Making Tax Digital for event planners: what's changing in April 2026

TL;DR: Making Tax Digital for Income Tax (MTD ITSA) applies to self-employed UK event planners in three steps based on qualifying income from self-employment and/or property: over £50,000 from 6 April 2026, over £30,000 from 6 April 2027, over £20,000 from 6 April 2028. Three things change: paper and informal records are no longer compliant, four quarterly updates are added each tax year on top of the Self Assessment tax return using compatible software, and compatible software becomes mandatory. The time required varies with transaction volume, record quality and the software you use; the continuing duty is to keep accurate digital records and check the software-generated update. The shift is the rhythm: from a once-a-year January scramble to a four-times-a-year discipline. Event planning has one specific wrinkle worth understanding early: income across the tax year is rarely smooth. Wedding season peaks April–September. Corporate events cluster in Q4. That spikiness doesn't change what you owe, but it does affect how cumulative update totals look and how you project your year-end position. Getting comfortable with that pattern now, rather than in your first quarterly update, saves stress later.

Current HMRC rule: Each update is calculated by compatible software from digital records and covers cumulative category totals from the start of the tax year to the end of the update period - not only the previous three months. If record keeping and filing use different software, keep a permitted digital link between them; manual re-keying or clipboard transfer is not a digital link. HMRC will not apply penalty points for late quarterly updates in 2026/27, but the updates must still be sent before you submit your Self Assessment tax return using compatible software. Check HMRC digital-record guidance, quarterly-update guidance and HMRC's current MTD journey.

2026/27 simplified mileage rate: For self-employed simplified expenses, HMRC's rate for cars and goods vehicles is 55p per business mile for the first 10,000 miles and 25p per business mile after that. The 55p rate applies retrospectively from 6 April 2026. Check GOV.UK simplified vehicle expenses before relying on the figures.

If you're a self-employed UK event planner, the MTD ITSA headline is short. Mandatory digital reporting in three steps, based on qualifying income from self-employment and property combined:

• From 6 April 2026, qualifying income over £50,000.
• From 6 April 2027, qualifying income over £30,000.
• From 6 April 2028, qualifying income over £20,000.

Those thresholds are based on your 2024–25 tax return figures. If you're close to the lower thresholds (as many established event planners in corporate or wedding markets are), treat the lower dates as your working deadline even if you haven't formally crossed yet.

The three real changes:

1. Digital records are required. Create and keep the required income and expense records in a structured digital format by the relevant update deadline. A spreadsheet works, but only when paired with compatible software connected through a permitted digital link for the actual submissions. Some cloud accounting software can handle both record keeping and filing; check HMRC's current compatible-software list and the provider's supported features. The folder of receipts and a notebook are no longer a compliant standalone system.
2. Four quarterly updates per tax year, plus your Self Assessment tax return using compatible software. Each update contains cumulative totals for the categories you use, from the start of the tax year to the update-period end. The reconciliation and tax calculation still happen at year-end, exactly as they do now.
3. Compatible software. The current self-assessment portal will not accept MTD ITSA submissions. You need cloud accounting software with direct submission, or a spreadsheet paired with compatible bridging software that supports the workbook and a permitted digital link.

Three changes. The rest is operational discipline.

Worth saying plainly: MTD does not change the underlying tax rules. A quarterly update can produce an estimate, but it is not a final tax calculation: adjustments and the final liability are dealt with through the tax return.

Most trades have smooth, predictable monthly income. Self-employed event planners typically don't.

Wedding bookings: clients may pay a deposit 12–18 months before the event, with a balance due closer to the date. The deposit is received in one quarter; the balance in another; the actual event may fall in a third. Under MTD's quarterly reporting, these are distinct entries.

How to think about income timing for MTD:

The general principle is that income is recognised when it is earned (i.e., when the service is delivered), not necessarily when cash is received. However, your specific position depends on your accounting method (cash basis or accruals basis), and your accountant should advise on which is appropriate. Under the cash basis (common for smaller sole traders), income is recorded when received. Under accruals accounting, income is matched to the period in which the work is performed.

Whichever basis you use, MTD requires that the system is applied consistently and that quarterly records reflect it correctly. A deposit received in April for a December wedding is not December income under the cash basis; it is April income. The balance received in November is November income.

Retainers and planning fees: Some planners charge a separate coordination or planning fee, often invoiced monthly across the planning period. This distributes income across multiple quarters and is generally simpler for MTD purposes, since each invoice maps to a single recording period.

Cancellation fees and forfeited deposits: If a client cancels and you retain a deposit under your contract terms, that retained amount is income in the period it becomes yours to keep, typically when your cancellation terms are triggered. Record it in the correct quarter.

Getting the timing consistent from your first quarterly update is far simpler than correcting misallocated income later.

