There’s a lot of noise right now about Making Tax Digital for Income Tax (MTD IT). Deadlines, quarterly submissions, HMRC this, compliance that. For most tradespeople, the gut reaction is the same – great, more admin.

Here’s the thing: If MTD IT feels like a burden, it’s probably a sign that something else isn’t quite working.

The real problem isn’t the tax submission

MTD IT requires you to keep digital records and submit quarterly updates to HMRC from 6th April 2026. On paper, that sounds painful. In practice, if your invoices, expenses and jobs are already logged and organised, it’s genuinely one click (through supporting software, such as Powered Now).

The submission isn’t the hard part. The hard part is having accurate, up-to-date records in the first place. That’s what MTD IT is really forcing everyone to sort out.

MTD compliance is the by-product, not the goal

At Powered Now, we didn’t build a tool to help tradespeople file tax returns. We built a tool to help them run their businesses – quoting, invoicing, scheduling, expenses, job management, certificates, customer communication – all in one place, built specifically for trades.

When your business is running properly through digital software, MTD IT compliance doesn’t feel like a task. It just… happens. Your records are already there, already accurate, ready to go. That’s the difference between buying a compliance tool and buying a business tool that makes compliance effortless.

MTD-only software vs. the full picture

A lot of tradespeople are looking at MTD-only tools right now. Cheap, simple, does the job. If all you want is to tick the compliance box, sure – that works.

Think about what’s sitting alongside it. A separate app for invoicing. Another for expenses. Maybe a spreadsheet for scheduling. Then every quarter, you’re pulling it all together, cross-referencing records, hoping nothing’s been missed – before you even get to the HMRC submission.

That’s not saving money. That’s just hiding the cost in your time.

If you’re still doing it the old-fashioned way…

Pen, paper, Word docs, a folder full of receipts – we get it, it’s what you know. Let’s be honest about what it’s actually costing you.

According to Checkatrade’s trade pricing data, the average UK tradesperson charges upwards of £19 per hour for their time. If you’re spending just an hour a week on admin -chasing invoices, logging expenses, sorting paperwork – that’s billable time you’re writing off for free. What’s worse, we both know it’s more than an hour, isn’t it? A bit here, a bit there, Sunday evening catching up before the week starts…

Add that up over a month and compare it to the cost of software that reduces the time you spend on this, automatically, while you’re on the tools. Suddenly it’s not an expense. It’s a no-brainer.

April 2026 is coming

The question isn’t just “Am I MTD ready?” It’s “Is my business running as well as it could be?”

The tradespeople who’ll benefit most from this moment aren’t just the ones who tick the compliance box – they’re the ones who use it as the nudge to actually get their business working smarter.

Find out more today: www.powerednow.com