Making Tax Digital for Income Tax is here. If you're a sole trader, in the trades, or a landlord, it changes how often you report your income to HMRC — four times a year instead of one. It sounds like a headache, and on your own it can be. So let us take it off your plate. Talk to Bobby direct — not a call centre — with fixed fees agreed upfront and no nasty surprises. In five minutes we'll tell you exactly where you stand.
Making Tax Digital for Income Tax — you'll see it called MTD for ITSA — is HMRC's new way of running Self Assessment. Instead of doing one tax return once a year, you keep your records digitally and send HMRC a short summary of your income and expenses every three months. Then, after the tax year ends, you finish off with a year-end declaration that replaces the old tax return.
Here's the reassuring bit: it changes how often you report, not how much tax you pay or when you pay it. Your tax bill is worked out the same way, and the dates you actually hand over money to HMRC don't move. The extra admin is really the only new thing — and that's exactly the part we're happy to take off your hands.
There's a second piece of good news for most sole traders. Since April 2024 you're on what's called the 'cash basis' by default — you count income when the money actually lands in your account and expenses when you actually pay them. No complicated year-end adjustments. Landlords default to it too. In plain terms, your quarterly summary is basically 'money in, money out', which makes it far simpler than it first sounds.
It's being brought in gradually, sorted by how much you earn. The first group — anyone with income over £50,000 — is already in it, live since 6 April 2026. Lower income levels follow in the next couple of years. So the question for most people isn't 'if', it's 'when', and we can tell you exactly where you stand in a five-minute chat — just send us last year's figures and we'll do the rest.
MTD for Income Tax applies to individual sole traders and landlords who fill in a Self Assessment return. Whether you're caught yet depends on your 'qualifying income' — and that phrase trips a lot of people up. Qualifying income is your total gross turnover (the money coming in before you take off any expenses) from self-employment plus property, added together. It does not include your wages from a job, dividends, savings interest, pensions, capital gains or your share of a partnership. HMRC works it out from a tax return you've already filed — the one from two years before each start date — so it's based on figures you've already given them. Not sure which band you're in? Send us last year's numbers and we'll tell you in five minutes exactly where you stand, and whether you need to do anything yet.
There are four update periods across the tax year, and each one has its own submission deadline about a month later. And here's a reassurance worth holding on to: got a number wrong in an earlier update? Don't panic. Each update includes the whole year so far, so a correction just tidies itself up in the next one — nothing gets lost, and one wrong figure won't come back to bite you. (When we're doing your updates, they're right the first time anyway.) Here are the standard periods and when each update is due. If it suits your bookkeeping better, you can choose 'calendar quarter' dates instead — ending 30 June, 30 September, 31 December and 31 March — and the four deadlines stay exactly the same.
| Quarter | Period it covers | Submit by |
|---|---|---|
| Quarter 1 | 6 April – 5 July | 7 August |
| Quarter 2 | 6 July – 5 October | 7 November |
| Quarter 3 | 6 October – 5 January | 7 February |
| Quarter 4 | 6 January – 5 April | 7 May |
Every bit of income and expense is recorded in HMRC-compatible software (or a spreadsheet linked to it) — the amount, the date, and the category. You don't have to scan every receipt; you can still keep the paper. It's just the figures that need to live digitally. And on the cash basis, that's simply what came in and what went out.
Four times a year you send HMRC a running total of your income and expenses. It's a summary, not a tax return — HMRC don't see individual invoices, and no tax is due at this point. Each business gets its own update, so if you have, say, two trades plus a rental, that's three sets of updates — twelve filings a year, all on the same four deadlines. Sounds like a lot; it's exactly the kind of load we absorb entirely.
After 5 April, you complete a year-end final declaration. This is where everything else gets added — your job, dividends, interest, pensions — plus your reliefs and allowances, to confirm the real tax due. It replaces the old Self Assessment return and is due by 31 January.
Nothing changes about when you pay. Your balancing payment and first payment on account are due 31 January, and the second payment on account 31 July. MTD never asks you to pay tax quarterly.
Under MTD, your accounting records have to be kept electronically — in software or a spreadsheet. A shoebox of receipts or a paper cashbook won't meet the rules on its own once you're mandated. For each transaction you record three things: how much, the date, and the category (the same categories you'd use on a tax return). If you're on the cash basis, like most sole traders now are, that's just money in and money out — no fiddly adjustments.
