Affiliate tax in the UK: MTD for programme commissions

What to take away

How affiliate programme commissions count for MTD

For affiliate tax purposes, if a publisher's commission is reported as self-employment income, it counts towards the tests for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax. The service works through digital records and quarterly updates sent through compatible software.

The rule that matters is the income test, not the size of the audience or the number of programmes joined. Add commission from every network and brand, plus any other self-employment or property income, before comparing the total with a threshold.

For benchmarks that help you forecast that total, see affiliate commission rates.

What counts as qualifying income

Qualifying income is your gross income from self-employment and UK property in the tax year. It is measured before you deduct expenses, so hosting, ads and software costs do not reduce it. The threshold test uses gross receipts, not profit after expenses.

Take a publisher who earns £32,000 in commission and spends £14,000 on ads and tools. The test still uses the £32,000, so the profit of £18,000 does not keep that person below the £30,000 step. This is an invented example for illustration.

When commissions are self-employment income

Commission counts as self-employment income when you earn it as a trade: regularly, in an organised way and with a view to profit. A site run to a content calendar with several programmes usually fits that description. A single link on a personal blog may not.

Small amounts may fall under the £1,000 trading allowance, and income that is not a trade is taxed differently and does not count towards the test. If you are unsure which applies, ask an accountant before relying on either answer.

Software that can send quarterly updates

Quarterly updates must come from software that works with HMRC's service, either a full accounting product or a spreadsheet joined to it by bridging software. HMRC publishes a list of compatible software on GOV.UK, and that list is the final check.

Accounting products such as Xero, QuickBooks, FreeAgent and Sage have offered or announced support for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax. Confirm that your chosen product appears on the HMRC list for sole traders before you pay for it.

Affiliate programme income thresholds and start dates

Qualifying income thresholds decide when you must start. When you need to start using Making Tax Digital for Income Tax depends on your qualifying income within a tax year, and each step looks back at an earlier year.

Your Self Assessment tax return is reviewed and your qualifying income is checked each tax year. If your qualifying income for the tax year was over £50,000, you should have received a letter confirming you need to use the service.

Signing up, and what happens if you do not

You need to use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax from 6 April 2026 if your total annual income from self-employment and property is over £50,000. If you are not required to use it until 6 April 2027, you can choose to sign up voluntarily.

Waiting has a limit. From September 2026, sign-up starts for anyone who needs to use the service for 2026 to 2027 and has not signed themselves up.

Anyone who joins late must send any missed quarterly updates for the year so far, using software that works with the service.

Quarterly update deadlines for affiliate publishers

You need to send quarterly updates to HMRC every 3 months for each self-employment and property business you have. Each update covers the start of the tax year to the end of the update period, not just the latest three months.

If you have not received any income or incurred any expenses in an update period, you must still send the update to tell HMRC. A publisher with a quiet quarter therefore still files.

MTD penalty points for missed updates

Schedule 24 to the Finance Act 2021 provides the statutory framework for the points-based late-submission regime. For each quarterly update or tax return deadline you miss, you get a penalty point, in tax years after 2026 to 2027. Penalty points and late payment rules set the threshold at 4 points, then a £200 penalty, and £200 each time you miss another submission deadline.

You can only get one penalty point per deadline. Below the 4-point threshold, each point is removed automatically 24 months after the missed deadline. Late payment penalties do not apply to payments on account.

For the first year the rule is softer. If you need to use the service from 6 April 2026, penalty points for late quarterly updates are not applied for the first tax year, 2026 to 2027.

Software costs and accountancy time belong in the affiliate budget. The costs and budget guide lists lines to plan for, and the hidden costs article covers items teams often miss.

Example: which step does a publisher fall into?

These figures are invented for illustration. Each row is a separate sole trader with no other self-employment or property income.

The first publisher can sign up voluntarily before 6 April 2027. Use the gap to test software on live commission data and to log every network statement digitally.

Checklist before your start date

Smaller programmes can follow the weekly routine in affiliate marketing for small businesses.

Common questions

Do I have to use it if I earn under £20,000?

The lowest step is £20,000 for 2026 to 2027, with a start date of 6 April 2028. Check the current guidance each year.

Can I sign up before my start date?

Yes. If you are not required to use it until 6 April 2027, you can choose to sign up voluntarily.

Does this replace Self Assessment?

No, not before you start. You still file a Self Assessment tax return for the tax year before you enter the service, and HMRC uses your returns to check your qualifying income each year. Once you are in the service, HMRC's guidance sets out how the end-of-year steps replace the usual return.