Be ready for Making Tax Digital by April 2027, even if your records are a shoebox of receipts
The threshold is £30,000. That figure is gross income, not profit, so a business turning over £42,000 with £16,000 of costs is in scope even though it takes home £26,000. Most sole traders have not checked. This guide is the check, the dates, and a weekend that gets it done.
The guide, plus the occasional tip to help you win more work. Unsubscribe anytime.
The check, the dates, and a weekend that gets it done
A free six page guide including the two minute check that tells you whether April 2027 applies to you, the five dates you will be working to every year, and a seven step weekend plan for people who currently run on paper.
Most sole traders assume the £30,000 threshold means profit. It means gross income, before a single expense comes off. Page 2 shows how to work out your number in two minutes.
What you should never assume: that HMRC will sign you up. Registration is not automatic, and the letter, if one arrives, is a notification rather than an enrolment.
The penalty free first year has already been used. It covered the group that started in April 2026. Start in April 2027 and points apply from your first quarterly update.
Your five dates, on one page. Four quarterly updates and a final declaration, with the exact deadlines for a business starting in April 2027.
How to keep digital records without becoming a spreadsheet person, including what a digital record is actually required to be.
The seven step weekend plan, in the order that makes each job smallest. Roughly seven hours, and the hardest part is the first thirty minutes.
Inside the guide
- The two minute check: does April 2027 apply to you
- What actually changes, in plain terms
- Your five dates, and what it costs to miss them
- The weekend plan: seven jobs, roughly seven hours
- The five questions to ask your accountant
We interviewed 19 UK sole traders about how they actually run their businesses. Six of them named Making Tax Digital as the change most likely to affect how they work, and not one of them had been given a straight answer about what the rules require. One hairdresser told us plainly that she would go digital when the law made her, and not before.
This guide is that straight answer, written so you can act on it over a weekend. We build software for one-person companies. The guide works whether you ever use it or not.
April 2027 is closer than it reads
The threshold is set by your 2025/26 tax return, the one due by 31 January 2027. By the time that return is filed, the choice about software has already been made for you by the calendar. A weekend now is a quieter weekend than one in March.
The guide, plus the occasional tip to help you win more work. Unsubscribe anytime.