Getting started with Making Tax Digital for Income Tax
Making Tax Digital (MTD) for Income Tax is HMRC's digital system requiring eligible sole traders and landlords to keep digital records and submit quarterly updates of income and expenses directly to HMRC.
MTD becomes mandatory from April 2026 for those with combined self-employment and property income over £50,000. The threshold drops to £30,000 in April 2027 and £20,000 in April 2028.
Who needs MTD for Income Tax?
You need to use MTD if you're a sole trader or landlord with qualifying income above the threshold for your tax year. This includes:
Self-employment income from your business
UK property rental income
Combined income from both sources
If you're already registered for Self Assessment, you'll need to register separately for MTD through your Government Gateway account.
How Calceum helps
Calceum bridges your existing Excel workflow with HMRC's requirements. You can continue using spreadsheets to record income and expenses, then upload them to Calceum for review and submission to HMRC.
Calceum is currently free during the pilot program, covering core MTD compliance for self-employment and UK property income.
Getting started steps
Check your eligibility — Confirm your combined income meets the threshold for your tax year
Register for MTD — Sign up through GOV.UK Government Gateway if you haven't already
Authorize Calceum — Connect Calceum to your HMRC account so we can submit updates on your behalf
Download templates — Get the Calceum Excel templates for recording income and expenses, or link your existing spreadsheets
Record transactions — Use the templates to track your income and expenses throughout each quarter
Upload and submit — Upload your spreadsheet to Calceum, review the data, and submit your quarterly update to HMRC
Quarterly updates are due by 7 August, 7 November, 7 February, and 7 May each year. Calceum sends automated reminders before each deadline.
What happens next?
After submitting your four quarterly updates, you'll still need to complete a final tax return by 31 January following the end of the tax year. This is where you make any year-end adjustments like capital allowances before calculating your final tax bill.
Calceum handles the quarterly compliance automatically, so you can focus on running your business while staying on top of HMRC requirements.