Dedicated HMRC support during the rollout of MTD
Icon showing person wearing headset, with finger reaching out to select that option

 

Summary 

Making Tax Digital for Income Tax (MTD) will become mandatory for the first group of taxpayers from April 2026 and represents the most fundamental shake up of income tax since self-assessment was introduced. It is essential that HMRC are adequately resourced to provide dedicated support to the approximately three million affected taxpayers by this change. 

Detail

MTD will be compulsory for certain landlords and the self-employed from April 2026, and has three key requirements:

  • Digital record keeping
  • Filing quarterly summaries of income and expenses with HMRC
  • Completing a year-end tax return 

All three of these requirements need to be met using commercial software – HMRC are not providing software, or providing any online filing services for those in scope of MTD. 

MTD is being rolled out to landlords and the self-employed in stages, based on their total income (before expenses) from trading and property:

  • Over £50,000 – from April 2026
  • £30,000 - £50,000 – from April 2027
  • £20,000 - £30,000 – from April 2028 

More information on the MTD requirements and who is required to join can be found in the FAQs on the ATT website. 

Adapting to the new MTD requirements is likely to prove challenging for some taxpayers. Although HMRC have conducted testing, given the large and diverse population entering MTD, it is also inevitable that some taxpayers (and their agents) will encounter issues and need support from HMRC. Taxpayers without agents may also need support with understanding their obligations, ensuring they have appropriate software etc. 

HMRC’s resources are already strained, with taxpayers and agents frequently reporting that they are unable to get through or being required to wait a long time before being able to speak to somebody. We are concerned that this position could worsen significantly without additional, suitably trained support for taxpayers and agents being provided by HMRC. This could lead to taxpayers being non-compliant through no fault of their own, and impact productivity for taxpayers and agents alike. 

In order to adequately support taxpayers, we believe that a dedicated support line for MTD queries needs to be established as soon as possible, and by April 2026 at the latest. This should then be kept in place until at least April 2028 to accommodate the lower income taxpayers entering at this time.