Making Tax Digital is coming, and it is closer than you think
By Andrew Isaacs, CIMA Member in Practice ·
Making Tax Digital for Income Tax is not optional, and the dates are closer than most owners think. HMRC wants digital records and quarterly updates through compatible software, not one filing a year.
It is mandatory from April 2026 for sole traders and landlords with qualifying income over £50,000, from April 2027 for income over £30,000, and from April 2028 for income over £20,000 (HMRC, GOV.UK). <img class="shot" style="max-width:440px;margin:34px auto 0;display:block" src="/assets/img/blog-making-tax-digital-is-coming-and-it-is-close-ig.jpg" width="440" loading="lazy" alt="AI Finance Partners infographic, Digital records and quarterly updates phase in from April 2026. Move now, calmly, not in a scramble."> <p class="shot-cap" style="text-align:center">The numbers behind this.</p>
The risk of leaving it
Leave it late and it becomes a scramble, new software and new habits under a deadline. Spreadsheets and shoeboxes will not meet the requirement.
The upside
Digital records are simply better records. Done early and set up well, MTD gives you real time numbers you can actually use, not just file. We put the software and the routine in place calmly, before the deadline, and turn a compliance chore into an advantage.
Sources: HMRC / GOV.UK
Andrew Isaacs is a CIMA Member in Practice and Practising Certificate Holder, and the founder of AI Finance Partners, the outsourced finance function for professional services firms turning over £500k to £5m across the South East. Legal cashiering is not part of what we do.