Making Tax Digital Starts 6 April 2026: What You Actually Need to Do

After years of delays, consultations, pilot programmes and more delays, Making Tax Digital for Income Tax Self Assessment is actually happening. The start date is 6 April 2026. It's not getting pushed back again.

If you're a sole trader or landlord, this changes how you report your income to HMRC. Not dramatically — but enough that you'll want to understand what's coming before the first deadline catches you off guard.

Here's what you need to know, without the jargon.

Who's affected?

Not everyone. At least, not yet.

From 6 April 2026, MTD for ITSA applies to sole traders and landlords with qualifying income over £50,000. That's roughly 864,000 people across the UK in this first phase.

"Qualifying income" means your gross income before expenses — not your profit. HMRC determines this from your most recent self assessment return, which for most people will be the 2024/25 return. So if your turnover was £52,000 but your taxable profit was only £30,000, you're still caught by the £50,000 threshold. It's the top line that matters.

If you have both self-employment income and rental income, they get added together to determine whether you're over the threshold.

From April 2027, the threshold drops to £30,000. And from April 2028, it drops again to £20,000. So even if you're not affected right now, your turn is likely coming.

What actually changes day-to-day?

Two things shift in a meaningful way.

First, your record keeping goes fully digital. You can't keep paper records and type figures into a tax return once a year. Instead, you need to maintain digital records of your income and expenses throughout the year using MTD-compatible software. Every transaction needs to be recorded digitally — either typed into the software directly or fed in through a bank feed or digital receipt.

This isn't as scary as it sounds if you're already using accounting software. If you're one of those people tracking everything in a shoebox of receipts and a notebook, though, this is a real change.

Second, you'll submit updates to HMRC quarterly instead of once a year. More on that below.

The quarterly submission schedule

Under MTD, the tax year is split into four quarters. After each one, you send HMRC a summary of your income and expenses for that period. These aren't full tax returns — they're simpler updates, essentially confirming the figures in your digital records.

Here's the schedule for the first year (2026/27):

| Quarter | Period | Deadline | |---------|--------|----------| | Q1 | 6 April – 5 July 2026 | 7 August 2026 | | Q2 | 6 July – 5 October 2026 | 7 November 2026 | | Q3 | 6 October – 5 January 2027 | 7 February 2027 | | Q4 | 6 January – 5 April 2027 | 7 May 2027 |

After all four quarterly updates, you'll also need to submit a final declaration by 31 January 2028. This replaces your annual self assessment return. It's where you confirm your total income for the year, claim any reliefs, and finalise your tax position.

So you're not doing more work in total — the work is just spread across the year rather than crammed into January.

Software requirements

Spreadsheets won't cut it. You need software that's officially recognised as MTD-compatible by HMRC. That means it can connect to HMRC's systems via their API and submit your quarterly updates digitally.

Most of the major accounting packages — Xero, FreeAgent, QuickBooks, Sage — already support MTD for VAT and are rolling out ITSA support. If you're already using one of these, check with your provider that your plan includes MTD for Income Tax. Some require an upgrade or add-on.

If you're not using any software at all, now's the time to pick something. Don't leave it until July when the first deadline is looming. Give yourself a few weeks to set things up, connect your bank account, and get comfortable with how it works.

Your accountant can also submit on your behalf using their own software, so it's worth having that conversation if you'd prefer not to deal with it directly.

The penalty grace period — read this carefully

Here's some genuinely good news. HMRC has confirmed that penalty points for late quarterly updates will not be applied during the first year (2026/27). They're calling it a "soft landing" period to give people time to adjust.

That means if you miss the 7 August deadline for your Q1 submission, you won't get a penalty point. Same for Q2, Q3 and Q4 in that first year.

But — and this is important — late payment penalties still apply from day one. If you owe tax and don't pay it on time, HMRC will charge interest and penalties as normal. The grace period only covers the quarterly update submissions, not the money side.

Late filing of your final declaration (the annual one due 31 January) also carries penalties as normal. The soft landing is specifically for the quarterly updates.

So don't treat the grace period as an excuse to ignore the whole thing. Use it as breathing room to get your processes sorted without panicking about a fine if your first submission is a week late.

What you should do right now

If your qualifying income is over £50,000, here's a practical checklist:

1. Sign up on GOV.UK. You need to register for MTD for Income Tax through your Government Gateway account. Do this before 6 April. It's a separate sign-up from MTD for VAT — even if you're already registered for that.

2. Choose your software. If you don't already have MTD-compatible accounting software, pick one and get it set up. Connect your bank feeds. Start recording transactions digitally from 6 April onwards.

3. Talk to your accountant. If you use one, ask them how they're handling MTD submissions. Some accountants will manage the quarterly updates for you. Others will expect you to maintain the records and they'll review at year end. Either way, get clarity on who's doing what.

4. Get your opening position right. Your software needs accurate opening balances from 6 April 2026. If your books are a mess up to that point, spend some time tidying them before the new tax year starts. It's much harder to fix this retrospectively.

5. Set calendar reminders. Put the quarterly deadlines in your diary now. The first one — 7 August 2026 — is only four months away. That'll come around quickly, especially over summer.

Is this actually a bad thing?

Honestly? For most people who are already reasonably organised, the day-to-day impact is modest. You'll need to keep digital records (which you probably should be doing anyway) and submit four short updates a year instead of one big return.

The real benefit is that you'll have a much clearer picture of your tax position throughout the year. No more nasty surprises in January when you discover you owe £8,000 more than expected. Quarterly reporting forces you to stay on top of your numbers — and that tends to lead to better financial decisions.

The people who'll find this hardest are those who currently dump a carrier bag of receipts on their accountant's desk every February. If that's you, this is the push to finally go digital. You've had fair warning.

MTD is here. It's not going away. The sooner you're set up, the less stressful that first August deadline will feel.