MTD is here - and it's a good thing

Making Tax Digital Is a Good Thing — There, I Said It!

Every time Making Tax Digital comes up, I brace myself for the groans. And I get it — nobody wants to hear that HMRC is changing the rules again.

But hear me out, because I genuinely believe this one is good news for small business owners. And I say that as an accountant, not as someone trying to sell you software.

So what is Making Tax Digital?

It's HMRC's plan to bring the UK tax system into the digital age. Instead of one big annual tax return, you keep digital records and send quarterly updates to HMRC through compatible software. It's already live for VAT. Income tax is next — starting April 2026 for those earning over £50,000, with lower thresholds following in 2027 and 2028.

Here's why I think it's actually a good thing

Right now, most small business owners have no real idea what their tax bill is going to look like until it arrives. That's stressful. It leads to scrambling, borrowing, or just hoping for the best.

MTD changes that. When your records are up to date and your figures are flowing through properly, you know roughly what you owe — throughout the year, not just in January. You can plan. You can budget. You can make decisions with actual numbers in front of you.

That's not a burden. That's information. And information is power.

What do you need to do?

Get the right software in place, make sure your records are being kept digitally, and ideally work with an accountant who can set it up properly from the start. The deadline feels far away until it doesn't.

Done right, MTD isn't red tape. It's a better way of running your business.

Agnieszka (Aga) Mann — Mann Accounting Services | Cloud-based accounting for ambitious businesses