Making Tax Digital deadline lands
Britain will implement Making Tax Digital for income tax in April 2026 for self‑employed people and landlords with qualifying income above £50,000. The House of Commons Library briefing highlights how thresholds, staging and support convert a policy deadline into concrete transition work for affected user groups. (commonslibrary.parliament.uk)
Britain’s next tax deadline is now live: from 6 April 2026, some sole traders and landlords must keep digital records and report through software, not paper-style annual filing. (gov.uk) The first group is people in Self Assessment with more than £50,000 of qualifying income from self-employment, property, or both, based on the 2024 to 2025 tax year. The threshold then drops to £30,000 from 6 April 2027 and £20,000 from 6 April 2028. (gov.uk) “Qualifying income” means gross income before expenses, and HM Revenue and Customs says it adds self-employment and property turnover together from the latest tax return. Other income does not count toward those thresholds. (makingtaxdigital.campaign.gov.uk) The new system changes how records are kept and sent. People in scope must use compatible software, submit quarterly updates to HM Revenue and Customs, and then complete a digital year-end return by 31 January after the tax year ends. (commonslibrary.parliament.uk) Those quarterly updates are not four full tax returns. The House of Commons Library says they give year-to-date figures, and taxpayers still make year-end adjustments and claim reliefs in software before filing the final return. (commonslibrary.parliament.uk) The April 2026 start matters because this part of Making Tax Digital was originally meant to arrive much earlier. Parliament’s library says the programme was launched in 2015, income tax was once planned for 2018, and the current rollout begins eight years later than first proposed. (commonslibrary.parliament.uk) The practical work now falls on taxpayers and agents. HM Revenue and Customs says people who need to use the service should sign up, choose and authorise software, or arrange for an accountant or tax agent to act for them. (gov.uk) HM Revenue and Customs is not providing one mandatory app. Its guidance says taxpayers must use compatible software from recognised providers, and the department’s campaign site says there are both free and paid options. (gov.uk) (makingtaxdigital.campaign.gov.uk) Not everyone has to switch on 6 April 2026. People may be exempt if they are digitally excluded, new sole traders and landlords generally do one Self Assessment return first, and partnerships are still waiting for a separate timetable. (gov.uk) (makingtaxdigital.campaign.gov.uk) Penalties are part of the change, but not all at once. The House of Commons Library says the regime is points-based, with a £200 penalty after four points within two years, and the government has said late-submission penalty points will not apply to quarterly updates in the first year of mandation. (commonslibrary.parliament.uk) For the first taxpayers over the £50,000 line, the old once-a-year habit is over. From this tax year, the transition to Making Tax Digital is no longer a plan on paper but a live filing system with dates, software and thresholds attached. (gov.uk)
