If you’re a UK-based OnlyFans creator earning over £50,000 a year, the way you report your income to HMRC has already changed. Making Tax Digital for Income Tax Self Assessment — MTD ITSA — went live on 6 April 2026 for higher earners, replacing the old once-a-year tax return with quarterly digital reporting. Here’s what’s actually different and what you need to do about it.
What changed on 6 April 2026
MTD ITSA is HMRC’s move away from paper-based, once-a-year Self Assessment towards continuous digital record-keeping. It’s rolling out in phases by income threshold:
- From 6 April 2026: mandatory for anyone with gross self-employment or property income over £50,000 (based on your 2024/25 tax year figures).
- From 6 April 2027: the threshold drops to over £30,000 (based on 2025/26 figures).
- From 6 April 2028: the threshold drops again to over £20,000 (based on 2026/27 figures).
If your OnlyFans income (combined with any other self-employment or property income) crossed £50,000 in the 2024/25 tax year, you should already be in scope now. If you’re currently under the threshold, it’s worth tracking where you sit each year, because the bar keeps dropping — a large share of full-time creators will eventually be caught by this regardless of how their earnings trend.
What this actually requires, in practice
- Digital record-keeping. Paper receipts and a spreadsheet you fill in once a year are no longer sufficient on their own — you need HMRC-compatible software, or a spreadsheet used alongside “bridging” software that submits the data digitally.
- Quarterly updates. Instead of one annual return, you submit a running summary of income and expenses to HMRC every three months.
- An End of Period Statement and Final Declaration after the tax year ends on 5 April, due by the same 31 January deadline that applied under the old system.
The penalty structure is different too
HMRC has moved to a points-based penalty system for MTD ITSA: every missed quarterly update or missed Final Declaration deadline adds one point, and once you hit four points, a £200 fine is issued. That’s a meaningfully different risk profile from the old system, where missing one annual deadline was the main thing to avoid — under MTD ITSA, four small missed updates over a year or two can add up to a fine even if you were never wildly late on any one of them.
What to do if you’re a creator approaching or over the threshold
- Check your actual gross income for 2024/25 — not just OnlyFans, but any other self-employment or property income combined — against the £50,000 threshold.
- If you’re in scope, get compatible software set up now rather than waiting for your first quarterly deadline to arrive as a surprise.
- Separate your platform income records clearly by source and date, since you’ll be reporting more frequently and errors compound faster under a quarterly cycle.
- If you’re close to a threshold but not yet over it, plan for the 2027 and 2028 drops now — £30,000 and then £20,000 will bring in a large proportion of full-time creators.
This sits alongside your existing Self Assessment obligations rather than replacing your understanding of what counts as taxable income in the first place — for the basics of what OnlyFans earnings mean for your UK tax position, see our Self Assessment guide for creators. And if you’re earning at a level where MTD applies, it’s also worth thinking further ahead than this year’s return — our piece on retirement planning for creators covers why that conversation can’t wait either.
This article is for general information only and is not tax advice. MTD ITSA thresholds, exemptions and requirements can vary based on individual circumstances — speak to a qualified accountant to confirm whether and how it applies to you.
