Making Tax Digital, without the headache.
From April 2026, many self-employed people and landlords must keep digital records and send HMRC an update every three months — instead of one tax return a year. We do that part for you.
Software when you want it, a real person when you need one. You are not left alone with an app and a help centre. You send us what you have — photos, statements, a carrier bag of receipts — and a named person organises it, checks it and keeps you on schedule.
When MTD reaches you
HMRC scheduleMTD for Income Tax is being phased in by income level. HMRC looks at your gross self-employment and property income — turnover, before you take any expenses off.
Four steps. That is the whole thing.
Tell us about your business
A short form and a phone call. We work out which HMRC obligations actually apply to you and when.
Upload your records
Your own secure folder. Photos of receipts, bank statements, spreadsheets, invoices — whatever you already have.
We organise and check
We categorise everything, query anything that looks odd, and keep your digital records in the format HMRC requires.
We keep you on track
Quarterly updates prepared and filed on time, your year-end return handled, and a reminder before every deadline.
Estimate your tax bill
Put in your turnover and expenses and we will show you the estimated Income Tax, National Insurance and — the one that catches people out — your payments on account. Plus how much to put aside each month.
Find out if MTD applies
Four questions, no sign-up. We will tell you whether you are already in Making Tax Digital, when you are likely to be brought in, and what that means in practice.
Most of our clients do not want accounting software. They want the problem to go away.
You get a person, not a ticket
A named contact who knows your business, answers the phone, and explains things in plain English.
We work from what you actually have
Shoebox, spreadsheet, banking app export or nothing at all. We will tell you what is missing and how to get it.
Deadlines are our job, not yours
Quarterly updates and the year-end return are tracked for you. You get a nudge in good time, not a penalty letter.
Your documents stay private
Your own access-controlled folder. Only your assigned team can open it. We tell you what we keep and for how long.
No jargon, no lectures
If you have avoided this for years, that is common and we are not going to make you feel bad about it.
Fixed, known pricing
You know what you are paying before we start. No surprise bills for a phone call.
Not sure where you stand?
Start with the checker. If it turns out MTD applies to you, we can have you set up and compliant well before your first quarterly deadline.
Do I need Making Tax Digital?
Four questions. We will tell you whether MTD for Income Tax applies to you now, when it is likely to, and what happens next.
Your result
Fill in the form and we will show your position here, along with where you sit on HMRC's phase-in schedule.
HMRC's phase-in schedule
This checker is general guidance, not a legally definitive decision on your eligibility. It does not account for exemptions (including digital exclusion), unusual income sources, partnerships, trusts, or cases where HMRC has written to you directly. If HMRC has sent you a letter about MTD, that letter takes precedence over this tool. Check your own position on GOV.UK or speak to us.
Self-employed tax estimate
Work out roughly what you will owe on your self-employment or property profit — including the payments on account that catch most people out in their first year.
Estimated tax computation
2026/27 · rUKWant us to keep this updated for you during the year?
This is a snapshot from figures you typed in. Our clients see a running, checked version of this number all year — so the bill is never a surprise, and the money is already set aside.
This is an estimate, not a tax return or personalised tax advice. Your final liability can differ depending on your full circumstances — including student loan repayments, capital allowances, capital gains, High Income Child Benefit Charge, pension contributions, Gift Aid, marriage allowance, losses brought forward, the trading allowance and any income not entered above. Figures use published HMRC rates for the year selected and assume you are entitled to the standard Personal Allowance and are UK resident for tax. Do not use this figure to decide what to pay HMRC — ask us or check your own Self Assessment calculation.
Making Tax Digital, explained without accountant-speak
What it is, who it applies to, and what actually changes about your year.
A note before we start. GovTalk is a private business, not HMRC. Everything on this page is our plain-English summary of published HMRC rules. HMRC's own guidance is free at gov.uk and always takes precedence over our summary.
What MTD actually is
Making Tax Digital for Income Tax is HMRC's replacement for the once-a-year tax return. If it applies to you, two things change:
- You have to keep your records digitally. A shoebox of receipts and a notebook is no longer enough. Your income and expenses need to be recorded in software that can talk to HMRC.
- You have to send HMRC an update every three months. Four updates a year, plus a final declaration after the year ends.
The tax itself does not change. The rates are the same, the allowances are the same, and the deadline for paying is the same. What changes is how often you have to show your working.
Who has to use it
It depends on your qualifying income — your total self-employment and property income before you take expenses off. HMRC looks at the figure on a completed tax return and brings you in two years later.
| You must start | If qualifying income was over | In this tax year |
|---|---|---|
| 6 April 2026 | £50,000 | 2024/25 |
| 6 April 2027 | £30,000 | 2025/26 |
| 6 April 2028 | £20,000 | 2026/27 |
Once you are in, you stay in — even if your income later drops below the threshold.
