Making Tax Digital for income tax, albeit pushed back by a year, is still very much on the HMRC agenda. But there have been significant changes along the way, not all for the better!

Unincorporated clients with trading turnover or gross rental income above £10,000 pa will be included in the new reporting framework.

The De minimis limit applies to total income, so that if a client has a mix of business and property income, the figure to look to is the combined total.

Timescale

The main point here is that start date now depends on your business structure, as follows:

• Sole traders and unincorporated landlords start from 6 April 2024.

• General partnerships start from 6 April 2025.

• Other partnerships (e.g., those with corporate partners, and LLPs): no start date yet given.

The requirement is for new sole traders and landlords to join the scheme at the beginning of the tax year following the 31 January filing date for their first self-assessment tax return (SATR) – although they can join voluntarily before this.