Making Tax Digital accountant in Harrow: MTD ITSA and MTD VAT filed for you

From 6 April 2026, if you are a sole trader or landlord with combined self-employment plus property income above £50,000, you must keep digital records and file MTD for Income Tax Self Assessment (ITSA). From April 2027 the threshold drops to £30,000, and from April 2028 to £20,000. HMRC uses your 2024/25 self assessment return to decide whether you are in the first cohort, so many landlords and sole traders already know they are in scope. If you have rental property (UK or overseas), self employment income, CIS income, or a mix of both above the threshold, you need an MTD accountant now.

Under MTD ITSA you file four quarterly updates summarising income and expenses (due 7 August, 7 November, 7 February and 7 May), a final declaration by 31 January replacing the old SA100, and an end-of-period statement for each business. All records must be kept digitally with digital links between your software and HMRC. Missing a submission earns a point under the new points-based penalty regime; four missed points triggers a £200 fine that repeats for every further failure. We take on the full quarterly cycle so nothing is missed.

Every VAT-registered business must file VAT returns through MTD-compatible software with digital links between records, the VAT return calculation and HMRC. Cut and paste from Excel into the old HMRC portal is no longer permitted. We file MTD VAT returns on Xero, QuickBooks, FreeAgent and Sage every month or quarter, keep a full digital links audit trail in case of an HMRC compliance check, and handle scheme changes (Flat Rate, Cash Accounting, Annual Accounting, Margin Scheme).

The wrong MTD software costs you time and money every month. For single-property landlords we usually recommend Hammock (cheap, purpose built for property). For portfolio landlords or mixed income we recommend Xero. For sole trader tradespeople, plumbers, electricians and CIS subcontractors we recommend QuickBooks or FreeAgent (often free with a NatWest or Mettle business account). We set up bank feeds, receipt capture (Dext, Hubdoc, AutoEntry) and automation rules so bookkeeping takes minutes not hours.

We audit your current record keeping, recommend and set up the right software, migrate historic data, connect bank feeds and receipt capture, train you on basic data entry (or take the bookkeeping on ourselves), file the four quarterly updates, prepare and file the end-of-period statement and final declaration by 31 January, and manage every HMRC deadline. You keep visibility through a real-time dashboard; we take the compliance headache.

Quarterly update 1: 6 April to 5 July, filed by 7 August. Q2: 6 July to 5 October, filed by 7 November. Q3: 6 October to 5 January, filed by 7 February. Q4: 6 January to 5 April, filed by 7 May. Final declaration and tax payment: 31 January following the tax year end. Payments on account are still due 31 January and 31 July. We diarise every date, chase your records early and file well before each deadline.