Making Tax Digital for Income Tax Self-Assessment (MTD for ITSA) will now come into effect in April 2026 for businesses, self-employed individuals, and landlords with gross business and/or property income over £50,000.

This will be followed in April 2027 for those with similar incomes over £30,000. The question is, how soon should your business start using cloud-based compatible software before that deadline?

The answer – the sooner the better.

Beyond compliance, the benefits of MTD cloud accounting software include:

• Reduce human error by keeping digital records and submitting tax information digitally
• Easily capture and digitise receipts using associated apps
• Making important decisions faster with a real-time overview of your financial position and performance
• Automate important financial functions, like cashflow forecasting
• Reduce your costs and saves you time by remaining constantly connected to your business through secure, remote servers
• Enjoy up-to-date software, with all the latest functions and legislative compliance
• Your work is saved automatically as you go, so you save both time and money on backup procedures
• Collaborate with your accountant anywhere in the world, at any time.

MTD-compliant cloud accounting software will generate the summary updates, which must be sent to HMRC every quarter via your HMRC digital account under Making Tax Digital.

You will be able to see how much tax you owe based on the information you have provided, so you can be better prepared for future tax bills.

Being prepared for MTD and having the correct software in place and ready to use will ensure a smooth transition to the new system, but, as you can see, the benefits go far beyond compliance.