Taxation: Electronic Government
The question
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Government press release entitled 436,000 sole traders and landlords make their tax digital, published on 12 August 2026, what initial assessment has been made of the extent to which Making Tax Digital for Income Tax has improved the accuracy and timeliness of information available to HM Revenue and Customs.
Answered by Treasury
Making Tax Digital (MTD) for Income Tax is designed to help taxpayers reduce avoidable errors by keeping digital records and using MTD-compatible software to send quarterly updates and end-of-year tax returns to HMRC. As set out in HMRC's press release of 12 August 2026, more than 436,000 sole traders and landlords have successfully submitted their first quarterly update for the 2026 to 2027 tax year ensuring that both taxpayers and MTD have timely up to date records.
Through reducing the opportunity for error to enter the tax system, MTD for Income Tax is forecast to generate around £3 billion in additional tax revenue by 2030-31.
Taxpayers can correct incorrect information submitted in quarterly updates through subsequent updates and the end-of-year tax return.
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