MTD — your questions answered

• From 6 April 2026 — sole traders and landlords with qualifying income over £50,000 per year.
• From 6 April 2027 — the threshold drops to £30,000. More sole traders and landlords will need to comply.
• MTD for VAT — already mandatory since 2019 for VAT-registered businesses above the VAT threshold.
• Businesses below the threshold are not currently mandated, but may be caught by future waves. HMRC may lower the floor further — check GOV.UK ↗ for the latest guidance.

Qualifying income is your gross income from self-employment and UK or overseas property combined before any deductions. It does not include employment income (PAYE), pension income, dividends, or savings interest. If you are both a sole trader AND a landlord, your combined qualifying income from those two sources is what determines which mandate wave you fall into.

A quarterly update is a summary of your income and expenses for a three-month period, sent directly to HMRC through your MTD software. No tax is due at this point — it is purely a progress snapshot. The four update periods in a tax year end on 5 July, 5 October, 5 January, and 5 April. HMRC can use the running total to give you an estimated tax position as the year progresses.

At the end of each tax year, after quarterly updates, you complete Self Assessment (final declaration), adding any other income. Deadline remains 31 January following the tax year. In Nixbin you choose on Profile: year-end in this hub when available (fed by your digital records), or year-end on GOV.UK while the hub handles quarterly updates. Tax owed is due by 31 January — quarterly updates do not pay tax.

If you have both sources of qualifying income, both are combined to determine your mandate threshold. You will need separate digital records for each income source, and you send quarterly updates for each stream. Nixbin early access prioritises landlord UK property; sole trader is still being levelled up. You can use the same Microsoft sign-in for separate packages once each is approved.

No. MTD for VAT has been mandatory for VAT-registered businesses above the VAT registration threshold since April 2019, and for most businesses since April 2022. MTD for Income Tax is a separate programme for sole traders and landlords, starting April 2026. A limited company with VAT obligations may already be MTD for VAT compliant and still need to enrol for MTD ITSA if directors or shareholders have self-employment income.

Nixbin is software, not an accounting service. Early access helps you keep digital records and send quarterly updates. Year-end Self Assessment can be in the hub when you choose that option and the step is available, or on GOV.UK. Whether you also need a tax adviser depends on your affairs. Judgement calls about what to claim remain yours.

Nixbin connects to HMRC's Making Tax Digital API using the OAuth 2.0 authorisation flow. You grant Nixbin permission to act on your behalf in your HMRC online account — you can revoke this permission at any time from HMRC's 'Manage your agents and software' page. Data is transmitted directly to HMRC over TLS. Nixbin does not share your financial data with third parties for any other purpose.

HMRC has indicated that initially there will be a soft-landing approach, but penalties are expected to be introduced in phases. Under the new regime, late submissions can attract penalty points — accumulate enough points and a financial penalty applies. Nixbin surfaces deadline reminders in your portal to help you stay ahead. If you do miss a deadline, submit as soon as possible; late submissions are still accepted and stop further penalty points accruing.

Yes. You can cancel at any time. You retain access until the end of your current billing period. If you cancel and you are mandated for MTD, you will need another product that meets HMRC’s MTD requirements before your next quarterly deadline. HMRC’s software finder on GOV.UK lists recognised products. Nixbin early access is not that listing yet.