Making Tax Digital for Income Tax goes live 6 April 2026 — 17 days away.
I've been building tools for UK freelancers for the past few weeks, so I asked 12 of them a simple question: are you ready for MTD?
Here's what they said.
"What's MTD?" — 4 out of 12
A third didn't know the acronym. These are people earning £50k+ as sole traders. The change directly applies to them.
"I think my accountant handles it" — 3 out of 12
Maybe. But MTD requires you to keep digital records in approved software. Your accountant submitting your annual return is not the same thing.
"I'm under the threshold" — 3 out of 12
Two of them were right. One wasn't — they'd forgotten to add rental income to their self-employment figure. Combined: £53k.
"I've signed up and got software" — 2 out of 12
Two people fully ready. They're both tech-adjacent. No surprise.
What MTD actually requires
From 6 April 2026, if your self-employment + rental income combined is over £50,000:
- Digital records kept in MTD-compatible software (Xero, FreeAgent, QuickBooks, etc.)
- Quarterly updates submitted to HMRC (July, October, January, April)
- Annual finalisation replacing your self-assessment return
Missing a quarterly update = penalty points. Hit 4 points = £200 fine.
The easiest path if you're not ready
FreeAgent is free with Barclays, NatWest, and several other business accounts. If you bank with one of them, you're already paying for it.
HMRC's bridging software is free for people with simple affairs.
Check if you're affected (2 mins): MTD Readiness Checker
The deadline isn't being pushed again. HMRC announced this in 2021, delayed it twice, and this is the actual go-live.
If you're over the threshold and haven't started: this week. Not next week.
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