Back to Home MAKING TAX DIGITAL

Making Tax Digital, made simple.

HMRC is changing how sole traders and landlords report income — from one annual return to digital records and quarterly submissions. We get you compliant early, without the last-minute scramble.

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What is Making Tax Digital?

Making Tax Digital (MTD) for Income Tax is HMRC's move away from a single once-a-year Self Assessment return, towards keeping digital financial records throughout the year and sending regular updates straight from compatible software.

Instead of reconstructing a year of income and expenses from scratch every January, records are kept digitally as you go, and HMRC gets four smaller updates plus one year-end Final Declaration — reducing both the year-end workload and the room for error.

Who this affects

Self-employed / sole traders
Landlords with rental income
Anyone with a combined qualifying income above the HMRC threshold for their stage (see timeline below)

Key dates

Thresholds and dates below reflect HMRC's published MTD for Income Tax timeline at the time of writing. Speak to us to confirm exactly how — and when — the rules apply to your own situation.

From April 2026

Self-employed & landlords earning over £50,000

Required to keep digital records and send quarterly submissions to HMRC using MTD-compatible software, instead of a single annual Self Assessment.

From April 2027

Self-employed & landlords earning £30,000–£50,000

The same digital record-keeping and quarterly-update requirements are extended down to this income band.

Ongoing, every year

Everyone within MTD

Four quarterly submissions plus one Final Declaration each year, submitted through HMRC-recognised software — replacing the old once-a-year Self Assessment return.

What you'll actually need to do

Digital record-keeping

Income and expenses recorded digitally as they happen, not reconstructed from a shoebox of receipts once a year.

MTD-compatible software

Records kept in, or fed into, software that can talk to HMRC directly — spreadsheets alone are not enough on their own.

Quarterly submissions

A summary of income and expenses sent to HMRC roughly every three months, rather than one return at year-end.

Final Declaration

A year-end submission confirming total income across all sources, replacing the current Self Assessment return.

How JBM helps

Confirm whether, and from when, MTD actually applies to you
Set up and configure MTD-compatible software around how you already work
Handle your quarterly submissions so nothing is missed or late
Review each quarter’s figures before they go to HMRC, not after
Prepare and file your annual Final Declaration

Get MTD-ready before your deadline

Book a consultation and we'll confirm exactly when MTD applies to you, get your software set up, and take the quarterly reporting off your plate.

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