Use your gross figure. total fees received, before deducting vehicle, mileage, or franchise costs.
If you're a self-employed driving instructor or a private tutor working hourly with pupils, whether through a franchise, a tutoring platform, or directly with families. MTD applies to your gross self-employment income the same as any sole trader. Both trades share a particular characteristic worth addressing directly: irregular, hourly-based income built around a vehicle or home visits, which doesn't always feel like a typical "business" until you see it through MTD's lens.
| Tax Year Assessed | Threshold | MTD Start Date |
|---|---|---|
| 2024–25 | Over £50,000 | 6 April 2026. Live since April 2026 |
| 2025–26 | Over £30,000 | 6 April 2027 |
| 2026–27 | Over £20,000 | 6 April 2028 |
For a self-employed Approved Driving Instructor (ADI), your dual-control vehicle is typically the dominant business cost, and how you claim it matters more than for almost any other trade:
If you tutor pupils in their homes, your own home, or a mix of locations, your vehicle use tends to be more mixed between business and personal driving than a driving instructor's. For most home-visit tutors:
Both trades commonly involve weeks that vary significantly. school holidays affecting tutoring demand, pupils passing their test and dropping off the books, seasonal patterns in driving lesson bookings. MTD does not require a fixed weekly or monthly pattern:
Many tutors teach more than one subject, or work through several platforms alongside direct private clients. None of this changes the basic principle: all your self-employment income combines into a single MTD qualifying income figure. You don't need separate threshold tracking per subject or platform, see ourmultiple income sources guide for the full detail on how combined income and submissions work.
Yes, but most driving instructors claim actual vehicle running costs (fuel, insurance, dual-control vehicle lease or finance, maintenance) rather than the simplified mileage rate, because their vehicle is used almost entirely for business and the actual-cost method usually gives a larger, more accurate claim. Tutors who drive between pupils' homes more commonly use the simplified mileage rate, since their vehicle use is more mixed between business and personal.
Yes. Any cancellation fee, no-show charge, or retained deposit you receive counts as taxable self-employment income and contributes towards your MTD qualifying income threshold, the same as a fee for a lesson actually delivered.
Yes. All your self-employment income combines into a single qualifying income figure for MTD purposes, regardless of how many subjects you teach or how many platforms or direct clients you work through. There is no need to track each platform separately for threshold purposes, though good record-keeping by source helps at year-end.
Yes. Franchise fees paid to a driving school brand for use of their name, booking system, or branded vehicle livery are an allowable business expense, claimed in the standard expense categories under MTD just as they were under Self Assessment.
MTD does not require a fixed weekly pattern. your quarterly update simply totals whatever income and expenses occurred during that three-month period, however irregular. Software with good calendar or booking integration can significantly reduce the admin burden of logging variable lesson hours.
Our free calculator checks your exact threshold, gives you your deadlines, and recommends mobile-friendly software for tracking lessons on the go.
Run Free MTD Check →