Less than six months to go until first wave of MTD for Income Tax

In April 2026, the first wave of taxpayers will be brought into the Making Tax Digital (MTD) for Income Tax scheme.

Landlords and sole traders are being urged to start preparing now for the changes set to come into force in less than six months.

What is Making Tax Digital?

Making Tax Digital is a key part of the government’s tax administration strategy – a 10-year plan with the aim of building a ‘trusted and modern’ tax system.

Eventually, all businesses will need to keep digital records by using software that works with MTD and then submit updates every quarter.

This will help to bring the tax system closer to real-time.

If you are self-employed or a landlord, you will be affected from the:

• 6th April 2026 – if you have an annual business or property income of more than £50,000
• April 2027 – if you have an annual business or property income of more than £30,000

Self-employed and landlords must start preparing for MTD

According to HMRC figures, as many as 864,000 sole traders and landlords are expected to be in the first wave of taxpayers included in MTD for Income Tax.

This will rise to almost 3 million as lower-income individuals are included by April 2028.

The Association of Taxation Technicians (ATT) is urging those affected in a few months to ensure that they are prepared for these significant changes.

They may want to consider looking at their software options and costs, as well as potentially taking on the advice of a tax advisor, accountant or bookkeeper if they don’t already have one.

To find out more about contracting, please contact Jaime on 01442 795 100 or email jaime.thorpe@dolanaccountancy.com.