Are you in? It’s your takings, not your profit
Add up everything customers paid you in the 2025/26 tax year – round payments, gutter and fascia cleans, conservatory roofs and commercial contracts – before taking off van costs or anything else. 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 customer pays cash at the door or by card through your payment app | Sales / turnover | Record each day’s total, including cash, as you go round. |
| Customers pay by direct debit through a payments service, minus its fee | Gross income + an expense (fees) | Record the full amount as income and the service fee as an expense. |
| A customer owes you for the last three cleans | Not income yet (cash basis) | Under the cash basis it counts when paid. Keep chasing, and record it when it arrives. |
| You replace the resin in your pure-water system | Allowable expense – consumables | Keep the receipt. |
| You buy a new carbon-fibre pole and brush heads | Equipment – deductible in the year you buy it (cash basis) | Keep the receipt; it comes off your profit this year. |
| You fill up the van between streets | Vehicle expense (or covered by mileage rate) | Choose one method per vehicle: actual costs or 45p a mile, not both. |
| You take money out to pay your own bills | Drawings – not an expense | Fine to do, but it doesn’t reduce your tax. |
| Every three months | Quarterly update | Your software sends HMRC your income and expense totals. |
| After 5 April | Final declaration | Confirm the year’s figures; tax is worked out and due by 31 January. |
What can a window cleaner claim?
✓ Usually allowable
- Water-fed poles, brushes, hoses, ladders, squeegees and scrims
- Pure-water system costs – resin, filters, membranes, pumps and repairs
- Water you pay for to fill the tank
- Van running costs – fuel, insurance, MOT, repairs – or business mileage instead
- Payment app, card reader and direct debit service fees
- Round management or scheduling software
- Public liability insurance
- Waterproofs, boots and protective clothing
- Business share of your phone, leaflets and advertising
✗ Not allowable
- Everyday clothes
- Private use of the van
- Parking fines
- Lunch on the round
- Money you take out for yourself (drawings)
Rules that matter for window cleaners
Cash on the round
Window cleaning has traditionally been a cash trade, and HMRC knows it. All cash payments are income. The simplest habit is to enter each day’s takings in your app before you get home, rather than trying to remember at the end of the quarter.
Buying or selling a round
Paying someone for their round (their customer list) is not an everyday running cost, and selling part of yours is not ordinary takings. Both are treated differently from day-to-day income and expenses – worth checking with an accountant before you agree a price.
Unpaid cleans
Under the cash basis, which most sole traders use by default, a clean only counts as income when the customer actually pays. Debts that are never paid simply never become income.
Worked example
Lee runs a water-fed pole round in Swindon (illustrative example)
| Takings (turnover) | £38,500 |
| less Van costs (fuel, insurance, repairs – business share) | −£4,600 |
| less Pure-water system – resin, filters and water | −£1,250 |
| less Poles, brushes and equipment | −£1,100 |
| less Payment app and direct debit fees | −£780 |
| less Round software, phone and leaflets | −£560 |
| less Insurance and protective clothing | −£490 |
| Profit | £29,720 |
| Income tax (estimate) | £3,430 |
| Class 4 National Insurance (estimate) | £1,029 |
| Total tax for the year | £4,459 |
| Put aside each month | £372 |
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 window cleaner: export your round software or payment app report, add the cash from your daily notes, check direct debit fees and fuel are in, photograph resin and equipment receipts – then press submit in your software, or let your accountant do it. If your round app already tracks payments, most of the work is done for you.
| 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 window cleaners ask
Most of my customers pay cash. Do I need to record every one?
You need to record all your income. Many window cleaners record a daily total from their round sheet, which is fine as long as it’s accurate and kept consistently.
Can I claim my pure-water system?
Yes. Under the cash basis it is equipment deducted in the year you pay for it, and resin, filters and repairs are running costs.
Customers who haven’t paid – do I pay tax on that?
Not under the cash basis. Income counts when it is received.
I bought a round from another cleaner. Can I claim it?
It is not a normal day-to-day expense. The rules for buying a customer list are different, so it’s worth asking an accountant how to treat it.
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.