ReceiptTrack
Making Tax Digital for Income Tax: the plain-English 2026 guide
Making Tax Digital for Income Tax changes how many sole traders and landlords keep records and send updates to HMRC. If your qualifying self-employment and property income is over GBP 50,000, it starts from 6 April 2026. Lower thresholds follow in 2027 and 2028. The practical preparation is bigger than buying software. You need to know whether HMRC will treat your income as qualifying income, keep digital records close to the transaction date, understand quarterly update rhythm, and decide how your accountant or filing software will receive clean figures. A simple guide to what MTD for Income Tax means, who it affects, and how to get your records ready without panic.
Key takeaways
- MTD for Income Tax starts with higher-income sole traders and landlords, then expands by threshold.
- The rules are about digital records and regular updates, not just one January tax return.
- ReceiptTrack can help organise receipt records, but this article is general information, not tax advice.
- MTD preparation is a workflow change: capture, categorise, review, then submit through compatible software.
- Your first job is to reduce messy records before the mandatory date, not to wait for the first quarterly deadline.
- A receipt record should explain the business event clearly enough that future-you or an accountant can review it.