Making Tax Digital for Income Tax
Mandation started on 6 April 2026 and arrives in three stages. These are the pages for the dates, the thresholds and what you actually file.
- Your MTD year: the four dates that matterWho Making Tax Digital applies to, the quarterly deadlines, what digital records mean in a van, and what happens if you're late.
- Who has to use MTD for Income Tax?The three income thresholds and when each one starts, what counts as qualifying income, and why landlords are in scope too.
- MTD start dates: the £50,000, £30,000 and £20,000 thresholdsWhen each cohort joins, how the threshold is tested against last year's figure, and the year that is still filed the old way.
- Quarterly updates: what they are and when they are dueFour updates a year, the 7 August to 7 May cycle, the January year-end step, and the 2026-27 soft landing.
- Can you get an exemption from MTD?Who counts as digitally excluded, the grounds HMRC accepts, and how the 2027-28 application works.
- Does MTD replace your tax return?What the quarterly updates replace, what stays the same, and the tax year that still needs a Self Assessment return.
Mileage, expenses and allowances
What you can put through the books, at what rate, and the claims that cause trouble.
- What you can claim (and what you can't)The wholly-and-exclusively rule, the two ways to claim your van, big kit and the £1m allowance, and the claims that cause trouble.
- Mileage rates: 55p, 25p and 24pThe rate for cars and vans, the 10,000 mile step, what the rate already covers, and why bicycles have no rate for the self-employed.
- Simplified expenses: the flat ratesThe working-from-home bands, the flat rate for living at your premises, and when the flat rate beats the real costs.
- Working from home: what a sole trader can claimThe 25 hours a month rule, the flat rate bands, and claiming your phone and broadband separately.
Self Assessment
Registering, filing and paying, including the two extra bills a year that catch people out.
- Do you need to file a tax return?The £1,000 line for sole traders, the other income that pulls you in, and when HMRC simply asks you to file.
- Registering as self-employed: the deadline and the UTRThe 5 October notification date, the UTR that arrives by post, and what happens if you register late.
- Payments on account: what they are and how to reduce themWhy you pay twice a year, how each instalment is worked out, and how to reduce them without interest.
VAT and CIS
The two regimes that take money at source, and what you get back.
- The VAT threshold and how it is testedThe £90,000 line, the rolling 12-month test, the forward look, and the date you are registered from.
- MTD for VAT: what it requiresDigital records, digital links and API filing, who is already in scope, and what late filing costs.
- CIS deductions: getting your 20% backThe rates, why materials should never be deducted, the statements to keep, and how the money comes back at year end.
- CIS gross payment status: qualifying and keeping itHow to get 0% deducted, the turnover test, the annual review, and how to get it back.
Running the job
The paperwork that decides whether you get paid on time.
- CP12 gas certificates without the paper chaseThe 12-month clock, the renewal window that keeps your date, who gets copies and when, and issuing them digitally.
- Quotes that get signed, invoices that get paidSame-day quotes, itemised labour and materials, e-signatures before you start, short due dates and chasing on a schedule.
Reading about it is the easy part.
TradeKit does the quoting, invoicing, expenses and mileage on your phone, and keeps the digital records HMRC wants. Free trial, no card needed.