Disclaimer: This article is intended as an informative piece. This is not accounting or tax advice. Please speak to a qualified tax professional about your specific circumstances before acting upon any of the information in this article.
If you don’t already file a Tax Return, you need to notify HMRC that you have income to report by 5 October after the end of the tax year. You can do this here. They will issue you with a Notice to File a Tax Return and you should chase this if it is not received.
If you are engaged in financial trading or mining, you can register online here, but it is recommended to seek the advice of a qualified tax professional before registering your cryptoassets trading business with HMRC.
You need to register a business with HMRC by the 5 October after the end of the first tax year in business. Tax years run from 6 April to 5 April. So, if you started trading on 8 April 2026, your first tax return will be for the year ended 5 April 2027 and you need to register with HMRC by 5 October 2027 to avoid penalties.
From 6 April 2026, Making Tax Digital for Income Tax also applies to sole traders with qualifying income over £50,000. This means keeping digital records and sending quarterly updates to HMRC using compatible software, and the threshold drops to £30,000 from April 2027. You can check if and when it applies to you on GOV.UK.
Regardless of whether HMRC issue the Notice to File or not, you need to submit the Tax Return to HMRC by 31 January after the end of the tax year to avoid late filing penalties.
A tax year runs from 6 April to 5 April. If you made a disposal on 4 April 2026 (or started to receive income in the year ended 5 April 2026), this falls in the tax year ended 5 April 2026 and you need to notify HMRC by 5 October 2026 and submit the tax return by 31 January 2027.
Late filing penalties increase significantly over time and may be based on the tax due after 6 months.
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