Sones Accountancy Services: Making Tax Digital

Accredited Supplier, Sones Accountancy Services highlights what sole trader landscapers need to know about the upcoming Making Tax Digital for Income Tax rules, including who it affects, when it starts, and how to prepare.

Are you a sole trader business owner in the landscaping industry? From 6 April 2026, HMRC’s Making Tax Digital for Income Tax (MTD IT) rules will apply if your total income (from gardening, landscaping, design or any other trade, plus any property or other self-employment) is over £50,000 a year. Here’s what you need to know:

When and who?

If your combined income from landscaping and any other source tips these thresholds, you must go digital when your band comes up.

• £50k+ income: mandatory from 6 April 2026
• £30k+ income: follows a year later, April 2027
• £20k+ income: then in April 2028

Digital record-keeping and quarterly updates

You will no longer file one annual return on HMRC’s website.  Instead, you need to keep digital records in HMRC-recognised cloud software (spreadsheets alone will not be enough) and send four quarterly updates, plus one Final Declaration each January.  These updates cover all your business income and expenses (they are cumulative, so you can correct earlier entries in later quarters).

Why switch now?

Even before MTD IT comes into effect, cloud software can save you time and headaches. It reduces mistakes because data entry can be automated, helps with tax planning by showing your likely bill each quarter and makes bookkeeping more manageable by breaking annual admin into small, quarterly tasks.

Signing up

To get started, choose an HMRC-recognised cloud software like Xero. Then, you will need to sign up for MTD IT through that software, rather than through the gov.uk website. When registering, ensure to have your business name, start date, email address, National Insurance number, and accounting details ready.

Exemptions

You can apply to be exempt only if you are digitally excluded (e.g., severe disability, no NI number, or live in a remote location). Otherwise, if you are above the threshold you must comply.

Getting help

Your accountant or bookkeeper can register you for MTD IT and even file your quarterly updates and Final Declaration on your behalf. It is wise to talk to them early. Voluntary sign-up is open now, so you can get used to the new system well before April 2026.

Keeping pace with MTD IT now means smoother tax seasons later. Get your software in place, understand the deadlines, and you will be ready to dig in when the new rules arrive.