Three weeks. That’s how long you have to sort out Corporation Tax filing or watch HMRC’s free online service disappear. It’s also when Making Tax Digital becomes mandatory for sole traders and landlords earning over £50,000. Not “next year,” not “gradually rolling out”—April 1st, full stop.
This is real stuff. Here’s what changes and why you should care.
Corporation Tax Filing: The Free Service Ends March 31
HMRC’s shutting down its free CT600 filing portal. From April 1st, you need commercial software or an accountant. No free alternative. That’s it.
If your accounting period ends on or after April 1st, this applies to you. Most companies will be affected.
Your options: move to Sage, Xero, FreeAgent, or another HMRC-approved platform, or outsource to an accountant already running one.
This week: Check how you currently file. Call your accountant. Lock down your route for the next return. Don’t leave this until deadline season.
Making Tax Digital for Income Tax
April 2026 is when MTD actually kicks in for sole traders and landlords earning over £50,000. Not an option. A legal requirement.
What it means:
- Digital records of all transactions
- Quarterly updates to HMRC (not once a year)
- Year-end final declaration
Miss it, and you get penalties. Stack enough penalties, and you get fined.
If your qualifying income is over £50,000, you’re in. That includes side income alongside employment. If you’re sitting at £48,000, this is urgent.
For ecommerce scaling as a sole trader—Amazon, Shopify, print-on-demand—this is the year to move to a Limited Company. A company means more paperwork, but the MTD compliance world is brutal as a sole trader at scale. This gets expensive fast if you’re doing it yourself.
HMRC’s Going Digital—And Only Telling You Once
HMRC’s switching to email-only for notices and reminders. No more postal letters. If your email is wrong in their system, you miss the deadline. Then you get the penalty—which comes by post, naturally.
If you’re a non-UK director or travel frequently, check your HMRC contact details now. Update them. Then treat HMRC emails like bank alerts. Open them, action them within 48 hours. They’re not going to chase you twice.
Crypto and Digital Wallets Are Now Reportable
HMRC’s AEOI scope has expanded to crypto exchanges and digital wallet providers (Wise, Payoneer, etc.). They’ll see the activity.
If you accept crypto, hold it, or park funds in multi-currency accounts, HMRC will have visibility. This doesn’t necessarily increase your tax bill—but it does increase your exposure. If HMRC’s data shows £600k in transactions and you reported £500k in gains, that mismatch gets flagged.
Audit your digital asset records now. Disposal records, cost basis, transaction dates. Make sure they align with what the platforms will report.
Fuel Rates and Customs Data
Fuel rates changed March 1st. EV public charging: 15p per mile (up from 14p). Home charging stays 7p. Update payroll if you reimburse mileage.
HMRC now offers free access to your customs declaration history. If you import or export, use it to check your VAT and duty charges before the next audit. Takes 10 minutes and can save you hundreds if there’s an overcharge or wrong commodity code sitting in there.
What You Need to Do This Week
- Verify your HMRC email address and contact details. If you’re non-UK based, confirm HMRC has the right person on file.
- Check how you currently file your CT600. If it’s HMRC’s free form, decide: migrate to commercial software or outsource.
- If you’re a sole trader near £50,000 income, start testing MTD software now. The quarterly flow changes everything.
- Update fuel rates in your payroll system if relevant.
- If you deal in crypto or digital wallets, pull your transaction records. Make sure cost basis, disposal dates, and trade records match what the platforms will report.
The Bigger Picture
HMRC’s pushing everything digital. Quarterly submissions, automated matching, no paper trails. If you’re a CFO or finance director, you’ve seen this coming. If you’re a sole trader doing your own books, April 1st is going to feel very real very quickly.
Get clarity on your position this week. Don’t wait until the deadline hits and your compliance infrastructure is scrambling.
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Questions about how these changes hit your business? I work with companies and sole traders on UK tax strategy and compliance systems that aren’t built on last-minute panic.
Get in touch.
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