Prepare for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax

Sole traders and landlords with an income over £50,000 will be required to use Making Tax Digital (MTD) for Income Tax from 6 April 2026.

Making Tax Digital for Income Tax goes live on Monday 6 April 2026. You can prepare now to get ready for the new requirement to keep digital records and submit quarterly updates on your income and expenses.

What does Making Tax Digital for Income Tax mean?

Making Tax Digital for Income Tax means that eligible individuals will need to keep digital records and report their income to HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC).

Digital records

By keeping digital records throughout the year, sole traders and landlords can save hours previously spent gathering information at tax return time, allowing them to spend more time focusing on their business activities.

Quarterly updates

Quarterly updates will spread the workload more evenly throughout the year, bring the tax system closer to real-time reporting, and help businesses stay on top of their finances and avoid the last-minute rush.

Who is required to use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax?

There will be a phased-in approach to Making Tax Digital for Income Tax.

From April 2026, individuals with qualifying income above £50,000 will need to keep digital records, use MTD-compatible software, and submit quarterly summaries of their income and expenses to HMRC.
From April 2027, those with a qualifying income above £30,000 will also be required to use MTD for Income Tax.
From April 2028, the threshold will then decrease to £20,000.

Qualifying income includes gross income from self-employment and property before any tax allowances or expenses are deducted.

Find out if and when you need to use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax.

Webinars to help with Making Tax Digital for Income Tax

HMRC is hosting several webinars to help people understand their obligations for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax as the new changes are introduced in April 2026.

View the latest HMRC tax webinars.

Other support to help you prepare for MTD

HMRC is providing a range of free support to help people prepare, including:

Free software options for MTD

Free software options are available, and once income and expenses are recorded, the software generates a simple summary to send to HMRC.

At the end of a tax year, those within MTD for Income Tax will still need to file a tax return by the following 31 January – but the software will already hold the information from the quarterly updates, meaning no last-minute hunt for records or receipts.