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MTD for IT, minus the scramble.
Six steps, one page.
Everything worth doing before April 2026, in the order worth doing it.
Software comes last, once the plan makes sense.
Download the cheat sheet. The whole plan on one page.
Six things to sort before April 2026. Best started while it still feels far off.
April 2026 reads like a long way away, right up until it isn’t. If you are not sure where to begin, neither is most of the profession. These six steps are the order worth working in: segment, collect, price, tidy, align, then choose software. None of it is dramatic, and all of it is easier now than it will be in March.
1. Segment your clients first
Not every client needs the same amount of help. Work out which ones do.
Start with the clients above the £50,000 threshold who come into scope in 2026, then sort them by how they work today:
- Already on software
- Needs a hand
- Would rather not discuss it
That turns a client list into a rollout order, which is the thing you will actually plan against.
Pro tip: run the whole process on a small group first. Mistakes are cheaper in threes.
2. Sort data collection before the quarters start
Filing more often is the easy half. Collecting clean records on time is the half that decides everything.
With income and expenses reported every three months, the records have to arrive on a schedule rather than in an annual heap. Move clients onto real-time habits now:
- Documents captured when they happen
- Categorised on arrival
- Corrected while the detail is still fresh rather than months later
Dext Solo collects, categorises and prepares digital records automatically, so each quarter starts full instead of empty.
Pro tip: the earlier collection is automated, the less the quarterly cycle asks of anyone.
3. Revisit what you charge
Five submissions a year is not the same job as one. Your pricing should notice.
MTD for IT moves in-scope clients from once a year to five times a year, which changes scope, review time and the shape of the work.
Worth weighing:
- Tiered service levels for DIY versus managed clients
- Advisory add-ons such as forecasting or cash flow planning
- The internal cost of review and reconciliation
Pro Tip: Transparent, early communication about pricing changes builds trust , not friction.
4. Clean up client bank habits
Mixed business and personal accounts are next quarter’s coding errors. Today is a better time to separate them.
Sole traders and private landlords often run everything through one account, which makes accurate coding slow and the result harder to rely on.
Ask clients to:
- Open a dedicated business account
- Tag transactions as they go
- Use software that supports cash coding clean-up
New rules are a rare excuse to reset old habits.
Pro tip: Dext Solo flags disallowables and tags expenses clearly before submission time, so errors surface while someone still remembers the transaction.
5. Align the team before the clients
MTD for IT is not only a tax change. It is a change to who does what.
Settle the roles while there is time to change your mind:
- Name an MTD lead
- Upskill the client managers who will field the questions
- Share the rollout timeline internally before anyone hears it from a client
Adoption usually stalls inside the practice long before it stalls outside it.
Pro tip: a one-page process map earns its keep in a busy week. A long document does not.
6. Choose software built for this, not bent into shape for it
April 2026 is a start date, not an end date. Pick tools that still make sense in 2028.
Digital record-keeping is the direction of travel rather than a single deadline, so the question is what your practice will be running in three years.
Look for software that:
- Is HMRC-recognised
- Suits sole traders and landlords
- Hands clean data to your finalisation software without a reformatting step in the middle
Pro tip: start with Dext Solo. It was built for MTD for IT rather than adapted to it.
The rollout, phase by phase
Plan against it, not around it.
HMRC is phasing MTD for Income Tax in over several years, starting with clients earning over £50,000 and then those earning over £30,000. Eligibility is based on income from two years prior, so decisions taken this year quietly settle who is in scope later.
Use the phases below to sequence your communication, software and pricing before the deadlines start overlapping.
Today
MTD for IT is not mandatory yet, and HMRC is encouraging firms to start anyway. Voluntary participation is open, which makes this the cheapest moment to trial new processes and systems — while a mistake is still only a rehearsal.
April 2026 — initial rollout
Sole traders and landlords with taxable income above £50,000 per annum come into scope. From that point they keep digital records and submit them every quarter, which makes the first quarter the one to have rehearsed.
April 2027 — phase two
A year later the £50,000 p.a. threshold drops to £30,000, which is likely to pull more of your client base in. Worth holding in mind now, while you are choosing the processes and systems they will land on.
April 2028 — phase three
From 6 April 2028 the threshold falls again to £20,000, tested on the 2026/2027 return. Which is another way of saying the records you keep this year decide who is in scope two years from now.
The same plan, in checklist form
Fewer words, more ticking.
Six steps read well on a page. This is the version you work down. Segmentation, software, the internal conversations — taken in order, the rollout stops being one large job and turns into ten small ones.
Segment your clients — who is in scope?
Prioritise them — who will feel the change most?
Engage clients early — make sure it is on their radar
Review your current process — where does it come unstuck?
Research software options — consider scalability and your existing systems
Implement your chosen software — allow more time than you think you need
Onboard and upskill the team — delegate it, do not absorb it
Build a communication plan — internal as well as external
Test and refine it internally — before it goes anywhere near a client
Adjust your pricing model — and revisit letters of engagement while you are there
That is the plan. The rest is calendar management.
MTD for IT asks for better habits rather than heroics: the right clients identified, records arriving clean, and a team that knows what changes. Do that between now and April 2026 and your first quarter should be unremarkable, which is the aim.
Prefer it printed?
Download the PDF cheat sheet — all six steps, plus a planning checklist.
Want the detail?
The Making Tax Digital guide covers timelines, pricing and rollout in full.
Looking for software?
Dext Solo prepares digital records for MTD for IT and keeps the quarterly cycle moving, one client at a time. It is in the mobile app too.
One page got you started. These three go further.
The full 2026 guide, the pricing guide for MTD for IT, and the questions firms keep asking — read in whichever order your next client conversation demands.
HMRC-recognised software for MTD for IT.
Built for it, not adapted to it.
Dext Solo is intelligent digital record-keeping for MTD for Income Tax and quarterly updates. It handles the part that decides everything downstream — getting accurate data in, fast and at scale — so corrections stop being the quarterly routine. It works with your preferred finalisation software, or on its own.
