What has changed
From 6 April 2026, sole traders and landlords with qualifying income over 50,000 pounds must keep digital records and send HMRC a quarterly update, with a final declaration replacing the old tax return. The threshold falls to 30,000 pounds in 2027 and 20,000 pounds in 2028.
Who it affects
Sole traders and landlords whose gross income (turnover, not profit) is over the threshold. People with both self employment and rental income have the two added together, so more are caught than expect to be.
What you should do
Get onto compatible cloud software now so digital records become a habit before the deadline, rather than a scramble. Check your combined gross income against the threshold for your year.
This is the biggest change to personal tax admin in a generation. The businesses that move early will barely notice it. The ones that wait until the last quarter will feel it. We set clients up on Xero or QuickBooks and handle the quarterly updates for them.
Common questions
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Related services and guides
Making Tax Digital explained VAT returns service Bookkeeping service