The part people worry about most turns out to be the easy part: your receipts and invoices don't have to be scanned or digitised. You can keep the paper originals in a drawer if you like. It's only the figures from them that need to be entered digitally — and if you're with us, that's a job we do, not you.
Spreadsheets are still allowed, but a spreadsheet on its own can't send anything to HMRC. It needs a small piece of connecting software — HMRC calls it 'bridging software' — to push the figures across. And if you use more than one program, the numbers have to flow between them automatically, not be retyped or copied by hand (HMRC calls that a 'digital link'). If that sounds fiddly, it's because it is — which is exactly why we set it up once and run it for you. You'll never have to think about bridging software again.
HMRC no longer publishes a fixed list of approved software — there's a 'Find software' search tool instead. Well-known options include Xero, QuickBooks, Sage and FreeAgent, with bridging tools like 123 Sheets or VitalTax for spreadsheet fans. There are even free routes: FreeAgent is free for NatWest, Royal Bank of Scotland, Ulster Bank and Mettle business account holders. We'll match you to the right one rather than sell you the most expensive — and check it's genuinely recognised for MTD for Income Tax, not just VAT.
One more piece of plumbing we handle: getting HMRC to authorise us to act for you, so we can file your updates on your behalf. That's set up once at the start — after that you never have to log in and submit anything yourself. We do the filing; you get on with the job.
Keep your digital records and supporting documents for at least five years after the 31 January deadline for that year — broadly as Self Assessment has always asked. It's one more thing we quietly keep on top of for you.
We won't dress this up: the penalties are real, and HMRC toughened them up in 2025. But if your updates go in on time and your tax is paid, none of this ever touches you — and keeping you on the right side of it is the whole point of having us. Here's the honest picture as it stands now (the interest rate below moves with the Bank of England base rate, so we always work to the current figure).
The simplest way to never think about any of this: let us file everything for you, on time, every time. Want your fixed price first? Tell us a bit about your work and we'll agree a fee upfront — before you commit to anything.
If you're a CIS subcontractor working as a sole trader, MTD applies to you just like any other sole trader — there's no special exemption for the trades. The bit that catches people out is how your income is counted. Your qualifying income is the full amount you invoice before the 20% (or 30%) CIS deduction is taken off. So even though money lands in your account with tax already knocked off, HMRC looks at the gross figure — which means a lot of subbies are over the threshold sooner than they'd expect.
Your quarterly updates just carry your income and expense totals — the CIS tax that contractors deduct from you isn't reported in them. That deduction is still handled the old way by whoever pays you, and it gets picked up in your year-end tax calculation. If you're used to a CIS refund because too much has been deducted at source, that refund still comes after your final declaration, not quarterly — MTD doesn't speed that up, and anyone promising otherwise is mistaken.
This is exactly the kind of thing we sort day in, day out from our Kent base — keeping your digital records, filing your four updates, reconciling every penny of CIS deducted against your year-end bill, and making sure the refund you're owed is claimed correctly and comes through as fast as it can. You get on with the job on site; we make sure the numbers are right.
Check my CIS refundYou didn't start a business to become a bookkeeper. Our job is to make MTD a non-event for you — set up properly once, then handled quietly all year round by a real person you can actually phone. And if you're in the £50k group that's live now, the first quarterly update (Q1, the period that ended 5 July) is due by 7 August 2026 — so the time to get set up is now, not later. Here's what that looks like in practice.
We choose and set up HMRC-compatible cloud software that suits how you work — including free options if you qualify — connect it to your bank so records build themselves, and get HMRC to authorise us so we can file for you.
All four updates a year, prepared and submitted for you before the deadline — and one set per business if you run more than one. You never have to remember 7 August, 7 November, 7 February or 7 May. That's our job.
We bring in everything else — your wages, dividends, interest, reliefs and allowances — complete the final declaration that replaces your tax return, and confirm exactly what's due.
We reconcile every CIS deduction against your year-end liability and claim the refund you're owed correctly, so subbies get the right result without chasing paperwork.
We keep you on the right side of HMRC's tougher penalty rules by filing on time, every time — and we give you a heads-up on the tax to set aside, so January holds no surprises.
You deal directly with Bobby Gardiner, not a call centre. Fees are agreed upfront so you always know the cost — no surprises, no meter running when you ask a question. Ready to start? Call Bobby direct or ask for your fixed quote.
