Making Tax Digital (MTD) for Income Tax: A Guide for Existing Users

As a QuickFile user, you are already keeping digital records, which puts you ahead of the curve for the upcoming Making Tax Digital for Income Tax and Self Assessment (MTD ITSA) changes.

Here is how your QuickFile account will help you transition to the new system starting 6th April 2026.

What is Changing?

The government is replacing the traditional annual Self Assessment tax return with a more frequent reporting system. This applies to self-employed individuals and landlords with a total qualifying income of £50,000 or more.

Instead of one deadline, you will now have:

Quarterly Updates: Snapshots of your business income and expenses.
Final Declaration: A year-end confirmation of all income sources.

Your New Workflow in QuickFile

Because you already use QuickFile to track your invoices and purchases, the transition will be relatively seamless.

1. Quarterly Updates (Automated)

QuickFile will use the data you already enter to generate your quarterly updates automatically. You won’t need to re-enter data specifically for HMRC.

What is sent: These updates are cumulative summaries of your income and expenses.
The benefit: Submitting these updates triggers a real-time tax calculation from HMRC, helping you budget for your tax bill throughout the year rather than facing a surprise at year-end.

Key Submission Dates:

Quarter 1: 6th April – 5th July
Quarter 2: 6th April – 5th October
Quarter 3: 6th April – 5th January
Quarter 4: 6th April – 5th April

Even though the submissions are quarterly, the income and expense totals will be cumulative from the begining of the Tax year.

Note: If your turnover is under £90,000, QuickFile can submit consolidated expense totals (3-line accounts) rather than detailed breakdowns.*

Click here to see how Cumulative Updates work in QuickFile

2. The Final Declaration

Once the four quarterly updates are complete, you will use QuickFile to perform your Final Declaration. This replaces the old SA100 tax return.

Through your dashboard, you will be able to:

Add personal income not related to your business (e.g., dividends, bank interest, employment income).
Review the final tax calculation generated by HMRC.
Confirm that your data is complete and accurate.

How to Prepare

Check your Eligibility Review your total income from self-employment and property. If it exceeds £50,000, these rules apply to you from April 2026.

Enroll with HMRC QuickFile is supporting the HMRC MTD ITSA pilot scheme starting April 2025. If you need to enroll for the 2026/27 Tax Year, you can do so using the HMRC link below:

Once you’ve enrolled with HMRC, log into your QuickFile account and head over to the HMRC Connect area accessible from the Reports >> HMRC menu. From here you can link QuickFile to your HMRC Personal Tax account and access our new MTD ITSA Workflow which will give you an overview of your key filing dates and obligations.

Please Note: You will require a Power User subscription to access the MTD Income Tax And Self Assessment module in QuickFile. Find out more about the added benefits of having a Power User subscription here.

We Are Here to Help

QuickFile is fully committed to keeping your business compliant. We will continue to update the platform to ensure the switch to MTD is as smooth as possible. In the meantime you mind find the links below helpful.