Who can do my Making Tax Digital quarterly updates for me as an electrician?

You, or an agent you authorise through HMRC: an accountant, a bookkeeper or a managed service. Pick one that handles CIS and homeowner work together. For 2027 joiners, the first update is due 7 August 2027.

Making Tax Digital for Income Tax (MTD) asks for four quarterly updates a year, sent from compatible software, then a tax return. Many electricians do some work for builders under the Construction Industry Scheme (CIS) and some direct for homeowners. Whoever sends your updates has to handle both. This page follows GOV.UK and HMRC's manuals as checked on 18 October 2026.

Your options as an electrician

Why mixed work matters

The same electrician can be inside CIS on one job and outside it on the next. Your agent needs to know which is which, because only CIS jobs can come with a deduction, and a monthly statement where one is taken.

The rules behind each row are in the guide to which electrical jobs are in CIS. In our reading, all of it, CIS and direct work alike, goes into the income in your quarterly updates, with CIS pay counted before deductions.

VAT and the reverse charge

You must register for VAT if your taxable turnover goes over £90,000 in the last 12 months, or you expect it to go over £90,000 in the next 30 days alone. Making Tax Digital for VAT then means keeping digital records and filing VAT Returns through software. That is separate from your income tax updates, so ask whether an agent does both.

HMRC's technical guide says the domestic reverse charge applies only when the work is within CIS and is standard or reduced rated, and your customer is registered for VAT and CIS. It does not apply if the customer has told you in writing that they are an end user or an intermediary supplier. A homeowner is not VAT registered, so they get a normal VAT invoice. One quarter can hold both kinds, as the reverse charge guide explains.

What any agent must have

• An HMRC agent services account. An agent needs one to sign clients up for MTD. HMRC now requires most people paid to deal with it about someone else's tax to register through this account, and is bringing the rule in by stages.
• Approved money-laundering supervision, by HMRC or another supervisory body, before it applies for that account.
• Your authorisation, not your password. A new agent sends a link and you accept it with your own HMRC sign-in within 21 days. HMRC may ask you to verify your identity first.

You can have one main agent and any number of supporting agents. Only the main agent can send your tax return and see your tax calculation. If you change agent, GOV.UK says records from earlier tax years are not moved across automatically.

What this means for you

MTD started on 6 April 2026 if your qualifying income was over £50,000 in 2024-25. Otherwise it starts on 6 April 2027 if your 2025-26 qualifying income was over £30,000, or on 6 April 2028 if it was over £20,000 in 2026-27. Qualifying income is self-employed and property income before expenses, and in our reading, for CIS work that means before deductions.

If you start in April 2027, your first update covers 6 April to 5 July 2027 (1 April to 30 June on calendar periods) and is due by 7 August 2027. If you have been in MTD since April 2026, the next update is due by 7 November 2026. GOV.UK says there are no penalty points for late updates in 2026-27. For 2027-28 they can start for April 2026 joiners, but the government said at the Budget on 28 October 2026 that April 2027 joiners get none until 2028-29 (earliest 7 August 2028), though updates must still be sent. Four points means a £200 penalty.

HMRC adds your CIS deductions to your MTD tax return, and any refund is requested separately through HMRC online services, so agree whether you or your main agent requests it, as GOV.UK says a supporting agent cannot.

If you would rather hand it over, our Trades Tax plan is £35 a month including VAT. Your bank feed becomes your quarterly updates, your CIS deductions are tracked all year, and you sign off every figure. The founding offer for the first 500 trades clients is £5 a month for your first 3 months, then £35 a month. Cancel any time. We'll remind you before it changes. Our VAT returns add-on for trades is £10 a month including VAT. Our tax plans start once our HMRC registrations are complete. Until then you can join the waitlist, and no payment is taken.

Steps to hand over your updates

1. Use the free MTD check to confirm your start date.
2. Sort a year of jobs by who paid you and whether the contract includes CIS-covered work.
3. Ask any agent whether it sends quarterly updates and covers both kinds of work.
4. Check it has an HMRC agent services account and money-laundering supervision.
5. If you are VAT registered, ask whether VAT returns and reverse charge invoices are included.
6. Agree whether it will be your main agent, and get the fee in writing, including VAT.
7. Accept the authorisation link through HMRC, and pass on each CIS statement as it arrives.

There are more guides in the trades section.