As of 6 April 2026, Making Tax Digital for Income Tax is live. If you're a self-employed healthcare professional — a locum doctor, GP, dentist, physiotherapist, or any other sole trader working in healthcare — and your gross self-employment income exceeded £50,000 in the 2024/25 tax year, you are now required to keep digital records and submit quarterly updates to HMRC.
But before the panic sets in: nothing is due yet. Your first quarterly submission doesn't need to reach HMRC until 7 August 2026. Right now, the only thing that matters is building the right habits.
What "keeping digital records" actually looks like
If you've been imagining scanning every receipt or learning complex accounting software, take a breath. MTD digital record-keeping simply means logging your income and expenses as they happen, using compatible software. No paper trail, no spreadsheet gymnastics — just entering your figures regularly so that when submission time comes, the data is already there.
For most locum doctors, April will look something like this: a mix of agency shifts and perhaps some direct bookings, mileage between sites, maybe your annual GMC registration or indemnity renewal landing this month. All of that needs recording — not at the end of the quarter, not in a rush before the deadline, but as you go.
The sweet spot is monthly. Log your income and expenses at the end of each month while the numbers are still fresh. Weekly works if you're keen, but monthly gives you a reliable rhythm without it feeling like a chore.
The threshold is £50,000 now — but it's dropping
The current requirement applies to self-employed individuals and landlords with gross income above £50,000. But the threshold is already set to fall:
- April 2027: drops to £30,000
- April 2028: drops to £20,000
That means if you're earning between £20,000 and £50,000 from self-employment today, you're not legally required to start yet — but you will be within the next two years. And when your turn comes, you'll be expected to hit the ground running. There's no soft landing planned for later cohorts.
So here's the practical question: why wait?
Start now, even if you don't have to
If your income is heading towards these thresholds — or if you're simply not sure whether you'll cross them — there's a real advantage to starting your digital record-keeping now. Not because HMRC is watching, but because building the habit early means you won't be scrambling to learn a new system while also facing your first real deadline.
With Duly Filed, there's no cost to doing this. The platform is completely free to use — you can log your income and expenses, categorise your work, track your mileage, and see your running totals without paying a penny. You only pay when you actually submit to HMRC — £18 per quarterly submission, or £60 for an annual pass covering all four quarterly filings.
That means you can use Duly Filed right now to get comfortable with digital record-keeping, build up months of clean data, and be fully prepared for when MTD applies to you — at absolutely no cost.
The soft landing: what it means (and what it doesn't)
If you are in the first wave (income over £50,000), there's some good news. HMRC has confirmed a soft landing for the 2026/27 tax year: you won't receive penalty points for late quarterly updates during this first year. All four quarterly submissions are effectively penalty-free for lateness.
But there are important caveats. The soft landing only applies to the quarterly updates — not to your final declaration, which is still due by 31 January 2028 with full penalties. It also doesn't cover late payment penalties, which apply separately. And crucially, it only applies to this first cohort. Anyone joining MTD from April 2027 onwards won't get the same grace period.
Think of it as training wheels, not a free pass. HMRC still expects you to keep digital records from day one and submit your updates. The soft landing just means a genuine mistake in your first year won't cost you.
What you should actually do this month
You don't need to do everything at once. Here's what matters in April:
Get set up. Choose your MTD-compatible software and get your account ready. If you're in the first wave, make sure your software can connect to HMRC before your first submission is due.
Start logging. Record your April income as it comes in — agency payments, direct bookings, NHS sessional work. Enter your expenses: mileage, subscriptions, professional fees, use of home if you do admin from there.
Don't overthink it. Your quarterly updates are cumulative running totals, not final tax calculations. If you miss something or get a number slightly wrong, you can correct it in the next quarter or at year-end. The system is designed to be forgiving, especially in year one.
Set a monthly reminder. Pick a date — the last Sunday of each month, the 1st, whatever works for you — and spend 15 minutes entering your figures. That's genuinely all it takes to stay on top of MTD.
The bottom line
MTD for Income Tax is here, and the first quarter is ticking. If you're above £50,000, now is the time to get your system in place and start recording. If you're below the threshold but likely to be caught in 2027 or 2028, there's never been a better time to start practising — especially when you can do it for free.
Duly Filed was built specifically for self-employed healthcare professionals. Pre-configured categories for your income and expenses, HMRC mileage rates built in, and a submission process that takes minutes. Free to use, with no subscription — you only pay when you file.