MTD for Income Tax starts in 10 days. Here is the actual checklist if you are not ready yet.

#freelance #tax #ukfreelancer #smallbusiness

Making Tax Digital for Income Tax starts 6 April 2026. That is 10 days away.

If you earn over £50,000 from self-employment or property, you are in the first wave. Here is what actually needs to happen before April.

What MTD for Income Tax actually requires

From 6 April, if you are in scope:

Keep digital records — all income and expense transactions recorded in MTD-compatible software
Submit quarterly updates — four times a year instead of once, via your software
End of period statement — replaces the annual Self Assessment return, submitted after your tax year ends
Final declaration — confirms your total income for the year

The quarterly submissions are not full tax returns. They are summary updates. But they must come from compatible software.

Compatible software options

HMRC maintains a list. The main ones:

QuickBooks — solid, well-supported, £10-25/month
FreeAgent — popular with freelancers, free with some business bank accounts
Xero — more complex, better for higher-volume businesses
Sage — established, less popular for freelancers
Coconut — mobile-first, good for sole traders

Key requirement: the software must be authorised by HMRC to submit MTD updates. Not all accounting software qualifies yet.

What happens if you are not ready on 6 April

HMRC's penalty system for MTD is points-based:

Miss a quarterly submission → 1 point
Reach 4 points → automatic £200 fine
Points expire only after a period of full compliance

There is a soft launch period — HMRC has indicated leniency for genuine first-time failures if you are clearly trying to comply. But "I did not know about it" is not a defence at this stage.

The 10-day checklist

[ ] Confirm you are in scope (£50k+ self-employment or property income)
[ ] Choose and set up compatible software
[ ] Authorise the software to connect to HMRC
[ ] Migrate your current records into the system
[ ] Check your April quarterly deadline date

Full readiness checker (free): landolio.com/tools/mtd-readiness-checker

The prep pack

If you want everything in one place — 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, instant download.

10 days is enough time. But only if you start today.

Are you ready for MTD? What is the one thing still blocking you?