What counts towards the threshold
- Self-employment turnover, before expenses
- Rental income from property you let out (your share, if jointly owned)
What does not count
- Employment income taxed under PAYE
- Your share of partnership profits
- Dividends, State Pension and private pensions
- Income covered by qualifying care relief
So someone with a £30,000 salary, £22,000 of freelance turnover and £14,000 of rent has qualifying income of £36,000 — the salary is ignored, the other two are added together.
Expenses do not reduce the threshold
This is the single most common misunderstanding, and it catches people who genuinely are not making much money. The threshold is measured on gross income. A courier turning over £55,000 with £30,000 of fuel, van and insurance costs has a real profit of £25,000 — but qualifying income of £55,000, so MTD applies.
What "quarterly" actually means
You send HMRC a cumulative summary of your income and expenses for four standard periods each tax year. It is a summary of totals, not four tax returns. Nothing is finalised, and no tax is calculated or demanded at each update.
| Quarter | Period covered | Deadline |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 April – 5 July | 7 August |
| 2 | 6 July – 5 October | 7 November |
| 3 | 6 October – 5 January | 7 February |
| 4 | 6 January – 5 April | 7 May |
You can elect to use calendar quarters instead — to 30 June, 30 September, 31 December and 31 March — which is usually simpler if your bookkeeping runs on calendar months. We set this up for clients where it helps.
What happens to the annual tax return
It does not disappear — it changes shape. After the tax year ends you submit a final declaration that pulls together your quarterly updates, adds anything else (employment, dividends, interest, reliefs), and confirms the whole picture. That is what your tax bill is calculated from.
The payment dates are unchanged: 31 January and, if you make payments on account, 31 July.
Until the year you start MTD, you carry on filing a normal Self Assessment return as usual.
What records you need
- Every sale or invoice, with date and amount
- Every business expense, with date, amount and category
- Digital copies are fine — a clear photo of a receipt counts
- Bank statements, so nothing is missed
You need compatible software to store this and send it to HMRC, and you need to sign up for MTD — you are not enrolled automatically. An agent can sign you up and file on your behalf.
What GovTalk does about all of this
Most of our clients do not want to learn a bookkeeping package three months before a deadline. So we take it on:
- We check whether MTD applies to you and from when
- We sign you up and set up compatible software in your name
- You send us your records however suits you — photos, statements, spreadsheets
- We keep the digital records, categorise everything and query anything unclear
- We prepare and file all four quarterly updates and the final declaration
- You get a reminder before every deadline and a person to ring when you are stuck
What we do, and what it costs
Four ways to work with us. You send us the information. We organise it, check it and keep you on schedule.
Quarterly MTD support
Priced after a short call
- MTD sign-up handled for you
- Compatible software set up in your name
- All four quarterly updates prepared and filed
- Final declaration at year end
- Deadline reminders
For people who keep reasonable records themselves and want the filing taken off their hands.
Bookkeeping + quarterly MTD
Priced after a short call
- Everything in Quarterly MTD support
- We do the bookkeeping from your receipts and statements
- Everything categorised and reconciled monthly
- Running view of your likely tax bill
- Named contact who knows your business
Most popular. For people who would rather not touch bookkeeping at all.
Self Assessment
Priced after a short call
- Annual tax return prepared and filed
- We check which reliefs you are missing
- Clear explanation of what you owe and when
- For years before MTD applies to you
For anyone not yet in MTD, or catching up on a late return.
Talk to a human
Free, no obligation
- A proper conversation about your situation
- We tell you what applies to you and what does not
- No obligation to sign up for anything
For when you just need someone to tell you where you stand.
What you send us, and what you get back
Photos of receipts. Bank statements. Invoices you have raised. A spreadsheet if you keep one. Anything you already have, in whatever state it is in.
Organised, checked digital records. Filed quarterly updates. A tax figure you can plan around. A named person who answers when you ring.
How it works
No software to learn, no jargon to decode. Four steps, and then it runs in the background.
Tell us about your business
Fill in the Get started form — it takes two minutes. We ring you back, work out exactly which HMRC obligations apply to you and from when, and tell you what we would charge.
Upload your records
We create your own secure folder and send you the link. Drop in photos of receipts, bank statements, invoices, spreadsheets — whatever you have. Add to it whenever suits you.