If your gross self-employment and/or property income is over £50,000 it's already mandatory — it went live on 6 April 2026. The £30,000 group joins from April 2027 and the £20,000 group from April 2028. HMRC usually writes to people who are caught, but if no letter arrives it's still your responsibility to check — so it's worth a quick call to us to confirm exactly where you stand. If you're in the £30k or £20k groups, you can also volunteer to join early to get comfortable with it before you're forced in; we'll run a practice quarter with you so the first live filing is a non-event.
No, and this is the one everyone gets wrong. It's your gross turnover — the total money coming in before you deduct any expenses — from self-employment plus property, added together. It doesn't include wages from a job, dividends, savings interest, pensions, capital gains or a partnership share. So you can be over the threshold on turnover even if your actual profit is modest.
Yes, on exactly the same basis as any sole trader; there's no CIS exemption. Importantly, your income is measured on the full amount you invoice before the 20% or 30% CIS deduction, so many subbies cross the threshold sooner than expected. We handle CIS subbies all the time and make the whole thing straightforward.
No — and be wary of anyone who says otherwise. The CIS tax deducted from you isn't reported in the quarterly updates; it's reconciled in your year-end tax calculation, so any refund still comes after your final declaration, just as it does now. What we do is make sure every penny deducted is captured so your refund is claimed correctly and comes through as fast as it can.
MTD covers rental income from UK and overseas property (including what used to be called furnished holiday lets). Here's the trap: it's the rent coming in that's tested, before you take off mortgage interest, agent fees or repairs — so plenty of landlords are over £50k on paper even when the actual profit is slim. If you're also self-employed, both gross incomes are added together to test the threshold. Own a property jointly? Only your share of the rent counts. And each separate property business needs its own quarterly update — though for jointly-owned property there's a lighter-touch option where you can report your share of the rental income each quarter and tidy up the expense detail at the final declaration. Three flats and a joint owner sounds like a lot of admin; it's all admin we take care of.
No — this is the biggest relief for most people. MTD changes how often you report, not when you pay. Your payment dates are unchanged: the balancing payment and first payment on account are due 31 January, and the second payment on account 31 July, exactly as now.
No. Your receipts and invoices can stay on paper — you don't need to scan or digitise them. It's only the figures from them (the amount, date and category) that must be recorded digitally. And if you're a client of ours, entering those figures is our job, not yours.
Yes, but a spreadsheet alone can't send anything to HMRC — it needs a small piece of connecting software (HMRC calls it 'bridging software') to submit your updates, and any data moving between programs has to flow automatically rather than be retyped. If that sounds fiddly, don't worry: we set the whole chain up so it just works, and we run it for you.
HMRC no longer names specific products — there's a 'Find software' tool instead — but well-known options include Xero, QuickBooks, Sage and FreeAgent. There are free routes too: FreeAgent is free for NatWest, RBS, Ulster Bank and Mettle business account holders. We'll match you to the right tool for your business rather than the priciest one — and make sure it's recognised for MTD for Income Tax, not just VAT.
Late updates use a points system — one point per missed deadline, and at four points you get a £200 penalty, then £200 for each further late one. Late payment carries its own charges plus interest at the Bank of England base rate plus 4% (7.75% at the time of writing, though it moves with the base rate). There's a first-year easement on late-update points for the April 2026 group, but it doesn't cover the final declaration. The simplest fix is to let us file everything on time so penalties never come up.
Not in your capacity as a director. Limited companies fall under Corporation Tax, and a director's salary and dividends don't count as qualifying income. But if you personally have self-employment or rental income over the threshold, you'd be caught on those sources — so it's worth checking your own position with us.
Some people are automatically out of scope, with nothing to apply for — for example if your qualifying income is £20,000 or under, or you don't yet have a National Insurance number by the start of the tax year (that test is judged at 6 April, so even getting a number shortly after can still leave you out for that year). Others have to apply — most commonly people who are genuinely 'digitally excluded' through age, disability, location or beliefs. HMRC aims to respond to those applications within 28 calendar days, and you get 30 days to appeal if you're refused. These are edge cases, so please check with us before assuming an exemption applies. Either way, exempt taxpayers still file a normal Self Assessment return — and we can check whether any exemption fits you and handle the application if it does.
Book a free, no-obligation review. We'll get you on the right software, keep every quarterly update filed, and handle HMRC — so you never think about it.
