Use your gross takings before wholesale stock, wastage or delivery costs are deducted.
If you run a florist business, whether from a shop, a market stall, or entirely home-based with deliveries, Making Tax Digital applies to you the same way it applies to any self-employed sole trader. Floristry has a few genuinely distinctive features worth understanding: perishable stock, wholesale market buying, and heavily seasonal income.
Yes, if your gross florist 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 |
Your gross income is your total takings before expenses, wholesale flower costs, wastage, delivery and shop rent are all deducted afterwards, not before, when checking your threshold.
Most florists buy stock through wholesale markets (such as New Covent Garden Flower Market) or direct from Dutch auction importers, often paying cash or by card early in the morning before a market or wedding order. These purchases are ordinary allowable stock costs, keep receipts or invoices consistently, since early-morning market buying is exactly the kind of purchase that's easy to under-record if you're not deliberate about it.
Wedding and large event flowers are typically booked with a deposit months in advance, with the balance due closer to the date. Most self-employed florists use the cash basis, so a deposit counts as income when received, not when the event happens, this can mean a run of spring wedding bookings taken in one quarter shows up in that quarter's figures even though the actual weddings are months away.
It's also worth being clear that a single busy period, Valentine's Day, Mother's Day, or a heavy wedding season, doesn't push you into MTD on its own. It's your total income across the full tax year that's assessed against the threshold, not any individual busy week.
| Expense Category | Examples |
|---|---|
| Wholesale stock | Fresh flowers and foliage bought from wholesale markets or importers |
| Wastage | Spoiled, unsold stock, a genuine deductible cost when properly recorded |
| Sundries | Oasis foam, wire, ribbon, wrapping, vases used in arrangements |
| Refrigerated storage | Cold storage units to extend stock life |
| Delivery | Van costs or mileage for wedding and event deliveries, at the current HMRC rate |
| Shop or stall costs | Rent, rates and utilities if trading from a fixed premises |
Isla's combined income of £47,500 sits between £30,000 and £50,000, so she falls into Phase 2, joining MTD from April 2027 based on her 2025–26 income, provided next year's total doesn't push her over £50,000 first.
Yes. Stock wastage is a genuine, accepted business cost for florists, since flowers are perishable in a way most retail stock isn't. Keep a simple running record alongside your wholesale purchase receipts so the cost is properly reflected.
The same as any self-employed sole trader: over £50,000 gross 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.
Not on its own. It's your total gross income across the full tax year that's assessed against the threshold, not any single busy week or quarter.
Under the cash basis, which most self-employed florists use, a deposit counts as income in the tax year you actually receive it, regardless of when the wedding itself takes place.
Yes, keep receipts or invoices for every wholesale buy, early-morning market purchases are one of the easiest costs to under-record if you're not deliberate about keeping the paperwork.
Any HMRC-recognised MTD software works. The main practical need is recording wholesale stock costs and wastage alongside your takings, which standard software handles through ordinary expense categories.
Our free calculator checks your exact threshold, deadlines, and recommends the easiest software for your record-keeping.
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