Use what you actually received after your network or principal firm's split, not their gross billing, before your own business costs are deducted.
If you're a self-employed financial adviser or mortgage broker, working under your own name, as a sole trader, or as an Appointed Representative (AR) of a network, Making Tax Digital applies to you in exactly the same way it applies to any other self-employed person. The part that trips people up isn't the general MTD rules, it's working out what your actual qualifying income is, once network splits, procuration fees and client fees are all in the mix.
Yes, if you are self-employed (including as a sole trader AR under a network) and your gross qualifying income, plus any other self-employment or rental income, exceeds the relevant threshold:
| 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 |
Advice and mortgage broking income is naturally lumpy. a strong quarter around a busy remortgage window, or a run of protection sales, can push your annual total well above £50,000 even if your month-to-month income feels inconsistent. It's your income across the full tax year that's assessed, not any single quarter.
Most self-employed advisers and brokers in the UK operate as an Appointed Representative of a network, rather than holding their own FCA authorisation directly. The network is FCA-authorised; you operate under its permissions, and in return the network takes a percentage of every procuration fee and client fee you generate, in exchange for compliance oversight, PI insurance cover, and back-office support.
Most self-employed advisers and brokers use the cash basis, meaning income is recorded when it's actually received, not when the case completes or the policy is sold. This has a genuinely useful side effect for MTD purposes: clawbacks.
Protection and mortgage business often carries a clawback period, if a client cancels their policy or remortgages away within (commonly) the first 12 months, some or all of your commission can be reclaimed by the lender or provider. Under the cash basis, a clawback is simply recorded as a deduction in the period it happens, it reduces your income in that later period, rather than requiring you to go back and restate an earlier quarter's MTD update.
| Expense Category | Examples |
|---|---|
| Network and platform fees | Any fixed platform or compliance fee charged separately from the commission split |
| Professional indemnity insurance | Often arranged via the network, but check whether you pay a personal top-up |
| Qualifications and CPD | CII, CeMAP, LIBF exam and membership fees, structured CPD courses |
| Sourcing and CRM software | Mortgage sourcing systems, client relationship management tools not provided free by your network |
| Marketing | Website, local advertising, referral partner events |
| Use of home / office | Simplified flat rate, or a proportion of costs if you rent a local office |
A meaningful number of financial advisers and mortgage brokers operate through their own limited company rather than as a sole trader, sometimes as an AR of a network where the AR agreement is held by the company, not the individual. If that's your structure, MTD for Income Tax does not apply to you personally, since it only reaches sole trader and property income, not company profits (which are taxed separately under Corporation Tax and dividends).
It's worth checking your actual arrangement with your network or compliance department if you're unsure. some advisers assume they're incorporated when they're actually trading as a sole trader AR, and vice versa.
Priya's threshold check uses her £72,500 net share, not the £92,000 the network billed lenders and clients. That's well above the £50,000 Phase 1 threshold, so MTD already applies to her.
Your net share, what you actually received after the network's commission split. The gross procuration fee or client fee billed by the network is not your income for MTD purposes, only your agreed percentage of it is.
The same as any sole trader: over £50,000 gross qualifying income in 2024–25 means MTD from April 2026, over £30,000 in 2025–26 means April 2027, over £20,000 in 2026–27 means April 2028.
If you use the cash basis (most self-employed advisers do), a clawback is simply recorded as a deduction in the period it happens. It reduces that period's income rather than requiring you to restate an earlier quarterly update.
No, not personally. MTD for Income Tax only applies to sole trader self-employment and property income. Company profits are taxed under Corporation Tax and dividend rules, which sit outside MTD's current scope.
Neither, precisely, it applies to your gross qualifying income, which for an AR means your net share after the network split, before your own business expenses (software, insurance, CPD) are deducted.
Any HMRC-recognised MTD software works. There's no adviser-specific requirement, the main need is a clean way to record your net commission receipts and clawbacks, which standard MTD software handles without issue.
Our free calculator checks your exact threshold, deadlines, and recommends the easiest software for your record-keeping.
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