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The MTD Notebook
Plain-English notes on Making Tax Digital for Income Tax — what is actually required, what it actually costs, and what the software adverts leave out. Every figure checked against GOV.UK and dated.
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Getting ready ·
Preparing for MTD in April 2028: the £20,000 wave, and the year that decides it
If your self-employment and property income is over £20,000, Making Tax Digital for Income Tax is mandatory from 6 April 2028 — the final announced wave. The year that decides it, 2026-27, is the one you are in right now. Who is in, how to check, what to get ready, and why £20,000 is the floor. Checked against GOV.UK.
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Signing up ·
How to sign up for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax
How a sole trader or landlord signs themselves up for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax: when to do it, the two conditions you must meet, the exact checklist HMRC asks for, and why you can volunteer early. Checked against GOV.UK.
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Quarterly updates ·
Standard or calendar quarterly periods? The MTD choice you make once
MTD for Income Tax lets you run your quarterly update periods on the tax-year dates (to 5 July, 5 Oct, 5 Jan, 5 Apr) or on calendar month-ends (30 Jun, 30 Sep, 31 Dec, 31 Mar). The deadlines are identical. You choose per source, before your first update, and cannot change it mid-year. Checked against GOV.UK.
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Self Assessment ·
Does MTD replace your Self Assessment tax return?
Making Tax Digital does not abolish the Self Assessment tax return — it changes how you file it. Quarterly updates are summaries; a year-end tax return, still due 31 January, is where every source of income is declared and your tax is worked out. Checked against GOV.UK.
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Penalties ·
MTD penalties: how the points-based system actually works
How Making Tax Digital penalties work: late submission is points-based with a 4-point threshold and a £200 penalty; late payment is a percentage of the tax owed. Quarterly updates carry no penalty in 2026/27, so the one that can actually bite this year is paying late. Checked against GOV.UK.
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Exemptions ·
MTD exemptions and digital exclusion: who can actually opt out
Who is genuinely exempt from Making Tax Digital for Income Tax, and how. Qualifying income of £20,000 or less is an automatic permanent exemption; digital exclusion must be applied for. The exact reasons HMRC accepts and rejects — and why exempt still means filing a Self Assessment return.
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Getting ready ·
Preparing for MTD in April 2027: the £30,000 wave, and why it's already decided
If your self-employment and property income was over £30,000 in 2025-26, MTD for Income Tax is mandatory for you from 6 April 2027 — and that return already fixed it. What qualifying income means, how to check now, what to get ready, and why this wave gets no penalty-free first year.
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Records & software ·
MTD digital records: a spreadsheet plus bridging software is compliant
What a digital record for Making Tax Digital actually is, why a spreadsheet plus bridging software is fully compliant, what you still keep on paper, the digital-link rule that catches spreadsheet users out, and why free and low-cost software exists for simple tax affairs.
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For landlords ·
Making Tax Digital for landlords: joint property, multiple properties and Section 24
What MTD for Income Tax actually changes for landlords: all your properties are one business with one set of quarterly updates, the jointly let easement that lets you defer expenses to year end, and why Section 24 finance costs still get separate treatment at the final declaration.
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For agents ·
MTD for accountants and bookkeepers: signing up, authorising and filing for clients
What Making Tax Digital for Income Tax actually changes for agents: the agent services account you need, how client authorisations carry over from Self Assessment, signing each client up individually, and running four cumulative quarterly updates a year per client.
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Reference ·
MTD deadlines 2026, 2027 and 2028 — every Making Tax Digital date
Every MTD for Income Tax deadline for 2026, 2027 and 2028, across all three mandation waves: when you join, which tax return decides your start date, the four quarterly update deadlines, the final declaration, and exactly what a missed one costs in each year.
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Analysis ·
The first MTD deadline has been and gone. Here is what it actually showed
On 7 August 2026 more than 864,000 sole traders and landlords filed a quarterly update for the first time in history. The penalties everyone was warned about did not exist, the cumulative mechanic surprised almost everyone, and the real cost landed elsewhere.
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Why this exists
Making Tax Digital for Income Tax started in April 2026, which means almost everything written about it was written before anyone had actually done it. A lot of it is selling software against penalties that do not begin until 2027/28.
These notes take the opposite approach: every figure is checked against GOV.UK, dated on the page, and stated with the caveats intact — including the parts that mean you need to do less than you were told, and the parts nobody mentions because they are not billable. Where we cannot source a claim, we leave it out and say so.
Guides, not tax advice. We are not compatible software and we do not send anything to HMRC. Check your own position with HMRC or your accountant.