Do I need to submit monthly reports under MTD?

As an accountant, you must keep up to date with any changes that could affect your clients. But, unless you’ve worked with VAT-registered clients with a taxable turnover of more than £85,000 a year, you might not be familiar with Making Tax Digital (MTD).

Whether you’re already aware of the government’s new scheme or not, you should get up to speed soon, as MTD for Income Tax (IT) is due to roll out from April 2026. 

In this article, we’ll run through who’ll be affected by the new rules. Then, we’ll look at the new MTD reporting requirements and show you how to make sure your clients are compliant.

Who will be affected by MTD Changes for Income Tax?

Under MTD for IT, taxpayers will need to change how they report their earnings to HMRC. The new extension applies to certain income tax filers who fill out a Self Assessment tax return.

It includes Self-employed businesses and landlords with annual business or property income above £50,000 from April 2026, £30,000 or more from April 2027 and £20,000 or more from April 2028.

Under the new rules, anyone in any of these categories will need to submit quarterly reports (rather than monthly) for each trade and property business they own, in addition to an end-of-year return to report any other income and finalise their tax position. 

New Reporting Requirements

Under MTD for IT, clients will need to submit the following to HMRC: 

• Quarterly updates for Sole Trade and Property business income

• Year-end adjustments to your Sole Trade and Property business income

• Year-end report declaring any other income and reliefs 

That’s a lot of requirements. But, thankfully, they aren’t too complicated. Quarterly reports should include all relevant income and expenses. The rules are the same for quarterly updates for property businesses. Tax estimates will be returned into QuickBooks from HMRC, based on this data.

The year-end adjustments are a final statement of total business income and expenses for the end of the accounting period. The year-end report will replace the current annual Self Assessment return, but it must be completed in addition to the four quarterly reports, making a total of five reports per tax year. 

These quarterly updates must be submitted for each individual trading or property business that the taxpayer operates.

Income Tax MTD Start Dates

Announced in July 2020, and amended at various points, the starting dates for MTD for IT are as follows: 

• From April 2026 for landlords with an income over £50,000

• From April 2027 for landlords with an income between £30,000 and £50,000

• From April 2028 for landlords with an income between £20,000 and £30,000

How QuickBooks can help your clients 

If you’re concerned your clients may still be confused, then have no fear. QuickBooks is here to help you through the process, with all products having MTD for IT functionality. Our accounting software could future-proof accounting by combining some MTD reports into a single submission, so you can rest easy knowing that your clients are equipped to comply with whatever MTD throws at them.

Sign up to QuickBooks’ MTD for accountants to access discounted QuickBooks Online subscriptions for your clients. 

We hope you found this article helpful. The new MTD for ITSA requirements have the potential to be quite burdensome, and it’s crucial that accountants are aware of them and ready to adapt well before the changes come into force. But with QuickBooks software, you can give your clients whatever they need to stay compliant.