Get ready for year one of MTD for Income Tax: a step-by-step guide for practices

With 2026 well underway, the introduction of Making Tax Digital (MTD) for Income Tax is almost upon us. 

6th April will mark the start of a fundamental shift in how many sole traders and landlords manage their tax obligations. The first quarterly submission deadline for MTD for Income Tax will fall just a few months later, on 7th August.

So you know exactly what to expect, we’ve pulled together all the key milestones and practical steps that the first year of MTD for Income Tax has in store.

Key milestones and actions for year one 

Here are the key milestones and actions you need to take from now until the end of year one:

February – March 2026

  • Segment your clients with sole trader and/or landlord income of over £50K and begin a staged approach to signing them up for MTD. (Hopefully you’ve made a start already, but if not, now’s the time!)
  • Train your team on MTD for Income Tax. We can offer lots of help with this including guides and resources, demos and webinars. And if you’re a FreeAgent Practice Partner, you can speak to your Account Manager about arranging tailored training sessions.
  • Finalise your practice’s tech stack for MTD and document your internal workflows. Think about how all your software integrates as you’ll want to maximise efficiency and save time wherever you can to help with the increased workload.
  • Build a quarterly MTD compliance calendar with clear internal cut-offs. For example, if your clients will be doing the bookkeeping, make sure they know when it must be ready by.
  • Communicate the upcoming changes to your clients, using the tips in our MTD client communication guide or running through our MTD client success checklist.
  • Onboard your clients on to FreeAgent and make sure their data is flowing into the system correctly, for instance from their bank feeds. 
  • As April approaches, sign up as many clients to MTD as you can to avoid a last-minute rush.

April – June 2026

  • Address any remaining gaps in your team’s MTD knowledge. FreeAgent Practice Partners can ask their teams to sit the dedicated MTD learning module in the Practice Portal’s Learning Hub. 

  • You’ll be well aware that the 2025/26 tax year ends on 5th April. This means you’ll need to:

    - start filing SA100 returns for the 2025/26 tax year

    - follow up with any of your clients over the £50K threshold who haven’t yet signed up for MTD for Income Tax

    - build a list of sole traders and landlords with income over £30K (these clients will have to sign up for MTD and start filing quarterly from April 2027)

  • Begin preparing for the first MTD quarterly filing deadline in August.

July – October 2026

  • Continue filing your clients’ SA100 returns for the 2025/26 tax year.
  • MILESTONE: Deliver the first quarterly MTD filing to HMRC by 7th August! Take a moment to recognise the achievement and then note down anything you’ve learned from your first quarterly submission to take into the rest of the year.
  • Reinforce good digital record-keeping habits within your practice and with your clients.
  • Take stock of the MTD for Income Tax experience so far – this is an ideal moment to review your internal procedures and identify ways to optimise your processes.

November – December 2026

  • MILESTONE: Deliver the second quarterly MTD filing to HMRC by 7th November.
  • Confirm your list of clients in the £30k income threshold cohort who will start keeping their books digitally from April 2027.

January 2027 

  • Plan capacity for the end of January peak, which will now include MTD for Income Tax final declarations as well as SA100s, alongside quarterly filings due in February.
  • MILESTONE: Deliver all 2025/26 SA100 filings to HMRC by 31st January.
  • MILESTONE: File all 2025/26 MTD for Income Tax final declarations (from clients who joined the early HMRC testing phase) by 31st January.

Feb – April 2027

  • Prepare for the next cohort of sole traders and landlords joining MTD from 6th April by repeating the February–March preparation steps outlined above.
  • MILESTONE: Deliver the third quarterly MTD filing to HMRC by 7th February.
  • Begin preparing for the fourth quarterly filing, due on 7th May.
  • Start preparing for the final declarations due on 31st January 2028.

How FreeAgent is supporting accountants and bookkeepers

Whether you’re at the start of your preparations or you’re nearly ready for April 2026, FreeAgent’s got you covered when it comes to MTD for Income Tax.

We have a host of tools, training and resources to help accountants and bookkeepers navigate year one (and beyond!) with clarity and confidence.

Every practice can access our practical support to help plan and prepare for MTD for Income Tax, including:

As well as all of these resources, FreeAgent Partners also benefit from our hands-on MTD support, designed to help practices transition their clients smoothly and manage change with confidence. This includes:

  • our MTD roadshows for Practice Partners (we’re getting ready to hit the road for our Spring 2026 roadshows in March!)
  • self-guided learning – including a dedicated MTD module – in our Practice Portal
  • support from our specialist implementation team, who offer migration support and bespoke training for your practice
  • ongoing access to our award-winning, UK-based support team via live chat, email or phone

Our support doesn’t stop at resources and training. FreeAgent’s award-winning accounting software is here to help you navigate the practical realities of MTD.

Get MTD done with FreeAgent’s HMRC-recognised solution

Our HMRC-recognised end-to-end MTD solution is live right now. Watch this short video to see it in action, including how to file quarterly submissions and final declarations.

With a dedicated solution for landlord clients, FreeAgent allows you to support every client affected by the introduction of MTD for Income Tax. Unlike other solutions, FreeAgent for Landlords allows clients to set different ownership splits for each property, so they can all stay on top of their finances with an easy-to-use, compliance-led accounting solution, no matter how their ownership arrangements evolve.

We’ve designed FreeAgent to fit your day-to-day MTD workflows and our recent updates - including practice-level controls for approvals and submissions - have given accountants and bookkeepers greater visibility and control over MTD. These improvements are the first in a set of wider product updates that will help make MTD for Income Tax submissions a breeze for you and your clients. 

Watch this space for more announcements coming soon, including bulk filing! 

Exclusive blogs and resources for our Practice Partners

Stay in the know and boost your client communications with exclusive content for FreeAgent Partners. You’ll find a wealth of blogs, webinars and learning modules on the Practice Portal.

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