We organise and check everything
Your bookkeeper categorises every transaction, reconciles it against your bank, and comes back with a short list of anything that needs explaining. Not a forty-item interrogation.
We keep your reporting on track
Quarterly updates prepared and filed. Final declaration at year end. A reminder before every deadline, and a running estimate of what you will owe so the money is already put by.
What we need from you, honestly
The service works best when you do three small things. None of them require you to understand tax.
- Send things roughly monthly. Not perfectly, not organised — just regularly. A photo of a receipt the day you get it beats a carrier bag in January.
- Answer our queries. We will ask about a handful of transactions each quarter. A one-line reply is fine.
- Tell us when something changes. A new income stream, a property let out, a big purchase, stopping trading. It changes what we file.
What if my records are a mess?
That is genuinely most people, and it is not a reason to put off ringing. We start with whatever exists, tell you the specific gaps, and help you fill them. Bank statements alone are usually enough to reconstruct a year.
What if I am behind?
Late returns, missed deadlines, letters you have not opened — we deal with this regularly. It is nearly always more fixable than people assume, and it gets worse the longer it is left. Ring us.
Frequently asked questions
The things people actually ring up and ask. If yours is not here, ask us directly.
Do I still need to do a Self Assessment?
If MTD does not apply to you yet, yes — nothing changes, you file as normal. If MTD does apply, the annual return is replaced by a final declaration after the tax year ends. It does the same job: it pulls everything together and produces your tax bill. The 31 January payment deadline is unchanged either way.
Do I have to submit four tax returns a year?
No. The quarterly updates are summaries of your income and expenses for the period — totals, not a full return. Nothing is finalised, no tax is calculated, and you are not making a declaration about your whole tax position four times a year. The thing that does all of that is the final declaration, once a year.
What counts as qualifying income?
Your total self-employment turnover plus your property rental income, added together, before expenses. It excludes wages taxed under PAYE, partnership profits, dividends and pensions. Try the MTD checker if you are not sure.
Do expenses reduce the threshold?
No, and this catches a lot of people. The threshold is measured on gross income. If you turn over £55,000 and spend £30,000 running the business, your qualifying income is £55,000 — not the £25,000 you actually live on. You would be in MTD.
Can you submit everything for me?
Yes. That is the point of the service. We can act as your agent, keep the digital records, prepare and file all four quarterly updates and submit the final declaration. You approve before anything is sent.
What if I hate bookkeeping?
Then take the bookkeeping package and stop doing it. You send us receipts and statements; we do the categorising, the reconciling and the filing. Most of our clients came to us precisely because they had been avoiding it.
Can I take photos of receipts?
Yes — a clear photo is a valid digital record. Photograph it the day you get it and drop it in your folder. That habit alone removes most of the January panic.
Can I just send bank statements?
For many small businesses, yes — statements plus a few explanations will get us most of the way. You will miss out on some deductible costs paid in cash or from a personal account, so we will ask about those. But it is a perfectly workable starting point.
What happens if I miss a deadline?
HMRC operates a points-based penalty system for late submissions — you accumulate points, and a financial penalty applies once you reach the threshold. Late payment attracts interest and separate penalties. If you have already missed things, tell us; it is nearly always more fixable than people fear, and it does not improve with time.
Can I speak to a real person?
Yes, and you get the same one each time. That is the main reason people choose us over doing it themselves with an app. Our number is here.
Do you work with landlords?
Yes. Rental income counts towards MTD in exactly the same way as self-employment, and a lot of landlords are surprised to find themselves in scope. If you let out property jointly, only your share counts towards your own threshold.
Can you help if English is not my first language?
Yes. Tell us on the Get started form and we will make sure you are matched with someone who can take the time you need. Confirm which languages you cover
Are you HMRC?
No. GovTalk is a private business. We are not part of, endorsed by or affiliated with HMRC, GOV.UK or any government department. HMRC's own guidance and services are free at gov.uk; we charge for the bookkeeping, record-keeping and filing work we do for you.
Is my information safe with you?
Each client gets their own access-controlled folder that only their assigned team can open. We tell you what we hold, why, and how long we keep it — see our privacy policy. We will never ask you for your HMRC Government Gateway password.
Get started
Tell us the basics and we will come back with what applies to your situation and what it would cost. No obligation, no hard sell.
What happens next
We use your details only to respond to this enquiry and, if you become a client, to provide the service. We do not sell data or share it with third parties for marketing. See the privacy policy for what we keep and for how long. We will never ask you for your HMRC Government Gateway password.
Thank you — we have your details.
Someone will be in touch within one working day. If it is urgent, ring us on 07597 551202, Monday to Friday, 9am to 4pm.
