35 a lesson, 19 paid hours a week over 46 weeks comes to just over £30,000. Part-time instructors teaching around 13 hours a week or more are likely to join in April 2028.

HMRC says it will write to people whose income is over the threshold. If no letter arrives, you’re still responsible for checking.

Timeline for the April 2027 group

October to December 2026: get your numbers and file early

1. Total your lesson income for 6 April 2025 to 5 April 2026. Use bank statements, your diary or your driving school software’s revenue report. Count lessons you were paid for, not hours you were available.
2. File your 2025 to 2026 return. You must have submitted a return for the year before you start, so filing in the autumn removes a January rush.
3. Open a separate business bank account if you don’t have one. It makes bank feeds and digital records far simpler.
4. Start choosing software, or ask your accountant what they’ll use. Our guide to choosing MTD software for driving instructors has a checklist.

January 2027: the deciding deadline

• 31 January 2027: deadline for your 2025 to 2026 Self Assessment return. This is the return that decides whether you start in April. MTD doesn’t change how or when you pay tax, so your usual payment dates still apply.

February and March 2027: get set up

1. Pick your MTD software and authorise it, or set up your accountant as your agent.
2. Sign up for MTD on GOV.UK. You can join voluntarily before you’re required to, which lets you practise.
3. Set up your expense categories and car method. Decide on flat-rate mileage or actual costs with your accountant. Our guide to MTD record keeping explains the choice.
4. Put the four quarterly deadlines in your diary for the year ahead.

6 April 2027: MTD starts

From this date, every business income and expense item must be recorded digitally, with the amount, date and category. Records need to start from 6 April, or 1 April if you use calendar quarters.

The first year of quarterly updates

Each update covers the tax year so far, not just the last three months. A mistake in one quarter can be corrected in your records and carried into the next update.

If you want calendar quarters, choose them in your software before you send your first update. GOV.UK says you can’t change your update periods for the rest of the tax year once an update has gone.

You must send an update even for a quarter with no income, for example if you were off sick.

Source: GOV.UK, send quarterly updates.

Alongside the first year: your last old-style return

• 31 January 2028: deadline for your 2026 to 2027 Self Assessment return. You weren’t in MTD that year, so this is filed the usual way.

After the fourth update: your first MTD tax return

After the 7 May 2028 update, make your year-end adjustments, such as capital allowances on your car, add any other income and check what HMRC has added. Then submit the return through your MTD software.

• 31 January 2029: deadline for your 2027 to 2028 tax return, your first one through MTD software.

Source: GOV.UK, submit your tax return.

Timeline for the April 2028 group

If your income was under £30,000 in 2025 to 2026 but is over £20,000 in 2026 to 2027, the same pattern runs a year later.

Penalties: when points start

This is the part most summaries get slightly wrong for ADIs.

GOV.UK says HMRC will not apply penalty points for late quarterly updates during the 2026 to 2027 tax year. That tax year covers the people who started in April 2026, with income over £50,000.

If you start in April 2027, your first quarterly updates fall in the 2027 to 2028 tax year. The relief doesn’t extend to that year. So from your very first update:

• Each late quarterly update earns one penalty point.
• When you reach four points, you get a £200 penalty.
• A late tax return also earns points.

People who sign up voluntarily before they’re required to don’t get penalty points for late quarterly updates. That makes a voluntary trial run before April 2027 a sensible way to learn the process.

A one-page diary for your first MTD year

If you start in April 2027, these are the dates to put in your phone now:

1. 31 January 2027: 2025 to 2026 return due
2. 6 April 2027: start digital records
3. 7 August 2027: first update
4. 7 November 2027: second update
5. 31 January 2028: 2026 to 2027 return due (old style)
6. 7 February 2028: third update
7. 7 May 2028: fourth update
8. 31 January 2029: first MTD tax return due

Set a reminder a week before each update to check your income and expenses before your software sends them.

Where DriveSchoolPro fits

Each quarterly update needs an accurate income figure for the tax year so far. DriveSchoolPro records every lesson, invoice and payment, by card, cash or bank transfer, so you can check that figure against your accounting software before you submit. It is not MTD software and does not file anything with HMRC. It doesn’t record expenses or mileage, so you still need MTD-compatible software or an accountant. Our page on accounting software for driving instructors explains how the two work together.

DriveSchoolPro is free until 31 March 2027. From 1 April 2027 there’s a permanent Free plan for one instructor and up to 60 lessons a month, or Solo at £22 a month with no VAT charged. See pricing.

Related guides

• Making Tax Digital for driving instructors: thresholds, qualifying income and a checklist
• MTD record keeping for driving instructors: the records to keep, typical expenses and the mileage choice
• Choosing MTD software for driving instructors: what to look for and questions to ask
• Accounting software for driving instructors: what bookkeeping software does that driving school software doesn’t
• Driving school revenue calculator: work out your yearly lesson income before you check the threshold