Making Tax Digital is closer than it looks — what to do in the next twelve months

April 2026 is the start date for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax for sole traders and landlords with qualifying income over £50,000. That still sounds comfortably far away, which is precisely the problem — it is close enough that the preparation should be starting, and far enough that nobody feels urgency.

First, work out whether you are actually in scope

Qualifying income is gross self-employment and property income added together, before expenses. That is a lower bar than most people assume. A landlord with £30,000 of rent and £25,000 of freelance turnover is in scope from April 2026 even if profit after costs is modest.

HMRC uses your return from two years earlier to decide, so the 2024/25 return is what determines April 2026 entry.

Then get the software running early

The single most useful thing you can do is start keeping digital records now, a full year before it becomes compulsory. Not because the rules require it yet, but because the first quarterly submission is much less stressful if the software has been running for twelve months and the bank feed already works.

Things that take longer than expected: connecting bank feeds that refuse to authenticate, cleaning up historical categorisation, and getting into the habit of photographing receipts. None are difficult. All are annoying to do under deadline.

Do not confuse reporting with paying

Quarterly updates are submissions of cumulative income and expense totals. They are not tax calculations and nothing becomes payable as a result. Payment dates are unchanged: 31 January, with payments on account on 31 January and 31 July.

A rough order of work

1. Confirm whether your qualifying income puts you in the April 2026, 2027 or 2028 group.
2. Choose compatible software and get it set up with bank feeds.
3. Move to monthly bookkeeping so quarterly submissions are a formality.
4. Run a practice quarter well before it counts.

If you would like to know which group you fall into and what getting ready would involve, a free initial consultation is the quickest way to find out.