The tax department has this year faced criticism and concern regarding the delivery so far of the MTD programme for freelancers and private landlords, which is due for significant expansion
HM Revenue and Customs will undertake an “intensive” campaign of communications to provide information to the near-two million citizens being brought in scope of the Making Tax Digital regime in the coming months and beyond, a minister has pledged.
The messaging exercise will have a particular focus on self-employed taxpayers that are not represented by a specialist tax agent, according to financial secretary to the Treasury James Murray.
The minister was responding on behalf of government to a question from fellow Labour MP Luke Charters, who asked what is being done to “ensure an orderly implementation of Making Tax Digital for people due to join between April 2027 and April 2028”.
This period will bring with it the second tranche of taxpayers joining the MTD scheme as part of its expansion to cover self-assessment income tax returns. For the current 2026/27 year, about 800,000 self-employed people and landlords – earning more than £50,000 a year – have been required to begin keeping quarterly digital records and making tax submissions online.
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For the 2027/28 year that is the subject of Charters’ question, the threshold will be lowered to £30,000, with a further 970,000 people expected to join Making Tax Digital. The following year, the baseline will be lowered again to £20,000 – with a further 975,000 taxpayers forecast to come in scope of MTD.
With almost two million citizens being required to adopt digital tools in the next 18 months or so – including some form of accredited third-party software – Murray stressed that “MTD for Income Tax is being introduced gradually”.
“The phased approach enables HMRC to build on experience from each stage of implementation before additional groups are brought into the regime,” he said. “HMRC is actively supporting this transition through a marketing campaign targeted at unrepresented customers, supported by intensive multi-channel engagement and communications with taxpayers, agents, representative bodies and software developers and targeted guidance to help those affected prepare.”
The minister’s comments come several months after several organisations representing freelancers and landlords told PublicTechnology of “frustration” and “uncertainty” among their members concerning the requirements of the digital tax regime.
