Making Tax Digital for Income Tax: a simple guide to getting ready

If you’re affected, you now move from one annual Self Assessment return to a more digital system that involves keeping digital records, sending quarterly year-to-date updates of your income and expense totals, and submitting a final declaration each year.

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For many people, this feels like a big change, but it needn't be. TaxNav is all about making the MTD IT transition simple. We've created a short and helpful MTD IT guide that explains what’s changed, who needs to follow the rules, and a handy checklist to get MTD IT ready.

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Download the guide

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Who MTD applies to ‍

MTD IT is being introduced in stages based on your gross income from self-employment and/or property:

£50,000 or more from April 2026
£30,000 or more from April 2027
£20,000 or more from April 2028

If you earn income from both self-employment and property, HMRC adds these together.

What the guide covers ‍

The guide explains in simple terms what MTD IT means for you and what to do next, including:

What MTD IT is and how it works
What quarterly updates really involve
What stays the same under the new system
How to choose software and get ready
A simple readiness checklist to follow

It’s designed to be quick and easy to follow, helping you navigate MTD IT smoothly and comfortably.

Get prepared with TaxNav

If you haven't started yet, don't panic. Focus on these basics as, once those are in place, everything else follows naturally.

Confirm if your gross income will trigger the MTD IT rules with HMRC's page
Register with HMRC for MTD IT before you begin.
Select your software - TaxNav offers a 30-day free trial
Start keeping and recording your digital records - for example, directly into our software or in a spreadsheet using our bridging software. Until your final return, this does not need to be 100% accurate.
Diarise when you need to submit your quarterly updates, TaxNav will remind you.
Diarise your final (annual) declaration deadline

People with income over £30,000 from self-employment and/or property will need to join MTD IT from April 2027. You can, however, volunteer to join early and get familiar with it before your HMRC deadline.

TaxNav is HMRC-recognised and secure MTD IT software that is built to keep things simple. Our user-friendly browser-based software makes digital record-keeping, quarterly updates and final declarations straightforward and hassle-free. If you prefer spreadsheets, you can continue using them with our bridging functionality.

You automatically get a 30-day free trial and we offer low-cost subscriptions to keep things affordable. An annual subscription is £60+VAT or pay as you go for £6+VAT per month.