Making Tax Digital,
made simple with Cuppa
Making Tax Digital is here, and it changes how sole traders report to HMRC. Cuppa is the simple, HMRC-recognised way to keep digital records, track your tax, and submit every quarter in a couple of clicks. No spreadsheets, no stress.
£6/month or £59/year · cancel anytime
Free to start
Bookkeeping and imports are free forever. Upgrade to Pro for direct HMRC submissions and AI categorisation.
To submit to HMRC
Quarterly updates filed directly, fraud prevention headers included.
To get set up
Connect to HMRC and start tracking in the time it takes to brew up.
What is Making Tax Digital?
Making Tax Digital is the government's programme to move tax reporting into software. For Income Tax, it replaces the single annual Self Assessment return with three simple habits.
Digital records
You must keep records of your business income and expenses in software, not on paper. Each transaction is recorded digitally, close to the time it happens.
Quarterly updates
Every three months, your software sends HMRC a summary of your income and expenses for the tax year so far. No forms to fill in, the totals come straight from your records.
A final tax return
After the tax year ends, you finalise your figures, claim reliefs and allowances, and confirm your total income. This replaces the old Self Assessment return.
Who needs to follow MTD, and from when
MTD for Income Tax applies to sole traders and landlords registered for Self Assessment. It is being phased in based on your qualifying income, which is your gross income from self-employment and UK property before expenses.
From April 2026
Now in effect. If your qualifying income for the 2024 to 2025 tax year was over £50,000, you must follow MTD rules.
From April 2027
If your qualifying income for the 2025 to 2026 tax year is over £30,000, MTD applies to you from 6 April 2027.
From April 2028
If your qualifying income for the 2026 to 2027 tax year is over £20,000, MTD applies to you from 6 April 2028.
What counts as qualifying income?
Qualifying income is your gross income (before expenses) from self-employment and/or UK property. It does not include PAYE employment income, partnership profits, dividends, or pensions. Some people are exempt, for example if they are digitally excluded, and anyone under the threshold can join voluntarily.
Try the free eligibility checkerYour year under MTD
Four short check-ins during the year, one final return after it ends. Here is the full cycle.
Sign up and connect to HMRC
Choose MTD-compatible software and link it to your Government Gateway account. Cuppa connects securely in a couple of clicks and syncs your obligations directly from HMRC.
Keep digital records as you go
Record income and expenses as they happen. Categories in Cuppa map directly to the fields HMRC expects, so there is no translation or re-keying later.
Send quarterly updates
Each update covers the tax year so far, not just the last three months. Review your totals, press submit, and Cuppa files it with HMRC and stores the receipt.
Finalise your year
After 5 April, finalise your figures, add any other income, and submit your tax return. Because your records are already digital, year end is a review, not a scramble.
Quarterly update deadlines
Standard periods follow the tax year. Each update is cumulative, covering everything from 6 April to the end of the quarter, and is due by the 7th of the following month.
Quarter 1
6 April to 5 July
Due by 7 August
Quarter 2
6 April to 5 October
Due by 7 November
Quarter 3
6 April to 5 January
Due by 7 February
Quarter 4
6 April to 5 April
Due by 7 May
Prefer calendar quarters starting 1 April? You can elect to use those instead. The deadlines stay the same.
How Cuppa keeps you compliant
Cuppa is HMRC-recognised MTD software built specifically for sole traders. Everything the rules require is handled for you, free to start and ready to submit when you upgrade to Pro.
One-click HMRC submissions
Quarterly updates go straight to HMRC through their official APIs, with every required fraud prevention header included automatically.
HMRC-aligned categories
Record what you earned and spent in plain English. Cuppa maps everything to the exact fields HMRC expects behind the scenes.
Live tax estimates
See your estimated income tax and National Insurance update in real time, so quarterly deadlines never come with surprises.
A full audit trail
Every submission stores the exact payload sent to HMRC plus the receipt. Amendments link back to what they replace.
Import and export freely
Bring records in from spreadsheets or other software via CSV, and export everything whenever you want. Your data stays yours.
Fix mistakes easily
Updates are cumulative, so if you spot an error you simply correct the record and your next submission puts it right.
Free to keep records, Pro to submit
Digital record keeping and unlimited transactions are free, forever. Direct quarterly submissions to HMRC come with Pro, £6 a month or £59 a year, about the price of a coffee, cancel anytime, and tax-deductible.
Keep your books free.
Pay when you file.
Record income and expenses for free, forever. Upgrade to Pro when you're ready to submit to HMRC and unlock AI, invoicing and more.
Free
Everything you need to run your books.
Unlimited bookkeeping. No card, no limits.
Every transaction, every import, free, forever.
And everything else you need
Compliance
- Connect to HMRC
- Quarterly tracker
- Live tax estimate
- Tax deadlines
- Accountant ready exports
- Full audit trail
Bookkeeping
- Unlimited income & expenses
- Unlimited clients
- Reports and tax estimate
- Multi-currency
- Mileage, vehicles & home office
Data & import
- CSV import from bank
- Bank statement import
- Export your data any time
No credit card required.
Pro
Most popularFile with HMRC, and make life easier with AI.
or £59/year, save 18%
Submit directly to HMRC. No add-ons, no limits.
Every quarterly update, every amendment, included.
Everything in Free, plus
- Smart AI categorisation
- Extract data from receipt photos
- Add transactions from ChatGPT or Claude
- Invoicing with themes
- Unlimited document attachments
- Other income: PAYE, pension & student loan
- Priority customer support
Cancel anytime. Tax-deductible. No free trial.
Making Tax Digital FAQs
The questions sole traders ask most about the MTD rules.
For the official guidance, see Making Tax Digital for Income Tax on GOV.UK.
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Making Tax Digital?
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