Eight days until Making Tax Digital for Income Tax goes live. If you are still not set up, here is the fastest path.
The minimum viable MTD setup
You do not need perfection. You need a working system that submits quarterly updates to HMRC. Here is what that looks like in 4 steps.
Step 1: Choose software (today)
Fastest option for most sole traders: FreeAgent (free with many business bank accounts) or QuickBooks Simple Start (£10/month, 30-day trial).
Do not overthink this. Any HMRC-recognised software is fine. You can switch later. The goal is to be compliant on 6 April.
Step 2: Authorise with HMRC (this weekend)
Sign up for the software, then find the HMRC MTD authorisation step. This connects your software to your Government Gateway account.
It takes 15 minutes. Do it before the deadline — HMRC systems get slow around key dates.
Step 3: Enter your records from 6 April 2025
If you are meticulous: import your bank statements and categorise everything.
If you are in a rush: enter summary totals by month. It does not need to be transaction-by-transaction perfect at this stage — it needs to be complete enough to generate a quarterly summary.
Step 4: Know your first submission deadline
Your first quarterly period covers 6 April 2026 to 5 July 2026. The submission deadline is 5 August 2026.
You have until August to submit. The urgency now is getting the software authorised and records set up before April, so the system is running from day one.
Free readiness checker
Five-minute walkthrough to see what is missing: landolio.com/tools/mtd-readiness-checker
The full prep kit
Compatible software comparison, HMRC authorisation walkthrough, quarterly submission checklist, and what to do if you miss a deadline: landolio.com/products/mtd-readiness-toolkit — £14.
How far along are you with MTD setup? What step are you stuck on?
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