IPSE reacts as 300,000 miss Making Tax Digital deadline

HMRC's latest figures show more than 570,000 sole traders and landlords have signed up for Making Tax Digital (MTD) for Income Tax. But roughly 294,000 who are required to comply still haven't registered, even though the first deadline for submitting a quarterly update has already passed (7 August).

• Sole traders without an accountant or adviser are the group most likely to be caught out
• HMRC has confirmed it's begun signing up outstanding customers directly, rather than waiting for them to register themselves

IPSE’s Head of Policy and Research, Josh Toovey said:

"It’s no surprise that registration remains low when so many people still aren’t clear on what’s expected of them. There's a real awareness gap, especially among those without an accountant to flag this for them. The truth is, you're asking people who've only ever thought about tax once a year to start thinking about it every quarter. A letter was never going to change that habit.

“HMRC must urgently step up its awareness campaign and specifically target those sole traders and landlords that don’t use an accountant before the next reporting deadline arrives in November.”

ENDS