As we reach the end of January 2026 and the Self-Assessment filing deadline for the year ended 5 April 2025, you can now see if you are required to make Making Tax Digital for Income Tax (MTD IT) quarterly submissions from April 2026. If your annual turnover for your self-employment and property income is £50,000 or more then you will need make quarterly submissions from April 2026.
This is the first of the three-phase introduction of quarterly filing. If your turnover for your self-employment income and property income is £30,000 or more in 2025/26 you’ll start to make MTD IT quarterly submissions in April 2027 and if it is £20,000 or more in 2026/27 you will have to make quarterly submissions from April 2028.
Quarterly submissions are a snapshot of income and expenses based on digital records at that point in time. They are not intended to reflect a final position, and year-end adjustments, claims and reliefs will still be part of the final self-assessment return.
The biggest change that this new requirement brings is the change in habit. MTD IT means providing your information on a quarterly basis and making regular submissions throughout the year. Your records will have to be up-to-date and with the right processes, systems and products in place, accuracy improves, stress reduces and the year-end becomes far more predictable.
At Greenwood Tax and Accounting we have putting plans and systems in place in the background to ensure that your compliance needs are met and you can continue to focus on your business. All you need to do is have an onboarding call with us to connect your bank accounts to our software, then simply forward receipts and purchase invoices as you receive them. You can raise and send out sales invoices directly on our MTD-compliant accounting software.
If your income was below £50,000 in 2024/25, but you expect to be above the threshold in the future, you can voluntarily register for MTD IT and get those systems in place now so that you are ready to go when you need to be.
Here’s a checklist of decisions and actions that will be needed. Remember that Greenwood Tax and Accounting can help every step of the way to make the process as stress free as possible:
1. Confirm whether MTD for Income Tax applies to you
Add together your self-employment (including property income) for the last tax year to check against the threshold. This information should be available on your self-assessment Tax Return for 2024/25.
2. Decide who will act for you
If you already use an accountant, let them know and authorise them to act via HMRC online services. If not, consider appointing someone to manage sign-up and filings.
3. Choose compatible software
We can help you choose a software, set this up for you, and show you how to use it. By using digital links and automating feeds and processes where possible we can reduce manual entry and help maintain the chain of digital links HMRC requires.
If you prefer, HMRC have a software finder on their website which you can use to choose a package that suits your business size and bookkeeping style. Click here to view.
Alternatively, you can use spreadsheets with a bridging software to make submissions to HMRC. We can help with this too.
4. Register or sign up for MTD if required
Follow HMRC guidance for signing up to HMRC here. Alternatively, authorise your accountant to sign you up, and give them access to your account.
5. Plan ahead for future tax payments
Quarterly reporting does not change when tax is payable, however keeping records up to date should give you a better idea of what your upcoming payments will be and to put funds aside accordingly.
For more detailed information about MTD IT please see our previous blog here.
