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BookSmart: MTD for Income Tax, Sole Traders and Landlords
New
100 students

BookSmart: MTD for Income Tax, Sole Traders and Landlords

Get ready for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax: who it applies to, software, quarterly updates and your tax return
Created byNargas Forster
Last updated 10/2026
English

What you'll learn

  • Work out whether MTD for Income Tax applies to you, and from which date, using the £50k, £30k and £20k thresholds
  • Choose MTD-compatible software that suits a sole trader or landlord, and sign up with HMRC
  • Keep digital records and send your four cumulative quarterly updates on time
  • Complete your tax return under MTD and pay the right amount by the deadlines
  • Understand the new penalty points and late payment rules, and how to avoid them
  • Handle rental property, joint ownership and mixed self-employed and property income
  • Build a simple quarterly routine so MTD takes an hour a quarter, not a weekend

Course content

7 sections • 18 lectures • 31m total length

  • What is MTD for Income Tax?1:51
  • Are you in, and when?1:57
  • Special cases1:52

Requirements

  • You're a UK sole trader, landlord, or both (or about to become one)
  • No accounting or tax knowledge needed. Any MTD-compatible app, or a free trial, is enough to follow along

Description

This course contains the use of artificial intelligence.

Making Tax Digital for Income Tax is the biggest change to Self Assessment in decades. From 6 April 2026, sole traders and landlords with qualifying income over £50,000 must keep digital records and send HMRC an update every quarter. The threshold drops to £30,000 in April 2027 and £20,000 in April 2028.

This course walks you through it in plain English, in about 30 minutes. No jargon, no software sales pitch, just what you need to do and when.

You'll find out whether you're in, and from which date, how to pick software that suits you, and how to keep records that make each quarterly update a ten minute job. You'll also see how the year-end tax return works under MTD, how the new penalty points replace the old fines, and what changes if you rent out property, own it jointly, or have both a business and rental income.

What's covered

  • Module 1: What MTD is. Who's in, the qualifying income test, the start dates and the special cases.
  • Module 2: Getting set up. Choosing software, signing up, digital records and your first four weeks.
  • Module 3: Quarterly updates. The deadlines, a simple routine, and how to fix mistakes.
  • Module 4: Your tax return and penalties. The year-end return, paying your tax, the new points system and working with an accountant.
  • Module 5: Landlords. Property income, joint ownership and mixed income.
  • Module 6: Your action plan. A step by step checklist to get you ready.

Downloads included

  • MTD calendar (Excel): enter your year and it works out every quarterly deadline
  • MTD readiness checklist (PDF)

Rules and figures are checked against official HMRC guidance for the 2026/27 tax year. This course is general guidance, not personal tax advice.

Your instructor, Nargas Forster, is a finance director and Xero and QuickBooks ProAdvisor who helps UK small businesses keep on top of their tax.

Who this course is for:

  • UK sole traders with self-employment income
  • UK landlords with rental income from property
  • Anyone who currently files a Self Assessment tax return and wants to know what changes
  • Bookkeepers and small business owners helping a partner or family member get ready

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