By Cat Hall Making Tax Digital Looking ahead: Making Tax Digital timelines 31 Mar 2026 The deadlines you can’t afford to miss. MTD was first raised all the way back in 2015, and has been the subject of intense discussion and planning ever since. It’s easy to lose track of the details, so here is a timeline of the various important dates you should be aware of. A brief overview of MTD for IT What is Making Tax Digital? Making Tax Digital for Income Tax (MTD for IT) is HMRC’s initiative to modernise the UK tax system. The Revenue wants to improve the accuracy of end-of-year returns through regular digital record-keeping. What will I need to do? To be compliant, taxpayers will need to: keep digital records, use MTD-compatible software and submit quarterly summaries of their income and expenses to HMRC. When is it happening? MTD is being introduced in stages. Only sole traders and landlords with qualifying income will have to comply. The threshold for qualifying income will decrease each year, to slowly absorb people onto the system. Qualifying income is gross income from self-employment and property before any tax allowances or expenses are deducted. From 6 April 2026, sole traders and landlords with qualifying income over £50,000 per year will need to comply. This video provides a brief overview of the deadlines they’ll need to meet. The timeline Here’s our outline of key dates coming up. 2026+ 31 January 2026 Deadline to submit a Self Assessment tax return for the 2024/25 tax year. 6 April 2026 Sole traders and landlords with qualifying income of £50,000 and over must comply. The ‘Soft Landing’ period applies for the first year. That means there will be no penalty points awarded for late quarterly submissions during 2026/27 – but late payments will still be penalised. 7 August 2026 Deadline to submit your first quarterly update. 7 November 2026 Deadline to submit your second quarterly update. 2027+ 31 January 2027 Deadline to submit your Self Assessment tax return for 2025/26. This is to be done in the usual way. 7 February 2027 Deadline to submit your third quarterly update. 6 April 2027 Sole traders and landlords with qualifying income of £30,000 and over must comply. ‘Soft Landing’ period ends and the penalty system applies. 7 May 2027 Deadline to submit your fourth quarterly update. 7 August 2027 Deadline to submit your first quarterly update for 2027/28. 7 November 2027 Deadline to submit your second quarterly update. 2028+ 31 January 2028 Deadline to submit your end-of-year tax return for 2026/27. Those with qualifying income of £50,000 and over will send this straight from their MTD for IT software. Those with qualifying income of between £30,000 and £50,000 will submit it in the usual way. 7 February 2028 Deadline to submit your third quarterly update. 6 April 2028 Sole traders and landlords with qualifying income of £20,000 and over must comply. 7 May 2028 Deadline to submit your fourth quarterly update. 7 August 2028 Deadline to submit your first quarterly update for 2028/29. 7 November 2028 Deadline to submit your second quarterly update. 2029+ 31 January 2029 Deadline to submit your end-of-year tax return for 2027/28. Those with qualifying income of over £30,000 will send this straight from their MTD for IT software. Those with qualifying income of between £20,000 and £30,000 will submit it in the usual way. 7 February 2029 Deadline to submit your third quarterly update. 7 May 2029 Deadline to submit your fourth quarterly update. A simplified timeline for those with qualifying income over £50,000 only is available on the GOV UK campaign page for MTD for IT. A simplified timeline for those with qualifying income between £30,000-£50,000 only is available further down the same page, under the heading ‘You’ve probably got some questions’. Helpful links AAT has been responding to MTD plans since they were first announced in 2015. You can read through our archive on AAT Comment. Here are some highlights: Action Plan: Preparing for MTD for IT In brief: A summary of updated MTD for IT guidance on GOV.UK Interim topical guidance covering the application of professional standards to the provision of MTD for income tax services MTD for IT schedule for licensed members Cat Hall is AAT Content Editor, members and technical .