Making Tax Digital: a preparation checklist for sole traders

Making Tax Digital for Income Tax applies to sole traders and landlords with qualifying income over £50,000 from April 2026, dropping to £30,000 in April 2027. The core requirement is simple to state and easy to underestimate: digital records, quarterly updates through compatible software, and a final declaration that replaces the old annual return.

Start with your identifiers. Make sure your UTR and Government Gateway credentials work today, not in the week before your first submission. Inside AVERQIS, store them against your client record so they are never more than two clicks away.

Second, tidy your records. Quarterly submissions are only as good as the data behind them. Reconcile bank feeds, categorise recurring expenses, and keep receipts — our OCR document scans are built exactly for this, turning a shoebox of receipts into structured, searchable records.

Third, rehearse the rhythm. Run a mock quarter: total your income, list your expenses, estimate tax with our calculators. When real submissions begin you will already have the habit.

Finally, watch your threshold. If your income sits near £50,000 or £30,000, monitor it monthly — crossing the line mid-year changes your obligations, and knowing early gives you time to prepare.