{"id":4649,"date":"2021-09-23T21:00:42","date_gmt":"2021-09-23T20:00:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/?p=4649"},"modified":"2025-12-18T18:00:24","modified_gmt":"2025-12-18T18:00:24","slug":"making-tax-digital-businesses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/making-tax-digital-businesses\/","title":{"rendered":"Free e-book: The ultimate guide to Making Tax Digital"},"content":{"rendered":"<header class=\"entry-header has-dark-background-color entry-header--has-illustration entry-header--has-illustration--generic\">\n\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"entry-header__row row align-center\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"col col-lg-7 col-xlg-6 entry-header__content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"component component-single-header\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"entry-header__misc text--subtitle text--uppercase text--small\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/category\/strategy-legal-operations\/\" class=\"entry-header__link\">Strategy, Legal &amp; Operations<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"entry-title-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h1 class=\"entry-title\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\tFree e-book: The ultimate guide to Making Tax Digital\t\t\t\t\t<\/h1>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"entry-header__description\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"single-post-details container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"col\">\n\t\t\t<span class=\"posted-on \"><time class=\"entry-date published\" datetime=\"2021-09-23T21:00:42+01:00\">23 September, 2021<\/time><\/span><span class=\"reading-time\"> min read<\/span>\n\t\t<button\n\t\t\ttype=\"button\"\n\t\t\tclass=\"social-share-button button button--icon button--secondary js-social-share-button\"\n\t\t\tdata-share-title=\"Free e-book: The ultimate guide to Making Tax Digital\"\n\t\t\tdata-share-url=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/making-tax-digital-businesses\/\"\n\t\t\tdata-share-text=\"Please read this interesting article\"\n\t\t>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"social-share-button__share-label\">Share<\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"social-share-button__copy-label\" hidden>Copy Link<\/span>\n\t\t\t<span class=\"social-share-button__copy-tooltip\" aria-hidden=\"true\" hidden>Copied<\/span>\n\t\t<\/button>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n\t<\/header>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-post-author has-dark-background-color alignfull\">\n\t<div class=\"container\">\n\t\t<div class=\"col\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"co-authors\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t<div class=\"entry-author-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t<a class=\"entry-author\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/author\/keirthomasbryant\/\">\n\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"40\" height=\"40\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2025\/06\/keir-short-hair-350x350.jpg\" class=\"entry-author__image\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2025\/06\/keir-short-hair-350x350.jpg 350w, https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2025\/06\/keir-short-hair.jpg 760w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 40px) 100vw, 40px\" \/>\t\t\t\t<span class=\"entry-author__name\">Keir Thomas-Bryant<\/span>\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n<p>When it was announced back in 2015, the government&#8217;s plan for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/making-tax-digital\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Making Tax Digital (MTD)<\/a> was nothing less than revolutionary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The chancellor at the time called it &#8220;the death of the annual tax return&#8221;.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>MTD improves the efficiency and simplicity of tax by requiring digitalisation, both for record-keeping and for submission of tax returns. In other words, businesses are legally required to use software for their accounting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>MTD makes it easier for businesses to get taxes right. Individuals and businesses have a better idea of how much they&#8217;re likely to owe when the time comes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In turn, this aids cash flow and makes it easier to both spot problems and take advantage of opportunities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As its name suggests, <strong>The ultimate guide to Making Tax Digital<\/strong> aims to help businesses get to grips with the three main stages of Making Tax Digital:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a title=\"Making Tax Digital checklist: How to ensure you're ready for MTD for VAT in April 2022\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/making-tax-digital-checklist\/\"><strong>MTD for VAT<\/strong><\/a>, which was introduced in April 2019 but is expanded in April 2022 to all VAT businesses, including those that are voluntarily registered for VAT.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a title=\"MTD for Income Tax: What Making Tax Digital means for sole traders from 2023\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/mtd-for-income-tax-sole-traders\/\"><strong>MTD for Income Tax<\/strong><\/a>, which will now be <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/mtd-for-income-tax-postponed\/\">introduced in April 2026<\/a> and will affect millions of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/making-tax-digital\/sole-trader\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">sole traders<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/making-tax-digital\/landlords\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">landlords<\/a> that currently use the Self Assessment system.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>MTD for Corporation Tax<\/strong>, which will be introduced no sooner than April 2026 and will mean millions of incorporated companies will have to follow the MTD rules.