Answers to Your TaxNav & Making Tax Digital Questions

Deadlines, fees, security and day-to-day tasks—your quick reference for staying compliant with HMRC’s Income Tax rules.

Find out more about TaxNav

Frequently asked questions

Will HMRC provide free software?

No. You’ll need to use software from HMRC’s recognised list. TaxNav is one such option, built specifically for landlords and the self-employed.

What happens if my income fluctuates?

Once you’ve joined MTD IT, you only leave if your income stays below the threshold for three consecutive years.

Can my accountant manage this for me?

Yes – they can sign you up and submit returns on your behalf. But you’re still responsible for ensuring digital records are kept and submitted on time.

Do I have to abandon my spreadsheets?

No, you don't. Spreadsheets remain valid as long as they're linked to HMRC using recognised bridging software, such as TaxNav. Manual entry or copy-and-paste submissions, however, aren’t allowed.

Will I still need to do a Self Assessment return?

No. MTD IT replaces the annual Self Assessment for those who fall within its scope. Your quarterly updates and final declaration cover the same ground, but with a new structure.

Do I need to scan all receipts?

Physical receipts are acceptable, but there is no requirement to scan them. However, the transaction details must be entered into your digital records.

What if I miss a deadline?

HMRC will apply a points-based penalty system. Each missed update earns a point, and once you reach the threshold, you’ll face a fine.

‍The system doesn’t apply penalties during the pilot phase.

What if I make a mistake in my quarterly return?

You will be able to amend data in your final quarterly return, or you can add any missing information to the next submission as long as it applies to the tax year you are reporting on. If you want to make a change to a previously submitted periodic update, you can include that change in your following update. Each update is cumulative and invalidates the previous submission because all periods start from the beginning of the tax year.

Can I update more often than quarterly?

Yes. You can update your records monthly or even weekly if you prefer, especially if you want more regular insights into your tax position.

How long does HMRC take to process submissions?

Typically, updates are acknowledged within an hour, significantly faster than the current Self Assessment system.

Is there help available for transitioning?

Yes. HMRC offers a range of webinars, articles, and a dedicated team to help you get to grips with the new system. No penalties are issued during the pilot phase, making it an ideal time to learn.

MTD Compliance

TaxNav is fully HMRC-approved for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax (MTD IT). Our software supports the quarterly and final filing requirements for the tax years from April 2025 for anyone with income over £30,000. It’s available now for those interested in early adoption and trial periods before the mandatory implementation.

HMRC are phasing in MTD IT’s mandation over these dates:
April 2026 for those with income over £50,000
April 2027 for those with income over £30,000
April 2028 for those with income over £20,000

You can start using our system now to get comfortable with it before these deadlines, regardless of your income.

Pricing/Free Version

We offer a genuinely free version during this tax year for individual taxpayers with simple tax affairs.
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The free version (for the entire tax year) includes all features, such as direct input and spreadsheet imports, and is available for anyone who signs up and enrols in the HMRC public pilot program before the end of 2025.

Subscription plans are due to start in April 2026 for the 2026/2027 tax year at £5 per month.

Accuracy and Timing

TaxNav will submit your quarterly returns; they don’t have to be 100% accurate during the pilot scheme, according to HMRC. You can decide on the number of transactions, whether separate or cumulative.
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HMRC only sees the summary totals for the quarter, not the individual transactions behind the totals. You can add income and expenses daily, weekly, monthly or just at the end of the quarter, and it's your call. According to HMRC, they don’t have to be 100% accurate during the pilot scheme.

For Self-Employed People

TaxNav supports submissions to HMRC regardless of the type of trade, including those in the Construction Industry Scheme (CIS). Your income and expenses can be manually entered into TaxNav or imported via a spreadsheet.
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You can add or amend any of the transactions in TaxNav, and then when your quarter is complete (this does not have to be 100% accurate, according to HMRC), you submit it to HMRC at the touch of a button.

For Landlords

TaxNav supports submissions to HMRC of property income and expenses and can be used for direct input and/or importing spreadsheets with summarised property income scenarios.
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This would include joint ownership with different percentage splits, multi-property portfolios, and UK properties owned by non-residents.
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You can easily input income and expenses individually into separate versions of TaxNav for joint ownership submissions, however individual licences are required for separate tax returns.

For the Self-Employed and Landlords

TaxNav supports submissions to HMRC of your trade income and property income via one licence. There is no need to have separate licences to achieve this.

Bridging Software

If you prefer to keep your records in spreadsheets, our bridging software allows you to continue using Excel while meeting MTD requirements. You'll only need to import your spreadsheet quarterly, without changing your daily record-keeping. You can add/amend transactions directly in TaxNav after your import, should you require.

Simplicity

TaxNav is explicitly designed for non-accountants, keeping your tax journey simple. Our interface is straightforward, with step-by-step guidance.
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We will provide video tutorials, email support, and a help centre with detailed guides. Most users will be up and running in less than 10 minutes. TaxNav is iPad and smartphone friendly, ensuring you can manage your tax on the go.
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Further features will be added to TaxNav over the coming months, and your suggestions or questions will be answered in further communications.

Security

Your data security is our priority. We use bank-level encryption, regular security audits, and are fully GDPR compliant. All connections with HMRC use their secure API, and we never store your HMRC login credentials. If you wish to change providers, HMRC will hold your summary data, which will be available for any approved product or accountant.

Support

TaxNav will have an AI assistant ‘Cora’ to help you through your journey and answer any questions you have. Additionally, we will provide tutorials and guides.

Future Features

Where demand requires certain functionality to be added (at little or no cost), we will implement such features as bank feeds and receipt capture using AI tools. Our mission is not to keep increasing the price to you for additional features where possible.

For Joint Property Owners

Record-keeping and reporting relaxations exist for some taxpayers, particularly joint property owners.
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They can choose to either keep complete digital records of their share of the income and expenses of the joint property, or record a single total amount for their share of each category of:
* Property income once a quarter
* Property expenses once a year
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That means for the quarterly updates:
* Report the totals of each category in the usual way, or
* Report their share of income, with their share of expenses being reported via the end-of-year finalisation process.

Final Year-End Submission

For the final year-end, all the normal submissions you may make, such as bank interest, capital gains or losses, pension contribution, etc., are available to add to finalise your tax return.