- Final declaration (crystallisation)
- The year-end submission that brings together all your income and confirms it is complete and correct, finalising your tax position for the year. Under MTD it replaces the old annual Self Assessment tax return. "Crystallisation" is HMRC's technical name for the same thing.
- Obligation
- A reporting task HMRC expects from you for a given period — for example a specific quarterly update or final declaration — each with its own deadline and status (open or met). EasyTaxer fetches your obligations from HMRC and tracks them for you.
- BSAS (Business Source Adjustable Summary)
- A summary HMRC produces of the income and expenses for a particular business source, which can be adjusted for year-end accounting changes. It's part of how figures are finalised for a self-employment or property business.
- Cumulative submission
- An approach where each quarterly update reports the year-to-date totals rather than just that quarter's figures. A later update can therefore correct an earlier one, because it restates the running total.
- Consolidated expenses
- Reporting your total allowable expenses as a single combined figure rather than itemising each category. HMRC allows this below a turnover threshold to simplify reporting.
- FHL (Furnished Holiday Letting)
- A rental property that meets HMRC's conditions for furnished holiday lettings, which historically had its own tax treatment distinct from ordinary property income. Always check the latest rules, as the treatment of FHLs has changed.
- NINO (National Insurance number)
- Your unique personal reference for National Insurance and tax, in the form two letters, six digits, one letter (e.g. QQ123456C). EasyTaxer uses it to identify you to HMRC.
- UTR (Unique Taxpayer Reference)
- A ten-digit reference HMRC issues when you register for Self Assessment. It identifies your tax record and appears on HMRC correspondence.
- Accounting period
- The period your business accounts cover. For MTD for Income Tax, most sole traders and landlords align to the tax year (6 April to 5 April).
- Cash basis vs accruals basis
- Two ways of accounting for income and expenses. Cash basis records money when it actually moves (received or paid). Accruals basis records it when it's earned or incurred, regardless of when cash changes hands. Many small businesses use the simpler cash basis.
- AIA & capital allowances
- Capital allowances let you deduct the cost of certain business assets (like equipment) from your taxable profit. The Annual Investment Allowance (AIA) lets you deduct the full cost of qualifying items, up to a yearly limit, in the year you buy them.
- HICBC (High Income Child Benefit Charge)
- A tax charge that can apply if you or your partner receive Child Benefit and one of you has income above a set threshold. It's reported through Self Assessment / your final declaration.
- CIS (Construction Industry Scheme)
- A scheme where contractors deduct money from subcontractors' payments and pass it to HMRC as advance payments towards the subcontractor's tax and National Insurance. EasyTaxer handles CIS deductions for subcontractors.
- Qualifying income
- Your combined gross (pre-expenses) income from self-employment and property in a tax year. HMRC uses it to decide whether — and from which phase — you must follow MTD for Income Tax.
Still have questions?
Start with our plain-English explainer of Making Tax Digital for Income Tax.
Read the MTD explainer