Act now. 864,000 sole traders and landlords face new tax rules in two months

Act now: Making Tax Digital starts in April 2026

Who’s affected: Around 864,000 sole traders and landlords earning over £50,000 from self-employment and/or property.
What’s changing: From 6 April 2026, they must:
- Keep digital records
- Send quarterly income and expense updates to HMRC using approved software
- These updates are not extra tax returns
Why it matters: The change is part of the government’s plan to modernise the tax system, reduce errors, and spread tax admin across the year.
Support available:
- Free software options
- HMRC guidance, webinars, and videos
- Digital exemptions for those who genuinely can’t use online tools
End-of-year returns stay:
- A full Self Assessment return is still required, but the software pre-fills it using quarterly data—no last-minute scramble.
Penalties:
- No penalty points for late quarterly updates in the first 12 months (from April 2026).
- After that, penalties only apply once four late submissions are reached (£200 fine).
What to do now:
- Read guidance on GOV.UK
- Choose software
- Sign up (or speak to your tax agent)

Phased rollout