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-layout-flex wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link wp-element-button\" href=\"#gate-30a0a390-e10d-44af-b235-7fb9bca916b2\">Download your free copy of The ultimate guide to Making Tax Digital, for all you need to know about MTD for VAT, Income Tax and Corporation Tax<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>If you own and operate a business as a sole trader, landlord or as a limited company, then one or more of the above will affect you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Inside the pages of our free ebook, you&#8217;ll find guidance about what you need to know, including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The rules of MTD for VAT, Income Tax and Corporation Tax (as much as we know at the present time)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Who is affected and when<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>What you and your business can do to prepare ahead of time<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>What software you need to ensure you&#8217;re MTD-ready<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>How to sign up and what you&#8217;ll need in order to do so<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Working with an accountant to maximise MTD&#8217;s benefits<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A four-stage checklist that you can work through.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>This unique guide will help you get ahead now and ensure you and your business thrive once you have to adhere to the new MTD rules.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Download the guide now. Your business will thank you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><i>Editor\u2019s note: MTD for Income Tax has been postponed until April 2024. This article (<em>first published in July 2018) <\/em>has been updated to reflect that.<\/i><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"single-cta gated-content\">\n\t<div class=\"single-cta__positioner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__wrapper has-dark-background-color\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"single-cta__title h3\">The ultimate guide to Making Tax Digital<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__description\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Need help getting ready for Making Tax Digital? Download this free guide to learn about MTD for VAT, Income Tax and Corporation Tax, and what they mean for your business.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\t\t\thref=\"#gate-30a0a390-e10d-44af-b235-7fb9bca916b2\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"single-cta__button button button--primary\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t>Get your free guide<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__downloads\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t27,023 readers have downloaded this guide\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1440\" height=\"810\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-1124688944-1440x810.jpg\" class=\"single-cta__image\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-1124688944-1440x810.jpg 1440w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 48em) 33vw, 100vw\" \/>\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n<div class=\"single-cta\">\n\t<div class=\"single-cta__positioner\">\n\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__wrapper has-dark-background-color\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__content\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"single-cta__title h3\">Subscribe to the Sage Advice newsletter<\/h2>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"single-cta__description\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Join more than 500,000 UK readers and get the best business admin strategies and tactics, as well as actionable advice to help your company thrive, in your inbox every month.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a\n\t\t\t\t\t\thref=\"#gate-b1a63862-3fa0-4a5e-bb67-c76b88bbc6b8\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\tclass=\"single-cta__button button button--primary\"\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t>Subscribe now<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1440\" height=\"810\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-1073797282-1-1440x810.jpg\" class=\"single-cta__image\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2022\/04\/GettyImages-1073797282-1-1440x810.jpg 1440w\" sizes=\"auto, (min-width: 48em) 33vw, 100vw\" \/>\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Need to know about Making Tax Digital? This free e-book covers all three stages: VAT, Income Tax Self Assessment and Corporation Tax.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":280,"featured_media":8317,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_sage_video":false,"post_featured_image_hide":false,"sage_hide_published_date":false,"sage_hide_read_time":false,"sage_hide_share_buttons":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[139,9],"tags":[30,206,27],"business_type":[4,3],"lilypad":[],"context":[],"industry":[],"persona":[71,73,74],"imagine_tag":[91,142,96,109],"coauthors":[369],"class_list":["post-4649","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-free-guides-templates","category-strategy-legal-operations","tag-mtd-business","tag-need-to-know","tag-tax","business_type-small-business","business_type-medium-sized-business"],"sage_meta":{"region":"en-gb","author_name":"Keir Thomas-Bryant","featured_image":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/10\/2020\/10\/GettyImages-534055580_super.jpg","imagine_tags":{"91":"Growing business","142":"Making Tax Digital for businesses","96":"Medium businesses","109":"Small business"}},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Sage Advice UK","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4649","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/users\/280"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4649"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4649\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/media\/8317"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4649"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4649"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4649"},{"taxonomy":"business_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/business_type?post=4649"},{"taxonomy":"lilypad","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/lilypad?post=4649"},{"taxonomy":"context","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/context?post=4649"},{"taxonomy":"industry","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/industry?post=4649"},{"taxonomy":"persona","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/persona?post=4649"},{"taxonomy":"imagine_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/imagine_tag?post=4649"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sage.com\/en-gb\/blog\/api\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=4649"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}