Sole traders and landlords earning more than £30,000 urged to get ready for Making Tax Digital

With six months to go until being required to use Making Tax Digital (MTD) for Income Tax, sole traders and landlords with a turnover more than £30,000 per year are being urged prepare for the changes.

HMRC is encouraging taxpayers who think they will be affected by the changes to start preparing now, and check whether they meet the threshold: turnover includes gross income from self-employment and property before any tax allowances or expenses are deducted.

Signing up early also means taxpayers can make sure their MTD details are correct from the start and have time to choose the software that works best for them. Agents can also sign up their clients via the government website.

From 6 April 2027, around 1,077,000 more sole traders and landlords will need to create digital records and use compatible software to send HMRC quarterly updates of their income and expenses and to complete their tax return, in addition to those already using the service. The quarterly updates are not additional tax returns, but short summaries.

Craig Ogilvie, HMRC’s Director of Making Tax Digital, said:“

“Hundreds of thousands of sole traders and landlords are already successfully using Making Tax Digital and now it’s time for the next group to get ready.

“Signing up now means you can prepare and familiarise yourself with the process before it becomes mandatory next April.”

This builds on the successful launch of MTD for Income Tax for sole traders and landlords earning more than £50,000, who have been using the service since April 2026. Their next milestone is the second quarterly update due on 7 November.

The threshold will decrease further to £20,000 from April 2028, bringing MTD for Income Tax to an even wider group of sole traders and landlords.