Making tax digital questions

mose_2

Hi, I’m a taxi driver and up to now I’ve written all my income and expenses in a book which I total up at the end of the year and send to my accountant that then does my SA. 

I have some questions about MTD, 
my accountant has said that I don’t need to do anything different other than give him the figures every quarter is that correct? I’ve read online that I still need to put it into software. 

If I wanted to do it myself, I’ve found and couple of apps to use that I’m playing around with the main problem I have is linking bank accounts. I get paid into my bank Net of fees and commissions from my card reader and app company’s so it won’t tally in the app how would I overcome that? If I do it manually do I have to tally and input every bank deposit that I receive (I get paid daily) or can I just do it once a week/month/quarter? 

Savvy_Sue

If you use a professional to do your tax return, I can't see that you'd need to do anything other than follow their advice. And they'll take your figures and plug them into the MTD system on your behalf.

If they want information more regularly, they'll tell you. You could check whether they have suggestions for the best way of providing the information they need.

mose_2

Thanks. He has told me I can carry on like normal but everything I’ve read online says I still need to input my figures into software. 

uknick

mose_2 said:

Thanks. He has told me I can carry on like normal but everything I’ve read online says I still need to input my figures into software. 

You only need to use software if you want to submit your accounts yourself.  I assume at present your accountant takes your book of transactions and inputs them into software which then submits to HMRC.  Nothing should change to this way of working, other than you'll need to give him the data quarterly and then again at year end.
  

mose_2

Yes I just give him my year end totals and he completed my self assessment. So I can just carry on totalling up my weekly takings and give him figures quarterly?  

uknick

mose_2 said:

Yes I just give him my year end totals and he completed my self assessment. So I can just carry on totalling up my weekly takings and give him figures quarterly?  

That seems to be the idea, but you'd better confirm that with your accountant.  I believe the MTD system is only going to need total income and total expenditure.

Out of interest, are your accountants going to increase their fees for the extra work?

TaxAssist

If your accountant is going to handle the submissions for you, the practical question is less “do I personally need to press the buttons?” and more “what records do I need to give them, and how often?”

The bit that catches people out is that MTD for Income Tax is about digital record-keeping plus quarterly updates, but that does not necessarily mean you personally need to use the software if your accountant is doing that side for you. In that setup, the main change is usually that they need your figures more regularly rather than once a year.

The other thing worth noting is that the threshold test is based on qualifying gross income, not profit, and it’s self-employment and/or UK property income that matters for this particular rule.

There’s a short summary here if useful:
https://www.taxtrends.co.uk/gb/what-tax-changes-for-you-from-6-april-2026/