You know the deadlines. Now write down what is actually done.
Does anybody else feel as miserable as me and worried about this MTD?
— OpenRent Community forum, 31 July 2026
Its first 6 checkpoints are on this page, free and finished, before anything is priced.
The first six checkpoints — free, finished, on this page
This is not a sample of the checklist. It is the checklist, as far as its first section goes: the same six items, the same words, scored the same way. Nothing is sent anywhere, nothing is stored, and there is no email box.
The scoring rule, printed so it still works with the script switched off: if every box above is ticked, this section is clear and the rest of the checklist is about records, software and the submission itself. Anything left unticked is your next job. If the top two are unticked, start at the free two-number checker instead. Every item above is answered free on this site.
Every answer on this site is free and stays free. What the free pages cannot do is sit next to you while you work through your own position, one item at a time, and show you in writing what is finished and what is not. That is what the checklist is for — and its first six items are on this page, free and working, before anything is priced.
The answers to HMRC's rules are all on this site, and you never pay for one. That covers your dates, the threshold check and the free software on HMRC's list.
“Does anybody else feel as miserable as me and worried about this MTD?”
We hear this most. a landlord of thirty years, writing at teatime, OpenRent Community forum, 31 July 2026 — someone in the same position as you.
Three dates, and only three. Your next quarterly update is due 7 November 2026, and because updates are cumulative it covers 6 April to 5 October 2026 — so it also catches up 7 August 2026 if you missed it. Your tax return for 2026 to 2027 is due 31 January 2028, and that one is still in the points system. And from September 2026 HMRC has been signing people up itself, in stages, if they had not signed up.
You are not alone, and this is the measured version of that sentence. HMRC put 864,000 sole traders and landlords in scope for this tax year (HMRC, 5 February 2026), and reported on 12 August 2026 that 436,000 had sent a first quarterly update and 570,000 had signed up. We have not subtracted one from the other to make a "how many are behind" headline — they were published six months apart and count different things — but you can see the size of the room you are standing in.
What to do tonight
half an hour, tonight, and every step of it is free
- Work out what your next update has to cover. It is 6 April to 5 October 2026, due 7 November 2026 — the running total from the start of the tax year, which is the part people miss.
- Pick a recognised tool from HMRC's own list, filtering for the ones that cost £0. Only software on that list can send anything; a spreadsheet on its own cannot.
- Get your figures into one place — a spreadsheet is fine — with a date, an amount and a category against each line. That is all a quarterly update is made of.
None of those three steps costs money. Anyone charging you to do them is selling you something HMRC gives away.
Where these come from, on GOV.UK: quarterly updates and their deadlines · the tax return · who has to use MTD, and when · working out qualifying income · the recognised-software finder · what to do if HMRC signed you up.
The free route, before anyone sells you a subscription
HMRC publishes the official list of software recognised for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax, and its own guidance says plainly that “free products are available for those with simple tax affairs”. We drove that finder ourselves on 1 September 2026 and it returns recognised products costing £0 — for sole traders and for landlords, including bridging tools that submit straight from a spreadsheet you already keep. We take no commission from any of them, we rank none of them, and this site carries no affiliate links.
HMRC's official software finder (gov.uk) · how bridging software works · the free two-number check · your own four dates
Signing up for Making Tax Digital is free at GOV.UK. So is the checker on this page, and so is every answer on this site.
Who this is for
A sole trader or landlord who is in Making Tax Digital — or will be in April 2027 or April 2028 — and wants one working session that ends with a written answer rather than a browser full of GOV.UK tabs.
It is for you if any of 3 things is still open: no software chosen, no quarterly update sent, no dates written down. The checklist takes those 3 in turn, across 25 checkboxes, and ends with each one written down.
What the rest of the checklist covers
The six above are its opening section. The rest runs to 25 checkboxes in total:
- Digital records — what counts as compliant, and what to look for in software
- Quarterly submissions — the four deadlines and what you actually send
- Exemptions and special cases — including joint ownership, two homes and new businesses
- A 30-day action plan with numbered steps, and a scored verdict: ready, partly ready, or not ready
- 25 checkboxes, so the output is a written list rather than a feeling
PDF, works on any phone, tablet or computer. Instant download — no account, no app, nothing to unzip.
MTD Readiness Checklist — £7.99
One payment. No subscription. No monthly fee.
The 25-point checklist that turns “I think I need to do something about MTD” into a written list of what is done and what is not.
Get the checklist — £7.99One PDF, on screen the moment you pay. 14-day no-questions guarantee. One payment. No subscription. No monthly fee.
Compare your options
GOV.UK + the free pages here
- Everything official is published free
- Every answer on this site is free and stays free
- The opening six checkpoints, above, free and finished
- A browser full of tabs, and no verdict at the end
MTD Readiness Checklist
One payment. No subscription. No monthly fee.
- 25 checkboxes → a written list of done and not done
- A scored verdict: ready, partly ready, or not ready
- A 30-day action plan with numbered steps
- One working session, not a weekend of tabs
An accountant
- Personal advice on your actual numbers — the checklist is not that
- Hourly fees are many multiples of £7.99
- You will still be asked for exactly this list
The three doubts, answered straight
“I don't even know if MTD applies to me.”
Then don't buy this yet. The free checker answers that in about a minute — threshold, which income counts, and your exact start date. The checklist is for when the answer is yes.
“My start date is years away.”
April 2027 and April 2028 starts are both covered. The checklist exists precisely because “years away” turns into “this April” — and digital records are far easier to set up before your year starts than to reconstruct mid-year.
“GOV.UK publishes all of this free.”
It does — and so do we. £7.99 buys the assembly, not the information: 25 items in the right order, a scored verdict, and a 30-day plan. If you would rather assemble it yourself from the free pages, they are all here.
What it is not
- Not tax advice, and not a substitute for an accountant.
- Not software, and not a route to file anything — every submission goes through HMRC-recognised software.
- Not a way to sign up. Signing up is free at GOV.UK and we charge nothing for anything HMRC provides free.
- No outcome is promised. It is a checklist and a guide, and it is priced like one.
Refunds, plainly
14-day no-questions guarantee. One payment. No subscription. No monthly fee. If you want your money back within fourteen days, reply to your receipt and say so — you do not have to give a reason and we do not ask for one. One refund per customer; refunded orders are deactivated.
By completing checkout you agree that your download is made available immediately, which ends the statutory 14-day cancellation right for digital content once the download is released. Our own guarantee above is given voluntarily and is not affected by that, and neither are your rights if a product is faulty or not as described. Sold by Axion Labs — full trader details are in our Terms.
Secure Stripe checkout · Delivered instantly on screen · 14-day no-questions guarantee. One payment. No subscription. No monthly fee. · General information, not tax advice
Andrew at Axion Labs
The kit exists for the people who'd rather not assemble it themselves at eleven at night — it's a spreadsheet, a walkthrough and a calendar file, it doesn't submit anything to HMRC, and the free route above this stands whether you buy it or not.
General information about UK tax rules, not tax advice. Your own circumstances and HMRC's official guidance govern your position. If you are unsure, speak to an accountant or contact HMRC. Checked against GOV.UK on 14 August 2026.
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