Do I need to declare cash jobs to HMRC?

Yes. Cash from jobs is business income, the same as a bank transfer. It goes on your tax return, counts towards the £1,000 trading allowance and counts towards the £30,000 Making Tax Digital line from April 2027.

Plenty of trades take cash for small jobs: a callout, a fence panel, a day's labouring. HMRC's record-keeping rules for sole traders cover all sales and income, with no exception for how a customer paid. This page follows GOV.UK as checked on 16 October 2026.

How cash jobs count

Example: a painter and decorator is paid £28,000 into the bank in 2025-26 and takes £3,500 in cash for small jobs. Total takings are £28,000 plus £3,500, so £31,500. All of it goes on the 2025-26 return, and because £31,500 is over £30,000, MTD starts for this decorator on 6 April 2027. Leaving the cash out would understate both the tax and the MTD position. This is an example only.

Costs paid in cash count the other way. Paint, filler or a skip paid for in cash count as business costs too, and the receipt is your proof, so recording cash both ways is how you pay tax on the right profit.

How HMRC may learn about income

HMRC's own guidance describes some of the information it gets:

• Since 1 January 2024, apps and websites that connect sellers with customers, including for services, may need to report sellers' details and income to HMRC. Information for 1 January to 31 December is sent by the following 31 January.
• In a compliance check, HMRC may look at information anyone can see, such as websites, Companies House records and social media without privacy settings.
• HMRC may ask to see your records to check you are paying the right tax.

A platform report does not by itself mean you owe tax, and it does not replace your own business records.

Putting past years right

GOV.UK says to tell HMRC as soon as possible if you have income you have not told it about, and that if you contact HMRC first, it may consider your case more favourably. The route depends on your position.

How many years you include depends on why the income was missed: up to 4 years if you took reasonable care, up to 6 if you were careless, and up to 20 if it was deliberate or you never registered when you should have. Interest is added to tax paid late. Penalties are a percentage of the extra tax and are lower if you tell HMRC before it finds out. For a careless error on a return, the range is 0% to 30% if you tell HMRC first, against 15% to 30% if HMRC finds it.

What this means for you

Recording cash as you go is simpler than working it out later. If you have missed some in past years, the calm route is to gather what you can, work out the figures and tell HMRC before it asks. If records are incomplete, HMRC's guide says to estimate and keep your workings. Our guide to compliance checks covers what happens if HMRC writes first.

Steps to handle cash jobs properly

1. Log every cash job the same day: date, customer, job and amount.
2. Keep receipts for anything you buy with cash.
3. Pay cash takings into your business account, or keep a cash book alongside your bank records.
4. At the end of the tax year, add cash and bank takings together for your total income.
5. If your gross income is over £1,000 and you are not registered, register for Self Assessment by 5 October after that tax year. See registering as a sole trader.
6. Check your total, including cash, against the MTD lines with the free MTD check.
7. If earlier years are missing cash income, choose the route in the table above and tell HMRC.

The trades section has more guides on records and the trading allowance.