New research from Tide reveals that more than 200,000 qualifying business owners aren’t ready for the Making Tax Digital (MTD) switch, despite the first filing deadline being 7 August.
Tide surveyed 500 sole traders and landlords with annual revenues above the £50,000 qualifying mark for year one of MTD. It finds that many aren’t ready for the change or are unsure of what Making Tax Digital means for them, even though the first filing deadline is just days away.
With the deadline just days away, 22% still don’t know it’s coming, and 25% haven’t yet signed up with HMRC for Making Tax Digital – a requirement for any qualifying business owner. Out of the estimated 864,000 that qualify for MTD in 2026, that leaves a huge 216,000 yet to sign up and submit their first update.
Making Tax Digital will require business owners to file tax information to HMRC five times a year: four quarterly updates and one final annual submission. However, analysis through Tide’s survey finds that 85% of those joining MTD this year don’t know this, with 1 in 3 (31%) instead believing they will now need to file eight times or more. Awareness has barely moved in the run-up to the deadline, as Tide’s February research found 83% of sole traders didn’t realise they’d need to file five times a year.
To help anyone still struggling to understand Making Tax Digital, Tide is taking to the streets of the UK to provide first-hand insights – and a little moment of summer joy for business owners amongst the July-August filing stress.
From Monday 20th July, Tide experts will be on hand at various locations giving out free ice cream and insights on switching to Making Tax Digital:
- Manchester, New Cathedral Street – Monday 20th and Tuesday 21st July
- London, Victoria – Thursday 23rd
- London, Broadgate – Friday 24th July
- Brighton, New Road – Saturday 25th July
George Schmidt, CEO UK/Europe at Tide, said: “No one wants to be thinking about tax over summer, but we can’t escape the fact that Making Tax Digital is here and the first deadline is just days away.
“The first wave of business owners need to ensure they are signed up with HMRC and file on time, to avoid penalties that accumulate with each missed deadline. It is a worry that so many still aren’t ready for the switch, but we hope that over the coming days we can raise awareness, spread some joy and importantly, help people to make their first submission, so they can get on with enjoying their summer.”
For further information on how Tide customers can take care of Making Tax Digital, visit: tide.co/making-tax-digital/
