Mothers on maternity leave will still have to file quarterly under Making Tax Digital for Income Tax, even if earnings are nil, if they are in first £50,000 wave
HMRC has confirmed the nuances of the Making Tax Digital (MTD) for Income Tax rules for women on maternity leave who fall into the first £50,000 threshold for quarterly reporting, requiring mandatory registration from 6 April 2026 based on qualifying income earned in the 2024-25 tax year.
Following questions raised at a Business & Accountancy Daily MTD webinar earlier this month, we asked HMRC what happens if someone inside MTD for Income Tax in first £50,000 cohort goes on maternity leave and earns nil - do they still have to complete quarterly reporting? Or can they have an exemption during maternity leave?
In response to our question, HMRC said: ‘Customers will need to use MTD for Income Tax if their qualifying income (total gross income from self-employment and property) is more than £50,000 for the 2024 to 2025 tax year.
‘If a customer starts using MTD and then goes on their maternity leave, then their obligations will depend on what they do.
‘If their business continued, or has only temporarily stopped trading due to the maternity, then they need to continue to use MTD.
‘If their qualifying income was to fall below the MTD threshold for three consecutive years, they would be able to opt out.
‘If their business permanently ceased, then they would notify HMRC through their HMRC online services account and their MTD obligations would come to an end.’
If you missed our last MTD webinar, we will be holding another live event, Ready or not, MTD webinar on Tuesday 31 March at 2pm with our tax expert Diane Wright CTA. Register here
Useful articles
What you need to know: MTD for Income Tax complexities | 19 Feb 2026
MTD filing deadlines at a glance | 1 Sep 2025