MTD for Income Tax:
The Complete Guide
Everything you need to know about Making Tax Digital for Income Tax Self Assessment - who's affected, what's changing, and how to prepare.
Last updated: May 2026
What is MTD ITSA?
Making Tax Digital for Income Tax Self Assessment (MTD ITSA) requires sole traders and landlords to keep digital records and submit quarterly updates to HMRC using compatible software. It is the most significant UK personal tax compliance change in a generation.
Who is affected?
April 2026 - First Cohort
Sole traders and landlords with gross qualifying income exceeding £50,000. Approximately 780,000 taxpayers.
April 2027 - Second Cohort
Sole traders and landlords with gross qualifying income exceeding £30,000. An additional 900,000 taxpayers.
April 2028 - Third Cohort
Sole traders and landlords with gross qualifying income exceeding £20,000. An additional 2,300,000 taxpayers.
What you need to do
- Keep digital records - all business income and expenses must be recorded digitally using compatible software
- Submit quarterly updates - four quarterly summaries of income and expenses to HMRC via your software
- Submit a final declaration - an end-of-year declaration replacing the traditional Self Assessment tax return
- Use HMRC-recognised software - your software must connect to HMRC's MTD APIs to submit data digitally
How Interlink Accounts handles MTD ITSA
Interlink Accounts ships with polished, thoroughly tested MTD ITSA support from day one. While competitors scramble to add basic quarterly submission, Interlink Accounts delivers:
- Complete quarterly update submission to HMRC
- Final declaration filing
- Practice-wide ITSA obligation tracking for all clients
- Income threshold monitoring with proactive alerts
- AI pre-submission checking for errors
Don't wait for your current software to catch up.
Interlink Accounts is MTD ITSA-ready today. Start your free 30-day trial.