Quick answer: If you are a sole trader or landlord earning over £50,000 and your accountant has not raised making tax digital penalty points with you unprompted, that is a genuine warning sign, not a minor oversight. It is one of the clearest, most current tests of whether an accountant and tax specialist is managing […]
If HMRC has recently written to tell you that you’re now signed up for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax, you’re not alone and you’re not necessarily behind. But there’s a deadline sitting just weeks away that catches a lot of people out: 7 November 2026, the second quarterly update. Whether you signed up yourself
Signed Up for MTD in September? Here’s What 7 November Means for You Read More »
If you are a sole trader or landlord, HMRC’s official sign-up service for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax is now the route every eligible taxpayer needs to go through, either voluntarily or before HMRC does it for you. We recently covered what happens if HMRC auto-enrols you from September 2026. This guide covers the
How to Sign Up for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax: Step-by-Step Guide Read More »
Quick answer: From September 2026, HMRC will begin automatically signing up sole traders and landlords who should be using Making Tax Digital for Income Tax but have not registered. Auto-enrolment puts you into HMRC’s system. It does not set up your software, connect your bank to feed, digitise your records, or file your quarterly updates.
HMRC MTD Auto-Enrolment 2026: What You Must Do Now Read More »
Quick answer: There’s no fine for missing 7 August 2026. HMRC built a first-year soft landing into Making Tax Digital. It removes penalty points and fines for late quarterly updates in 2026/27. But you still need to submit it, and all four quarterly updates must go in before you can file your Self Assessment Final
Missed the 7 August MTD Deadline? Here’s What Happens Next Read More »
Penalty points. A £200 fixed charge. A soft landing for 2026/27. If you have read up on Making Tax Digital penalties, you already know the rules on paper. What most guides skip is the part that matters to your bank balance: what a missed deadline costs in real pounds, once filing penalties, payment penalties, and daily interest
MTD Penalty Example: What a Late Quarterly Update Really Costs You in 2026 Read More »
Quick Answer After you submit your first Making Tax Digital Income Tax quarterly update, your software shows an estimated tax bill based on the figures entered so far. This is a running forecast, not a final calculation. It does not yet account for your personal allowance in full, other income sources, reliefs like pension contributions, or, for landlords, the restriction
If you own more than one rental property in London, 2026 brings important tax changes. HMRC has introduced Making Tax Digital for many landlords. Additional property purchases now attract a 5% SDLT surcharge. The proposed High Value Council Tax Surcharge could also affect some London properties from 2028. Understanding these changes now can help you
Quick Answer Your first MTD quarterly update covers 6 April to 5 July 2026 and is due by 7 August 2026, but you cannot submit anything until two earlier steps are done: signing up with HMRC (which has its own eligibility rules beyond the £50,000 income threshold) and authorising MTD-compatible software to connect to your HMRC account.
How to Submit Your First MTD Quarterly Update (Step-by-Step Guide) Read More »
The MTD quarterly update cost isn’t just about penalty points. Most of the conversation around 7 August 2026 focuses on whether people will file on time. Fewer people ask what a rushed, inaccurate, or bodged first submission costs, even inside HMRC’s first-year soft landing. HMRC waives the penalty points. The consequences of bad numbers don’t disappear from them. For London sole traders and
What a Late or Inaccurate First MTD Quarterly Update Could Actually Cost You Read More »
