Making Tax Digital (MTD) is HMRC's programme to move UK tax from once-a-year paper Self Assessment to digital quarterly submissions sent straight from compatible software. AccountantUK is that compatible software.
Who's already in it
MTD for VAT — every VAT-registered business has been in MTD since April 2022. If you're VAT-registered, you must already be filing quarterly VAT returns through software that submits directly to HMRC. We do this from VAT in the Tax menu.
Who's joining
MTD for Income Tax Self Assessment (ITSA) — coming in two phases:
- April 2026 — self-employed people and landlords with total business + property income over £50,000.
- April 2027 — the threshold drops to £30,000.
If you're in either group, you'll need to file quarterly updates through MTD-compatible software, then a single final declaration that replaces the old Self Assessment return.
What changes day-to-day
- Records must be kept digitally — pen-and-paper or unconnected spreadsheets won't comply. Receipts scanned with us count.
- Submissions are quarterly — every three months you confirm income + allowable expenses for each business / property.
- The link must be unbroken — from your source data (receipt photo, invoice) all the way to HMRC. We keep that link.
How we handle it
- The dashboard tracks your obligation periods — you'll see the next quarter's deadline at the top of MTD in the Tax menu.
- One-click submission from data already in your account.
- Receipts archived for 6 years (the HMRC retention requirement) in the 6-Year Vault.
- Audit trail for every submission so you can prove what was filed and when.
What you need to do
If you're approaching the £50,000 threshold (or already over it), connect your HMRC account in your dashboard before April 2026. We'll walk you through the OAuth flow — it takes about a minute.