Tax Planning, Making Tax Digital for Income Tax and Did You Survive the 31st January Filing Deadline?
Tax Planning before the tax year ends.
There is no doubt that we are in a era of tax rises. With the tax year due to end on 5th April 2026, now may be a good time to see what can be done to mitigate those tax increases.
We have produced a handy guide to talk you through those changes and suggest things you may want to look at.
Some of the things we’ve covered are:
How income tax thresholds can affect you and how pension contributions or Gift Aid can help.
Changes to IHT, how they might affect you and what you can do to mitigate the changes.
How the taxation of property letting is changing.
Changes in Capital Gains Tax
Making Tax Digital for income tax (see below)
And we include a handy year-end checklist
The full guide can be downloaded HERE
Making Tax Digital
Making Tax Digital for Income Tax (often shortened to MTD for IT) is a major change to how many individuals will report their income to HMRC. Instead of completing a single Self Assessment tax return each year, affected taxpayers will be required to keep digital records and send updates to HMRC throughout the year using compatible software.
From April 2026 the rules are expected to apply first to self-employed individuals and landlords whose gross business and/or rental income (combined) exceeds £50,000, with those earning over £30,000 following from April 2027. In practical terms this means more frequent reporting, stricter record-keeping requirements and the need to use appropriate accounting software. If you currently complete a tax return and have self-employment or rental income, these changes may affect you and we recommend contacting us so we can confirm whether you fall within the new regime and help you prepare.
What should I do now?
Consider whether you have self-employment or rental income (even if it is only a side activity).
Estimate your annual gross income before expenses from those sources — if it is around or above £50,000, MTD for Income Tax is likely to apply from April 2026 (and £30,000 from April 2027).
Do not buy software yet — the most suitable option will depend on how you keep your records and how much involvement you want from us.
Please contact us so we can confirm whether you are affected and help you prepare in good time.
And Finally
HMRC reports that 11.48 million taxpayers filed their 2024/25 Self Assessment returns by the 31 January 2026 deadline, with almost 476,000 waiting until the final day and over 27,000 submitting in the last hour before midnight on the 31st..
Even Christmas Day saw around 4,600 people log on to file their return. I expect their in-laws were round.
Around one million people missed the deadline - meaning £100m in fines. Enough to buy a 70 metre custom built superyacht, around 2,000 average UK houses or build 12 miles of new motorway. I wonder what the government will spend the money on?
If you have any questions, on anything, don’t hesitate to contact us below: