When to do a tax return
If you’re employed and only earn money from your job, your employer automatically takes any Income Tax and National Insurance you owe before they pay you.
But if you earn or get money in ways that can’t be taxed automatically, you need to let us know by doing a tax return.
You’ll probably need to do one if you:
- earn more than £1,000 in a year working for yourself – you can find out more on GOV.UK
- make money from renting out property or land
- get interest from savings and investments
- make a profit selling something valuable (like a second home)
- earn extra income from a side hustle
In some cases, we may simply get in touch and ask you to do one.
Ways to send a tax return
There are two different ways you can send us a tax return – Self Assessment and Making Tax Digital for Income Tax.
1. Self Assessment
You’ll do a Self Assessment tax return once a year:
- If you’re employed, you’ll include all your income and then see how much tax you owe for that tax year. You can find out more on our Self Assessment page.
- If you’re self-employed, you’ll need to add a few more details about your business. Learn more about filling this out on our Self Assessment page for business-owners.
It can sound complicated, but understanding the basics can really help.
2. Making Tax Digital for Income Tax
You’ll send us digital updates quarterly.
If you’re a sole trader or you make money from property, the way you send us information about your income is changing. It’s called Making Tax Digital for Income Tax. For some people that change starts from April 2026.
Making Tax Digital for Income Tax works differently to Self Assessment. You should check if the different rules apply to you. Find out if you need to use it, when to start, and how you can get ready for it on our Making Tax Digital for Income Tax page.
What to do if you’re not sure
If you’re still not clear whether you need to do a tax return, just use our simple online checker tool on GOV.UK.
It just asks you a few quick questions, so it only takes a couple of minutes – and we don’t see your answers.
If it says that you need to do a tax return, it’ll point you in the right direction, so you have all the information you need.
You can also find out more about Self Assessment tax returns on GOV.UK.