This month, two Institute CPD events are taking place, each of which will look at Making Tax Digital (MTD) for income tax from different angles. More details on each are available below. As we approach the six months to go mark to the first tranche of mandation from 6 April 2026 for sole traders and landlords with gross income in excess of £50,000, the Institute recommends that members with clients affected book onto both of these webinars. HMRC has recently launched a new agent outreach campaign which allows agents to complete an online form to register to receive support directly from HMRC ahead of April 2026.
CPD webinars
Tim Palmer’s two hour CPD webinar on Thursday 11 September is open for booking and will deal with the detail of the technical rules and practicalities of MTD. Planning opportunities will also be considered. The following week at 1pm on Tuesday 16 September, HMRC are delivering a 1 hour webinar which will mainly focus on key readiness tips for agents and taxpayers. Spaces are still available to book.
The detailed agenda for Tim Palmer’s webinar is as follows:
- The requirements of MTD for income tax,
- Which self-employed individuals and landlords will be mandated to comply,
- The turnover test,
- Digital record-keeping,
- The submission of quarterly updates, including what must be submitted,
- The election to use calendar quarters instead of fiscal quarters,
- Traders with turnover below the VAT threshold,
- The submission of the final declaration,
- Planning opportunities,
- The software decision,
- Practical case studies,
- The transitional rule,
- Pre-populated income,
- The impact on the construction industry, and
- A general overview of MTD for income tax.
The HMRC led webinar on 16 September will be delivered by Sam Wood BSc ACA. Sam works with agents within HMRC’s MTD programme and has a background in accounting and digital transformation. Sam is responsible for Cross Cutting Stakeholder Engagement, Policy and Strategy at HMRC and is a Chartered Accountant and a member of ICAEW with wide experience of MTD from its inception.
HMRC agent outreach support campaign for agents launched
According to the latest data from HMRC, approximately 864,000 taxpayers will be mandated to use MTD for income tax from April 2026. Almost 1,100,000 (£30,000 - £50,000 population) will be mandated from April 2027 and this will be followed by circa. 975,000 (£20,000 - £30,000) from April 2028. In recognition of the scale of this change for taxpayers and agents, HMRC has recently launched a new agent outreach campaign.
This campaign allows agents to register with HMRC for direct and tailored support by completing an online form. Agents who have an Agent Services Account (ASA) can access the form by signing in with the Government Gateway ID and password linked to their ASA. If the agent does not have an ASA, the form can be completed by signing in with their online services for agents account details (which will require contact details to be provided manually).
When completing the form, the agent will be asked to:
- allow HMRC to make contact them by email;
- indicate how many clients they must sign up to MTD for income tax and any that are willing to sign up voluntarily for testing, and
- express an interest in having a one to one conversation with HMRC about readiness for and testing of MTD for income tax.
HMRC then aims to review the agent’s form and tailor its response, and the support provided, depending on the agent’s specific needs. Priority is being given to agents with a large number of clients who will be required to sign up.
HMRC is aiming to offer a wide range of supports which will include information emails, virtual peer group sessions and, if appropriate, a direct support discussion with HMRC’s MTD team.
This is a very valuable tool for agents with clients affected by this significant change hence we encourage you to consider availing of this key support ahead of time.
LOADING...