Upload your documents
Every GovTalk client has their own secure folder. Only you and your assigned team can open it.
Go to your folder
Use the private link we sent you when you joined. It is in your welcome email, subject line "Your GovTalk document folder".
What to send us
- Photos or scans of purchase receipts
- Sales invoices you have raised
- Monthly bank statements, as PDF or CSV
- Anything from HMRC — especially unopened letters
- Mileage records, if you claim them
Name files however you like. We would rather have a blurry photo called IMG_4471 than nothing at all.
Sending things safely
A fuller client portal — status tracking, document history and messaging in one place — is planned. For now, your folder plus your named contact does the same job with less to go wrong.
Talk to a human
No phone tree, no chatbot. If you would rather just ask a question before filling anything in, that is completely fine.
Govtalk.online
Building 2, 1st Floor
Croxley Green Business Park
Watford WD18 8YA
Complaints
If something has gone wrong, tell us and we will put it right. Email admin@govtalk.online, or write to us at the address above marked for the attention of B Swidrak.
We will acknowledge your complaint within 7 working days and give you a full response within 30 days.
Business details
- Trading name: Govtalk.online
- Trading address: Building 2, 1st Floor, Croxley Green Business Park, Watford WD18 8YA
- ICO data protection registration: ZC090310
- Anti-money-laundering supervision: ELSG Ltd
- HMRC status: Registered HMRC agent
- VAT: Not VAT registered
Or send a message
Privacy policy
Draft for review. This covers the main UK GDPR disclosure points for a business handling tax and financial data. Have it reviewed before you go live, and replace every highlighted placeholder with your real details.
Last updated: 18 September 2026
Who we are
Govtalk.online, of Building 2, 1st Floor, Croxley Green Business Park, Watford WD18 8YA, is the data controller for the personal data described in this policy. Our ICO registration number is ZC090310. Contact us about data protection at hello@govtalk.online.
What we collect
- Enquiry data: name, email, phone, business type, approximate turnover, the service you are interested in, and anything you write in the notes box.
- Client data: National Insurance number, Unique Taxpayer Reference, date of birth, address, bank transaction data, invoices, receipts, and correspondence with HMRC.
- Identity verification data: photographic ID and proof of address, which we are legally required to obtain and keep under the Money Laundering Regulations.
- Technical data: see our cookie policy.
Our free tools — the MTD checker and the tax calculator — run entirely in your browser. The figures you type into them are not sent to us and are not stored anywhere.
Why we use it, and our lawful basis
| Purpose | Lawful basis |
|---|---|
| Responding to your enquiry | Consent, and our legitimate interest in answering people who contact us |
| Providing bookkeeping and filing services | Performance of our contract with you |
| Identity checks and record-keeping under anti-money-laundering law | Legal obligation |
| Keeping accounting records | Legal obligation |
| Sending our newsletter | Consent, which you can withdraw at any time |
Who we share it with
HMRC, where we file on your behalf. Our software and infrastructure providers, who process data on our instructions under written contracts — currently Google (Google Workspace, for document storage and email) and Cloudflare (website hosting). Our professional advisers where necessary. We do not sell your data and we do not share it with third parties for their own marketing. Add your MTD software and any payment processor once chosen.
How long we keep it
- Enquiries that do not become clients: 12 months, then deleted.
- Client records and tax documents: at least six years after the end of the relevant tax year, to meet HMRC record-keeping requirements.
- Anti-money-laundering records: five years from the end of the business relationship, as required by law.
- Newsletter subscribers: until you unsubscribe.
Where your data is held
Your documents are stored in Google Workspace, with access restricted to the staff assigned to your account. Our providers may process data outside the UK. Where that happens we rely on the safeguards those providers have in place, including the UK International Data Transfer Addendum or an adequacy decision.
Your rights
You have the right to access your data, correct it, ask us to delete it, restrict or object to how we use it, and to data portability. Where we rely on consent, you can withdraw it at any time. Some of these rights are limited where we have a legal obligation to keep records.
To exercise any right, email hello@govtalk.online. We will respond within one month.
If you are unhappy with how we have handled your data you can complain to the Information Commissioner's Office at ico.org.uk or on 0303 123 1113.
Security
Access to client folders is restricted to the staff assigned to your account, and all accounts are protected with two-factor authentication. Data is encrypted in transit and at rest by our storage provider. We review who has access regularly and remove it when it is no longer needed.
If a personal data breach occurs that is likely to result in a risk to your rights and freedoms, we will report it to the Information Commissioner's Office within 72 hours of becoming aware of it, and tell you without undue delay where the risk to you is high.
