Choosing your income type: property, self-employment, or both

Your income type tells the app which parts of your finances to track for Making Tax Digital: rental property, self-employment (sole trader), or both. You pick a starting point when you sign up, and you can add the other type later.

What "income type" means

Your income type controls which sections of the app you see and what gets prepared for HMRC. There are three states:

• Property: you are a landlord with rental income. You track properties and their income and expenses.
• Self-employment: you are a sole trader or freelancer. You track one or more businesses and their income and expenses.
• Both: you have rental property and self-employment, and you manage and report both in one place.

Each one unlocks the matching areas of the app (Properties, Self-Employment, or both) and feeds the right figures into your quarterly updates and your Final Declaration.

What you choose at signup

During the last step of signup ("A few quick details") you are asked "What do you earn money from?" with two choices:

• Rental property ("I'm a landlord with rental income")
• Self-employment ("I'm a sole trader or freelancer")

A few things to know:

1. You pick one here. "Both" is not offered at signup: you add the other type afterwards (see below).
2. If you are joining as a co-owner of someone else's property, this question is skipped and you go straight to the shared property.

Plans, adding your first property or business, and recording transactions all come after signup, so there is nothing to pay for or connect to choose your income type.

Free plan: one income source

On the Free plan you can have one income source in total: one property or one self-employment business, not both. That means:

• A Free landlord can add a single property.
• A Free sole trader can add a single business.
• To run property and self-employment together (or to add more than one of either), you need MTD Lite.

If you try to add a second income source on Free, you will see an "Income Source Limit Reached" message inviting you to upgrade. See Plans and pricing for what each plan includes.

Adding the other income type later

If you start with one type and later want both, there are two ways to switch your account to Both (which needs MTD Lite):

1. Use the sidebar prompt. Near the bottom of the sidebar you will see "Also self-employed?" (if you are a landlord) or "Also have rental income?" (if you are a sole trader). Click it, then confirm Enable Both in the "Enable Both Income Types" dialog. On the Free plan this opens an upgrade prompt (with a View Plans button) instead.
2. Add a self-employment business. Adding a business to a property account moves your income type to Both automatically, so the self-employment area appears. (This still needs MTD Lite to run alongside property.)

Once you are on Both, the dashboard gains an All / Property / SE view switcher in the navigation, and both areas show in the sidebar.

Note: There is no separate "switch to the other single type" control: you choose one type at signup, and the steps above add the second type. If you started on the wrong single type and have not recorded anything, contact support.

Which should I choose?

• Only rent out property? Choose Rental property at signup and add your first property.
• Only self-employed (sole trader or freelancer)? Choose Self-employment and add your self-employment business.
• Both? Start with whichever you have most of, then upgrade to MTD Lite and add the other (via the sidebar prompt, or by adding a business).

For whether Making Tax Digital actually applies to you, and which tax year you start, check with HMRC or your accountant, or read the MTD guide. You can also try the MTD status checker.

If something goes wrong

• I can't choose "Both" at signup. This is by design. Signup offers a single income source. Sign up with one type, then add the other afterwards (sidebar prompt, or add a business), which needs MTD Lite.
• The Self-Employment section is missing from the sidebar. Your income type does not include self-employment yet. Add it with the "Also self-employed?" sidebar prompt (needs MTD Lite), or by adding a self-employment business.
• The "Also self-employed?" / "Also have rental income?" prompt opens an upgrade dialog. Running both income types needs MTD Lite. Upgrade, then enable Both. See Plans and pricing.
• After saving my name at signup the income choice errored. Your name has already been saved. Retry; if it persists, you can still add your property or business and the income type follows from what you add.

Frequently asked questions

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