Making Tax Digital for Sole Traders & Landlords
Making Tax Digital for Income Tax, explained: who it applies to, the thresholds and dates, software, quarterly updates and penalties.
42 pages A4 · phone edition 73 pages
On sale soon £3.99 · coming soon
Read a previewRead a preview
Read the first four pages right here (of 42). Swipe to turn, tap a page to see it bigger.
The full guide goes on sale soon.
About this guide
Making Tax Digital for Income Tax is the biggest change to Self Assessment in years. Sole traders and landlords over the income threshold must keep digital records and send quarterly updates through software. This guide explains it in plain English, with dates, thresholds and rules checked against HMRC guidance in October 2026.
More about this guide
It explains what MTD is and isn’t (quarterly updates are short summaries, not extra tax returns), how to work out your qualifying income (gross, before expenses, with worked examples and a worksheet), who is exempt automatically and who can apply as digitally excluded, and the myths HMRC’s guidance doesn’t support.
It walks you through choosing software (including bridging software for spreadsheets), signing up step by step, keeping digital records, the quarterly deadlines, your first-year timeline, the year-end tax return, and the new points-based penalties for late submissions and the new late-payment penalties.
There are chapters for landlords (joint lets, letting agents, Rent-a-Room), on allowable expenses and on common situations, plus a worked first quarterly update, a plan to be ready, questions to ask an accountant, checklists, a glossary and where to get help.
What’s inside
- What Making Tax Digital is (and isn’t)
- Work out your qualifying income
- Exemptions, and who can apply
- MTD myths and what HMRC actually says
- Choosing software
- Signing up, step by step
- Keeping digital records
- Quarterly updates and deadlines
- Your tax return under MTD
- The new penalties, explained
- MTD for landlords
- Your plan: April 2026 (over £50,000) and April 2027 (over £30,000)
- Expenses: what counts
- Common situations
- Your first quarterly update, walked through
- Where to get help
- Glossary and sources
General information, not tax advice. This guide does not recommend any software. Check your own position with HMRC or an accountant.
Spotted an error? Let us know
Thanks for helping keep Clarity accurate. Tell us what’s wrong and we’ll check it.
Thank you! We’ve got your report and we’ll check it. Every fix makes the guides better for everyone.