We will never ask you for your HMRC Government Gateway password.
Cookie policy
Draft for review. Update this to match the cookies your live site actually sets. If you add analytics, advertising or embedded video, you will need a consent banner that blocks those cookies until the visitor agrees.
Last updated: 18 September 2026
What this site uses
As built, this site sets no tracking cookies. The MTD checker and the tax calculator run in your browser and store nothing.
| Type | Purpose | Consent needed |
|---|---|---|
| Strictly necessary | Making the site work — navigation and form submission | No |
| Analytics (not currently used) | Understanding which pages people use | Yes |
| Marketing (not currently used) | Measuring adverts | Yes |
Managing cookies
You can block or delete cookies in your browser settings. Doing so will not stop this site working.
Under the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations, analytics and marketing cookies need consent before they are set. If you add Google Analytics or an advertising pixel, add a proper consent banner at the same time — not afterwards.
Terms of service
Draft for review. These are website terms. Your client engagement letter is a separate document and is the one that actually governs the work — have both reviewed by a solicitor before you rely on them.
Last updated: 18 September 2026
Who we are
This site is operated by Govtalk.online, a sole trader business, of Building 2, 1st Floor, Croxley Green Business Park, Watford WD18 8YA.
Using this site
You may use this site for your own lawful purposes. You may not misuse it, attempt to gain unauthorised access, or use automated systems to extract content at a volume that affects other users.
Our tools are guidance, not advice
The MTD checker and the tax calculator give general estimates from the figures you enter. They are not a tax return, not a definitive determination of your obligations, and not personalised tax advice. We do not accept liability for decisions taken solely on their output. Your circumstances may produce a different result.
Services
Nothing on this site is an offer to provide services. A relationship begins only when we have issued an engagement letter, you have accepted it, and we have completed our client due diligence. We may decline to act, and we may cease to act, where we are required or entitled to do so.
Your obligations, our obligations, fees, notice periods and liability caps are set out in the engagement letter, which takes precedence over these terms in the event of conflict.
Your responsibilities as a client
You remain legally responsible for your own tax affairs, including the accuracy and completeness of the information you give us. We work from what you provide. You must give us complete and accurate records in reasonable time before each deadline, and tell us promptly about anything that changes your tax position.
Anti-money-laundering
We are required by law to verify your identity before acting for you, to keep those records, and to report certain suspicions to the authorities. We may not be permitted to tell you if we do so.
Liability
Nothing in these terms limits liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, for fraud, or for anything else that cannot lawfully be limited. Subject to that, we are not liable for indirect or consequential loss, or for loss arising from information you did not give us or gave us late. Our total liability to you is limited to the amount set out in your engagement letter.
Governing law
These terms are governed by the law of England and Wales, and the courts of England and Wales have exclusive jurisdiction.
Website and calculator disclaimer
We are not HMRC
GovTalk is a private business. We are not part of, endorsed by, or affiliated with HMRC, GOV.UK, or any government department or agency. HMRC's own guidance and online services are free of charge at gov.uk. We charge fees for the bookkeeping, record-keeping, agent and filing services we carry out on your behalf. You are free to deal with HMRC directly, without paying anyone.
General information only
The content on this site is general information about UK tax rules as we understand them at the date shown. It is not personalised tax, legal or financial advice, and it does not create a client relationship. Tax rules change, and they apply differently to different people. Do not act on anything here without checking how it applies to you.
The tax calculator
The calculator produces an estimate from the figures you enter, using published HMRC rates for the tax year you select. It deliberately does not model every circumstance. In particular it does not account for:
- Student loan and postgraduate loan repayments
- Capital allowances, the trading allowance and the property allowance
- Losses brought forward or carried back
- Pension contributions, Gift Aid and Marriage Allowance
- The High Income Child Benefit Charge
- Capital gains, dividends and savings income, which are taxed at their own rates
- Partnerships, trusts, non-UK residence and the remittance basis
- Class 2 National Insurance paid voluntarily below the Small Profits Threshold
Do not use the calculator's output to decide what to pay HMRC.
The MTD checker
The checker is guidance based on the thresholds and dates HMRC has published. It is not a legally definitive decision on whether you must use Making Tax Digital. It does not account for exemptions, digital exclusion, unusual income, or cases HMRC has assessed individually. If HMRC has written to you about MTD, their letter takes precedence.
External links
We link to GOV.UK and other sites for your convenience. We are not responsible for their content.
Limitation
To the extent permitted by law, we accept no liability for loss arising from reliance on the information or tools on this site. This does not affect the terms of any engagement letter between us, or your statutory rights.