How should I prepare my business for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax?

Start by establishing whether your qualifying income brings you into the regime and from which tax year. The timetable and detailed rules can change, so use current HMRC guidance for the final position.

Choose compatible software and start recording income and expenses consistently before the mandatory start date. A trial period gives you time to fix categories, bank feeds and document capture without a deadline hanging over you.

Decide whether you will maintain the records yourself, use a bookkeeper, or outsource the whole process. Be clear about who reviews the data and who makes the required submissions.

The difficult part is rarely pressing submit. It's changing a once-a-year record-keeping habit into an ongoing process. Starting early makes that transition much easier.