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I built an MTD readiness checker because my accountant charged £80 to answer one question

#freelancing #tax #uk #career

My accountant charged me £80 for a 15-minute call last April to answer one question: "Do I need to sign up for Making Tax Digital?"

The answer was: "It depends on your income. Check the threshold."

That was it. £80.

So I built a free tool that answers it in 2 minutes: MTD Readiness Checker

What it does

You answer 8 questions:

  1. Are you self-employed or a landlord?
  2. What's your qualifying income?
  3. Do you have a digital record-keeping system?
  4. What software are you using?
  5. Do you understand quarterly submissions?
  6. Have you signed up for HMRC's MTD pilot?
  7. Do you have a Government Gateway account?
  8. Have you chosen MTD-compatible software?

It gives you:

  • A readiness score (0-8)
  • Colour-coded result (green/amber/red)
  • Personalised action plan (urgent/soon/done)
  • A live countdown to the April 6 deadline

MTD for Income Tax starts in 17 days. If you earn over £50k from self-employment or property, you need to:

  • Keep digital records from 6 April 2026
  • Submit quarterly updates to HMRC instead of one annual return
  • Use MTD-compatible software (FreeAgent, Xero, QuickBooks, etc.)

The actual threshold question

Here's the thing my accountant could have told me for free:

  • Over £50,000 qualifying income → MTD applies from April 2026
  • £30,000-£50,000 → MTD applies from April 2027
  • Under £30,000 → MTD applies from April 2028 (or later)

"Qualifying income" = self-employment + property income combined. Employment income doesn't count.

What happens if you ignore it

Points-based penalty system:

  • 1 point per missed quarterly submission
  • 4 points = £200 fine
  • Points reset after a year of compliance

For the late-payment side, HMRC charges interest at Bank of England base rate + 2.5% on unpaid tax.

Other free tools I built

While I was at it:

All free. No sign-up. Your data stays in your browser.

If this would have saved you an £80 accountant call, there's also a more comprehensive MTD Readiness Toolkit (£14, currently 50% off with code LAUNCH50).

17 days to go. Are you ready?

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