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Making Tax Digital support

Find MTD support, step-by-step guides, video walkthroughs, and troubleshooting to help you get MTD-ready and stay compliant, whatever you're stuck on.
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Why Making Tax Digital is cutting admin for sole traders

Sage and Checkatrade at Parliament, a discussion on how MTD is reducing admin time for tradespeople and sole traders across the UK.

MTD support articles and videos

Getting started with making tax digital

What it is, who it applies to, and your first steps.

Deadlines & submissions

Key dates, quarterly updates and what's due when.
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Sage Sole Trader (UK): Income tax summary report (SA103s)

Generating your SA103s summary report in a few clicks.

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Sage Sole Trader (UK): Reporting (Mobile App)

Running reports on the go from the mobile app.

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Sage Sole Trader (UK): Profit and loss report

Reading and generating your profit and loss report.

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Sage Sole Trader (UK) - How to correct CIS for existing transactions

Fixing CIS details on transactions you've already recorded.

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How accountants can create headspace during the MTD roll-out

Practical advice for accountants managing stress and workload pressure through the MTD roll-out.

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Sage Sole Trader (UK) - Splitting a transaction

Dividing a single transaction across categories.

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Sage Sole Trader (UK) - Multi actions on transactions

Editing, categorising or deleting several transactions at once.

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Making Tax Digital checklist: complete MTD for VAT guide

A step-by-step checklist to get clarity on MTD for VAT and the requirements you need to follow.

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Sage Sole Trader (UK) – Get paid with Sage Sole Trader.

Setting up online payments so clients can pay you faster.

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Operational checklist: before you price for MTD for Income Tax

A practical checklist for practices preparing for the extra year-round work MTD for Income Tax creates.

Tailored guidance for how you work

MTD looks a little different depending on your situation. Pick the guide that matches yours.

Sole Traders

Everything a sole trader needs to get MTD-ready, from registering with HMRC to keeping digital records without the admin headache.

Landlords

Quarterly updates for property income, explained without the jargon, including what counts as qualifying income and when it applies to you.

Tradies

Built for people on the tools, snap receipts on site, track job costs, and stay compliant between jobs, no laptop required.

Accountants & bookkeepers

Manage Making Tax Digital across your whole client list, job tracking, submissions and deadlines, all in one place.

Self-Assessment

How MTD for Income Tax changes Self Assessment, and what you'll need to do differently once it applies to you.

Sage Sole Trader plans

Most popular

Sole Trader Free

Ideal for <strong>non-VAT</strong> registered sole traders wanting to simplify manual record keeping and taxes.
Free
No hidden charges
Completely free, no billing.

Sole Trader

Ideal for <strong>non-VAT</strong> registered sole traders wanting to manage self assessment and cashflow.
per month / excl. 20% VAT*
Get 90% off for 6 months

No contract · cancel or downgrade anytime

*Get 90% off for 6 months on Sage Sole Trader, then £7 per month (excluding VAT). Terms and conditions apply.

What Sage customers say about going digital

“Doing my taxes digitally moving forward is going to halve the amount of time I spend on my financial admin. I would urge other business owners not to be scared about moving to digital tax returns. Making Tax Digital is without a doubt going to be beneficial.”

Heather Moor
Princess one Snow Princess Parties

“The last thing business owners wanted to hear [during Covid] was, 'you now need to digitise your records'. We knew we would need the help of Sage Accounting for this task.”

Maylynda Pacitti
Pacitti Hamilton

“Sage Accounting is life changing. It's cost effective, it's flexible, and really, I'd say 'can you afford not to have Sage Accounting?'”

Maylynda Pacitti
Pacitti Hamilton

“Submitting your business updates on a more regular basis will make you aware of how much you'll owe and make budgeting easier. Sorting my taxes digitally has been like having a fairy godmother for my tax admin.”

Heather Moor
Princess one Snow Princess Parties

“I'm saving 72 hours a year since moving to digital tax returns with Sage! It takes me a fraction of the time to tally everything up. Once you make the switch, it will save so much time.”

Charlotte Thomas
CreatedbyLottie

“It's just really simple, I've also gained the peace of mind of knowing that it's not all down to me to add everything up.”

Helene Fleming
Highland Healing Space

MTD for Income Tax news, advice, and more

Find news and advice to discover more about MTD for Income Tax, what it means for you, and make quarterly tax returns stress-free.
Money Matters
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MTD for Income Tax: What accountants and clients need to do

Making Tax Digital for Income Tax has started. Here’s what accountants need to know so they can support their clients.
Strategy, Legal & Operations
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Pricing for MTD: How to charge more, and prove it’s worth it

How should you price for Making Tax Digital? Learn why old pricing models no longer work and see how you can charge more while keeping clients 100% happy.
Money Matters

MTD for Income Tax: What Making Tax Digital means for sole traders

MTD for Income Tax began in April 2026. Catch-up here with the requirements and rules, and discover what you have to do to get ready for key deadlines.
Money Matters
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MTD digital links explained: Avoid penalties, understand how to move data

Transferring key accounting data from one place to another isn’t quite as simple as you might think with Making Tax Digital. Here’s what you need to know.
Money Matters
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Am I excluded or digitally exempt from MTD for Income Tax?

Unsure if MTD for Income Tax applies to you? Our easy to follow FAQ explains who's exempt and how UK small businesses can apply.

Making tax digital support FAQs

Sage's Making Tax Digital support hub has free guides, video walkthroughs and troubleshooting content for every stage, from registering with HMRC to fixing a failed submission. If you're a Sage customer, live chat and phone support are also available.

Your software needs to connect directly to HMRC's systems to submit MTD updates. Most modern cloud accounting software, including Sage Accounting and Sage Sole Trader, is MTD-compatible by default. Check your provider's MTD status page if you're unsure.

HMRC applies penalty points for late quarterly updates, with a fine once you reach the threshold. If you've missed a deadline, submit as soon as possible and contact HMRC if you need to explain the delay.

HMRC has a dedicated Making Tax Digital support line and online help for registration, submission and penalty queries. Sage can help with software-specific issues, but account-specific queries need to go to HMRC directly.

The most common causes are an expired HMRC authorisation, incorrect figures, or a software connection issue. Our troubleshooting guide walks through each cause and how to resolve it.

MTD for Income Tax becomes mandatory in stages based on your qualifying income from self-employment and property. Check the current thresholds to see when it applies to you.