Drop the Spreadsheet: Making Tax Digital for ITSA Starts April 2026
If you earn over £50,000, your annual self-assessment routine is dying. Prepare for mandatory quarterly digital updates with HMRC.
The Annual Tax Return is History
For sole traders and landlords, January 31st used to be the only deadline that mattered. That is about to change.
Making Tax Digital (MTD) for Income Tax Self Assessment (ITSA) forces businesses to abandon manual spreadsheets and adopt HMRC-compatible digital reporting. You will now need to send a summary of your income and expenses to HMRC every three months.
Do the New Rules Apply to You?
The rollout happens in phases based on your total gross qualifying income (sole trader income plus rental income combined).
- April 6, 2026: Mandatory if your income crossed £50,000 in the 2024/25 tax year.
- April 6, 2027: The threshold drops to £30,000.
- April 6, 2028: The threshold drops further to £20,000.
Stop Sweating the Quarterly Deadlines
Under MTD, manual receipt tracking makes compliance nearly impossible. Moving to digital records is not just an HMRC requirement; it is your escape hatch from quarterly administrative nightmares.
ac-co.ai automatically sorts your bank feeds, digitizes your receipts, and calculates your quarterly ITSA updates in the background. When the deadline arrives, submitting your figures takes seconds—not days.
View Pricing for Your Team and Start Automating Your Income Tax