A quarterly update is not a tax return. It contains cumulative category totals from the start of the tax year to the update-period end. For an event planning business, the expense categories you will typically report are:

• Software: project management tools (Asana, Trello, Monday), event-planning platforms, design tools (Canva Pro), accounting software.
• Mileage for site visits, client meetings, supplier inspections, and day-of attendance: HMRC's self-employed simplified-expenses mileage rate is currently 55p per mile for the first 10,000 miles, then 25p per mile. Event planning often involves significant annual mileage; log every journey.
• Professional memberships: UK Alliance of Wedding Planners (UKAWP) membership, HBAA, or other professional body fees.
• Professional indemnity and public liability insurance premiums.
• Marketing costs: website, photography, social content, advertising, directory listings.
• Samples and inspection visits: tastings, venue visits, fabric samples, flowers (where the primary purpose is business).
• Sub-contractors: if you hire assistants or second coordinators for events.
• Phone and broadband (business proportion).
• Use of home for office work (if applicable, flat-rate or actual cost calculation).
• ICO registration fee: currently £40 per year for most sole traders processing personal data. All event planners collect client names, contact details, and dietary requirements, so ICO registration almost certainly applies.
• Training and CPD: industry courses, certification programmes.
• Bank charges and payment processing fees.

Your software sends cumulative category totals at each update, not individual receipts. The detailed reconciliation and supporting records sit behind the submission. Keep them.

The VAT registration threshold is currently £90,000 in taxable turnover. Most sole-trader event planners operating in a single-person business fall below this figure, though senior coordinators handling high-value corporate portfolios may be closer to the threshold than they assume.

If your turnover is approaching £90,000, track it monthly. Crossing the threshold requires you to register for VAT within 30 days of the end of the month in which you exceeded it, and charge VAT on your services from that point. Event planning services are standard-rated for VAT purposes.

Note that MTD for VAT has been live since 2019 for most VAT-registered businesses. If you're already VAT-registered and using MTD-compatible software, the ITSA quarterly process is the same architecture, applied to income tax rather than VAT.

There are three legitimate approaches. Each has a real fit and a real cost.

Cloud accounting software (Xero, QuickBooks, FreeAgent). Monthly cost £12–£30. Handles income recording, expense tracking, invoicing, and cumulative MTD update natively. Best fit: planners with higher transaction volumes across multiple clients and events simultaneously, or those who want one tool to handle invoicing, mileage, and tax in one place. If you are juggling ten active events at any point, a dedicated system pays for itself in time alone.

Spreadsheet plus bridging software. Your spreadsheet records income and expenses; compatible bridging software that supports the workbook and a permitted digital link reads the spreadsheet and submits to HMRC in the correct MTD format. Best fit: planners with simpler finances and a preference for a low-cost, one-time tool over a monthly subscription. Requires disciplined, consistent spreadsheet maintenance.

Hand it to your accountant. They manage the quarterly updates on your behalf. Costs more than DIY, but if your accountant already handles your year-end, the marginal cost for four additional quarterly updates is often manageable. The catch: they can only submit what you've recorded. Quarterly cadence still requires you to maintain the underlying records week to week. If cloud accounting is more than you need, we'd say so plainly.

There is no single right answer. The right fit depends on your transaction volume, your tech comfort, and what you already pay for. What is not a legitimate option is staying on paper with a once-a-year catch-up.

If your current record-keeping is paper-based or informal, treat the April 2026 deadline as a hard clock to work backwards from.

1. Open a dedicated business bank account for event planning income and expenses if you don't already have one. Every MTD step gets easier when client money and personal spend are not mixed.
2. Decide your accounting basis. Cash basis or accruals basis, with your accountant's input. Apply it consistently from day one of your first MTD quarter.
3. Set up your deposit-tracking system. Every deposit received for a future event should be logged with the client name, event date, deposit amount, and when the balance is due. This prevents income misallocation across quarters.
4. Pick your tool. Cloud accounting, spreadsheet plus bridging, or accountant-managed. Set it up with the expense categories relevant to event planning before your first quarter begins.
5. Set a weekly 15-minute admin slot. Logging the week's income and expenses in a consistent session is 90% of what MTD compliance requires from your working week. The time required varies with transaction volume, record quality and the software you use; the continuing duty is to keep accurate digital records and check the software-generated update.
6. Check your ICO registration. If you hold client personal data (names, contacts, dietary requirements, event preferences), you almost certainly need to be registered. It is £40 per year. Non-registration is an ICO enforcement risk.

If you do nothing else this month: the dedicated business bank account. Every other step cascades from that one clean separation. The worst route is no route.

For the documentation side that pairs with clean quarterly records (client contracts, supplier agreements, deposit terms, risk assessments), see essential business documents for UK event planners. Organised tax records and organised contracts belong to the same professional discipline.

Check current GOV.UK guidance and HMRC compatible-software information for your own MTD obligations.

The kit pairs with the event planner business documents bundle (£19.99 Premium) if you also want client contract templates, supplier agreement templates, deposit terms, and cancellation policies with the right professional framing built in.

This article is general guidance, not tax advice. For your specific income-recognition method and tax position, consult a qualified accountant. For VAT questions, consult HMRC or a tax adviser with relevant experience.