Tax news · June 2026
The Government plans to let people with trading income under 3,000 pounds skip the tax return from 2029/30. Here is what it means, and the catch.
In among the tougher measures, there is a piece of good news for people with very small side incomes. The Government has announced that from the 2029/30 tax year, people whose gross trading income is under 3,000 pounds a year will no longer need to file a self assessment tax return. It is aimed at the growing number of people with tiny side hustles, and is expected to take several hundred thousand people out of the self assessment system. There is, however, an important catch.
At the moment, once your gross trading income passes the 1,000 pound trading allowance, you generally have to register for self assessment and file a return, even if the amounts are small. From 2029/30, that filing requirement is planned to rise so that those with gross trading income under 3,000 pounds will not need to complete a full return. Instead, where tax is actually due on income between the allowance and the new threshold, HMRC intends to provide a simpler way to report and pay it, without the full self assessment process.
This is aimed squarely at people with small side hustles, such as occasional online sellers, hobbyists who make a little money, and people doing small bits of freelance work. For many of them, completing a full tax return for a tiny amount has always felt out of proportion, so the change is sensible and welcome. It does not affect people with larger trading income, who will still file as normal.
The crucial point, and the one most likely to be misunderstood, is that this changes the reporting requirement, not the tax. If you are trading and your income is above the 1,000 pound trading allowance, there may still be tax to pay even if you do not have to file a full return. It is also not in force yet, so for now the existing rules apply and trading income above 1,000 pounds still needs reporting. Until 2029/30 arrives, the safest approach is to carry on as now, keep records of any side income, and not assume the change applies early.
Our honest view is that this is a sensible simplification that removes a real annoyance for people with tiny side incomes, and it is good to see the system being made a little friendlier. The risk is that the headline, no tax return, gets misread as no tax, which is not what it says. We would gently warn anyone with a side hustle not to switch off, because the trading allowance and the tax on profits above it are unchanged. When the new threshold does arrive, we will make sure clients who qualify use the simpler route, and those above it keep filing properly.
We help people with side incomes work out whether they need to report and whether any tax is due, keep simple records, and use whatever reporting route fits once the new rules arrive. Book a free call back and we will keep it straightforward.
From the 2029/30 tax year, people with gross trading income under 3,000 pounds are planned not to need a full self assessment return, with a simpler way to pay any tax due. Until then the current rules apply and income above the 1,000 pound trading allowance still needs reporting.
No. It changes the reporting requirement, not the tax. The 1,000 pound trading allowance still applies, and tax can still be due on profit above it, so do not assume no return means no tax.
We will tell you whether you need to report it and whether any tax is due. Book a free call back and we will keep it simple.