Gooding Accounts personal tax team are preparing to help our clients make the change to quarterly digital submissions to HMRC. From April 2026 if you’re a landlord, or are self-employed with an income of more than £50,000 you’ll need to supply records to HMRC on a quarterly basis using an approved software solution. You’ll still only need to pay your tax once (or twice) per year as per your current schedule. From April 2027 those with income over £30,000 will also be required to submit their records digitally four times every year.
Taking income tax Self Assessment online is a huge undertaking for HMRC. They believe that moving to a fully digital system will have the following benefits:
There are two key changes that will come with Making Tax Digital. The first is that records will be submitted quarterly instead of just once per year. For the year from April 2026 the deadlines for the quarterly submissions will be as follows:
At the end of the tax year a final declaration will need to be submitted. At this point any adjustments can be made to your records. This final declaration will replace your current annual self-assessment tax return. As with existing system you will only need to make a single tax payment – due by 31st Jan the following year.
The second key change is that from April 2026 the ONLY way to submit your self-assessment tax return to HMRC will be using one of their approved software packages. The good news is that there are a number of approved software packages to choose from. Gooding Accounts have been reviewing the approved packages and can help you to select the best one to suit your business needs.
HMRC estimate that the initial change in April 2026 will affect 780,000 people . If you are an individual registered for Self Assessment with an income from self-employment or property of more than £50,000 you’ll need to sign-up for a HMRC approved software to begin submitting your quarterly records for the tax year from 6th April 2026.
If your 2024-2025 tax return (submitted by 31st January 2026) has a qualifying income of more than £50,000 HMRC will contact you by letter to confirm that you must start using Making Tax Digital for Income Tax by 6th April 2026.
If your income from property of self-employment is less than £50,000 you will not be affected by the changes. However – it’s important to remember that all individuals whose income is more than £30,000 will be required to comply with the changes from the following year (April 2027).
We’ve already started to identify which of our clients will be affected by the changes and will begin reaching out to them well in advance of the deadline. We’ll be here to guide you every step of the way, from deciding which software to choose to letting you know when you’ll need to supply your records to ensure your quarterly submissions are completed in plenty of time.
The changes to the tax system are mandatory and there will no longer be a way to submit your self assessment via alternative methods. HRMC will be using a points system for those who don’t comply with the new regulations – once a certain number of points have been applied to your account you’ll receive an automatic fine of £200. Points will be given for late payments as well as late submissions. Any points you accrue will be valid for two years, at which point they will be removed from your account (unless there has been a fine applied – at which point HMRC will need to see a 12 month period of full compliance before they are removed.) There will also a one-off fine which will be given to those who fail to use compatible software to file their returns.
Here at Gooding Accounts we are already putting procedures in place to make the transition to Making Tax Digital for Income Tax Self Assessment as smooth as possible. We’ve been researching HMRC compatible software solutions to find those we think are the most straightforward to use and will best suit our clients.
Before the end of 2024 We’ll be contacting clients to help us take part in the HMRC’s pilot scheme aimed at making the move to quarterly updates and compatible software as simple as possible. We’ll help you get ahead so you’ll already be comfortable with the process well in advance of the mandatory deadline of April 2026. If we think your business is suitable to take part in the pilot scheme we’ll be in touch very soon!
HRMC have been working with a number of small businesses to trial a range of approved software solutions in real-life circumstances. Many of these businesses report that digitisation has been a lot simpler than they imagined and has bought added benefits, such as improved visibility of finances and a reduced number of errors.
You can read more about these case studies on HMRC’s website.
Our friendly and helpful approach to accountancy, ensures that you understand and are in tune with your finances. Our committed team will communicate with you every step of the way so that you understand the position of your financial affairs – get in touch today.
