Making Tax Digital for Income Tax official comes into force on 6th April 2026 following years of delays. HMRC are now contacting mandated individuals, and we will also be individually contacting clients whom we believe are mandated. If you think you may be mandated and haven’t heard from us by the end of February – please do contact us!
Who is mandated?
If you have sole trade or rental income (turnover, not profit) of over £50,000, in the tax year 2024/25, you will be mandated into Making Tax Digital starting April 2026. The threshold is based on combined turnover of these sources i.e. £25,000 sole trader turnover plus £30,000 rental income would mean you are mandated in 2026. This threshold will drop to £30,000 for the tax year beginning April 2027.
What happens if you are mandated?
You’ll be required to use the new Making Tax Digital system, instead of self-assessment to report your personal income to HMRC. The Making Tax Digital process includes submitting four quarterly updates during the tax year, and a final declaration following the end of the tax year. The final declaration will replace the self-assessment tax return that you are used to. The final declaration deadline for filing and payment will remain the same as self-assessment, i.e. 31st January following the end of the tax year.
Making Tax Digital key dates 26/27:
06.04.2026: tax year begins
05.07.2026: first quarter ends
07.08.2026: first quarterly submission filing deadline
05.10.2026: second quarter ends
07.11.2026: second quarterly submission filing deadline
05.01.2027: third quarter ends
07.02.2027: third quarterly submission filing deadline
05.04.2027: fourth quarter ends
07.05.2027: fourth quarterly submission filing deadline
31.01.2028: final declaration filing deadline & tax payment deadline
What do you need to do if you are mandated?
Keep your records organised – you will need to submit your information much more frequently, and there is much less time to get those submissions organised than we are used to with self-assessment.
How can we help?
We can provide full or partial support with the bookkeeping and submission elements of the new system as well as preparing the final declarations (as we have done previously with self-assessment). We will be in touch with clients we think will be mandated with suggestions on the best next steps and how to make the move to Making Tax Digital as smooth as possible.
Contact Siobhan if you have any queries on Making Tax Digital.
