Making Tax Digital for Income Tax

Making Tax Digital for Income Tax (MTD) is a new way for sole traders and landlords to report their income and expenses to HMRC. From 6 April 2026 sole traders and landlords must use it if their total annual income, not profit from self employment and property is over £50,000. 

You, or your agent if you have one, will need to use software that works with Making Tax Digital for Income Tax to: 

• create, store and correct digital records of your self employment and property income and expenses  
• send your quarterly updates to HMRC  
• submit your tax return as normal and pay tax due by 31 January the following year

Who needs to sign up

You will need to use MTD if you:

• get income from self employment or property or both
• have qualifying income of more than £50,000 — read more about what qualifying income is and what is included

Work out your qualifying income

Find out what is included in your qualifying income. This will help you check if you need to sign up and use MTD from 6 April 2026.

Find out if and when you need to use this service

Check if you need to use this service to report your self employment and property income. You can use our online tool to find out when you need to start.

Get compatible software

HMRC does not provide software for MTD.  Find out about the software options available and how to choose the right software for your needs.

Sign up for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax

Find out what tasks you need to complete before you use the online service to sign up for MTD.

Use Making Tax Digital

Find out what you need to do after you have signed up and the different tasks you need to do over the tax year.

These include creating and storing digital records, sending quarterly updates, submitting your tax return using compatible software and what to do if your circumstances change.

If you have any questions or queries around MTD please get in touch with your Swindells partner or visit the following government website for more information:

https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/making-tax-digital-for-income-tax-for-businesses-step-by-step