Making Tax Digital for Roofers
Written and reviewed by the Roofer Accountants editorial team. Last reviewed 29 July 2026.
Making Tax Digital for Income Tax changes how self-employed roofers keep records and report to HMRC: digital records and quarterly updates instead of one return a year. For most roofers it is not here yet, but it is close, and when it lands depends on your turnover.
This is the timetable, who is caught first, and how it fits with CIS.
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 and property income before expenses.
That gross figure matters for a roofer, because it is measured before your materials and costs come off. A roofer turning over £55,000 who keeps far less after materials and the van is still measured on the £55,000 for the start date, so many roofers are in from the first phase.
How It Fits With CIS
The good news is that CIS and Making Tax Digital pull in the same direction: both reward keeping clean digital records of income and expenses through the year. A roofer already logging payments, CIS statements and receipts as they go will find the quarterly updates a small step, and their refund easier to get right.
Your CIS deductions and refund still run through the year-end return; Making Tax Digital adds the quarterly updates on top. It is more touch-points, not more tax.
Getting Ready
The roofers who will find this painless are the ones on compatible software, with income and expenses captured as they go rather than reconstructed in a shoebox each January. The year before your start date is the time to move onto that.
We set clients up on software, connect it to the account the payments land in, and run the quarterly updates as part of the ongoing service, so the deadlines are ours to watch. To get set up, tell us about your roofing work.