Are you in? It’s your takings, not your profit
Add up every payment clients made to you in the 2025/26 tax year – wedding and event fees, deposits and balances, portrait sessions, print and album sales, stock photo sales, licence fees for your images and any second-shooting work you invoiced – before taking off kit, software or travel. If that total (plus any rent from property you let) is over £30,000, MTD applies from 6 April 2027. Over £50,000 and you have been in since April 2026.
Over £50,000
Over £30,000
Over £20,000
planned
Your work in accountant language
What actually happens in your working life, what your accountant and HMRC call it, and what to do about it.
| What happens | Accountant calls it | What you do |
|---|---|---|
| A couple pays a booking deposit for next summer’s wedding | Turnover – recorded when received (cash basis) | Record it in the quarter the money lands, even though the wedding is a year away. |
| You receive the final balance a month before the big day | Turnover | Record the balance as income on the date it is paid. |
| A couple cancels and you refund part of the deposit | Refund – reduces turnover | Record the refund as money going back out; keep the email and contract terms. |
| You buy a new camera body or a lens | Equipment – deductible in the year you buy it (cash basis) | Keep the receipt. If you also use it for family snaps, claim only the business share. |
| You pay a second shooter for a wedding | Allowable expense – subcontractor costs | Keep their invoice and pay them from your business account. |
| You drive to a venue in the Cotswolds and stay overnight | Travel – mileage plus accommodation | Log the miles (45p a mile for the first 10,000) and keep the hotel receipt. |
| You transfer money to your personal account to pay the mortgage | Drawings – not an expense | Fine to do, but it does not reduce your tax. |
| Every three months | Quarterly update | Your software sends HMRC your income and expense totals for the quarter. |
| After 5 April | Final declaration | Confirm the year’s figures; tax is worked out and due by 31 January. |
What can a photographer claim?
✓ Usually allowable
- Camera bodies, lenses, lighting, drones, tripods and memory cards
- Repairs, sensor cleaning and kit servicing
- Editing software subscriptions (for example Lightroom, Photoshop or video editing tools)
- Online gallery, website hosting and client booking systems
- Prints, albums and frames you supply to clients
- Second shooters, assistants and editors you pay
- Equipment and public liability insurance, including professional indemnity
- Travel to shoots: mileage, train fares, parking and overnight stays
- Studio hire, props and backdrops
- Advertising, wedding fair stands and directory listings
✗ Not allowable
- The private-use share of a camera or laptop you also use at home
- Smart outfits you wear to weddings that you could wear elsewhere
- Meals with clients or suppliers (client entertaining)
- Speeding and parking fines
- Money you take out for yourself (drawings)
Rules that matter for photographers
Deposits count when you receive them
Under the cash basis, which most sole traders now use by default, a deposit is income in the quarter it hits your account – not when the wedding happens. Non-refundable deposits you keep after a cancellation stay as income. Refunds you pay back reduce your income when you pay them.
Kit that is partly personal
If your camera also comes on holiday, you can only claim the business share. Pick a reasonable percentage you could explain – for example based on how many shoots it does compared with personal use – and stick to it.
Selling old kit
If you claimed a lens as an expense and later sell it, the money you get for it is usually business income. Record it rather than treating it as personal.
Licensing and stock sales
Licence fees and stock-site earnings from images you made as part of your business are trading income. Record the full sale amount and any platform commission separately as an expense.
Worked example
Priya, a wedding photographer in Bristol (illustrative example)
| Takings (turnover) | £42,500 |
| less Camera body, lens and memory cards | −£4,200 |
| less Editing software, gallery and website | −£780 |
| less Second shooters | −£3,600 |
| less Albums and prints for clients | −£2,400 |
| less Mileage and overnight stays | −£2,650 |
| less Insurance, wedding fairs and advertising | −£1,900 |
| Profit | £26,970 |
| Income tax (estimate) | £2,880 |
| Class 4 National Insurance (estimate) | £864 |
| Total tax for the year | £3,744 |
| Put aside each month | £312 |
Estimate for 2026/27 using England, Wales & NI rates, assuming no other income. Scotland has different income tax bands.
What a quarterly update looks like
A typical quarter for a wedding photographer: check every deposit and balance that came in against your booking system, add print and album sales, record any refunds, then photograph receipts for kit, travel and second-shooter invoices. Wedding season means your summer quarters will be heavy and your winter ones light – that is normal. Send the totals from your software, or let your accountant do it. Done monthly, it takes under an hour.
| Quarter | Period | Submit by |
|---|---|---|
| Q1 | 6 Apr – 5 Jul | 7 Aug |
| Q2 | 6 Jul – 5 Oct | 7 Nov |
| Q3 | 6 Oct – 5 Jan | 7 Feb |
| Q4 | 6 Jan – 5 Apr | 7 May |
| Final declaration | The whole tax year | 31 Jan following |
Quarterly updates are summaries – they don’t change when you pay. Tax is still due by 31 January (plus payments on account on 31 January and 31 July if they apply to you).
What will an accountant cost?
Typical monthly fees under MTD for Income Tax for: Sole trader, one business.
| Option | What you get | Per month |
|---|---|---|
| You do it yourself | MTD-compatible software. You keep the records and send the updates. | £0–£15up to £180 a year |
| Accountant files for you | You keep records in an app; they check them, send the 4 quarterly updates and the final declaration. | £30–£60about £360–£720 a year |
| Full service | They do the bookkeeping too – you share receipts and bank feeds, they handle the rest. | £60–£120about £720–£1,440 a year |
What pushes the price up: lots of transactions every month, or more than one income stream; records kept on paper rather than in an app; being VAT-registered; catching up on missed updates or late returns.
What a fixed-fee quote should include
- All 4 quarterly updates and the final declaration (your tax return)
- The MTD software licence – or whether you pay for it separately
- Whether they do the bookkeeping or only check what you’ve recorded
- A reminder before each deadline and an estimate of the tax to put aside
- Whether VAT (20%) is added on top – not every practice charges it
Accountancy fees for your business are an allowable expense, so they reduce your tax bill.
Indicative ranges from published UK price lists, checked October 2026. Not a quote – your fee depends on how many transactions you have, how tidy your records are and where you live.
Questions photographers ask
I took lots of deposits this year for weddings next year. Do they count now?
Yes, under the cash basis they count as income when you receive them. That can push your turnover over the MTD threshold earlier than you expect, so keep an eye on the running total.
Can I claim my whole camera if I sometimes use it for personal photos?
You can claim the business share. If use is mostly for work, that share can be high – but it should reflect reality and be something you could explain to HMRC.
I’m employed full time but shoot weddings at weekends. Am I affected?
Your wages do not count for MTD. Your photography takings do – over £1,000 a year means registering for Self Assessment, and if they (plus any rental income) go over the MTD threshold, MTD applies.
Is paying a second shooter an expense?
Yes, if they are freelancers you pay to help on a job. Keep their invoice. If you start employing people on a regular basis, that goes through PAYE, which is separate from MTD.
Sources
- Find out if and when you need to use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax – GOV.UK
- Work out your qualifying income for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax – GOV.UK
- Send quarterly updates using Making Tax Digital for Income Tax – GOV.UK
- Find software that works with Making Tax Digital for Income Tax – GOV.UK
- Penalties for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax – GOV.UK
This guide is general information about HMRC’s Making Tax Digital rules as of 26 October 2026, not tax advice. MTD Match is an independent introduction service and is not affiliated with HMRC. Check gov.uk or speak to an accountant about your own situation.