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February2026
GettingReadyforMakingTaxDigital
WhatyouneedtoknowbeforeMTDbegins
Withjustafewweekstogountilthenewtaxyear,manybusinessesarepreparingforthechangesthat MakingTaxDigital(MTD)willbringFromApril,soletradersandlandlordswithanincomeofover£50,000 willneedtosubmitquarterlyupdatestoHMRC.
Itisestimatedthataround900,000individualswillbejoininginAprilIfyouareaffected,thiswillbeamajor changeandtheearlieryoucanprepare,thebetter
Usingapprovedsoftware
MTDrequirestheuseofsoftwareWhetheryouarealreadya‘digitalnative’withyourbookkeepingorhave notyetmadethejump,itwillbevitaltomakesurethatanyaccountingsoftwareyouuseisHMRevenue& Customs(HMRC)approvedforMTDuse
Usingsoftwareforkeepingyouraccountingrecordscanhavebenefitsbeyondhelpingyoucomplywith MTDForinstance,softwarecanhelpstreamlinesomeofyourwork,makeiteasiertoforecastyourcash flow,helpinformyouinmakingfinancialdecisionsandreducemistakes.
Thatmeansthatwhenyouareselectingaccountingsoftware,itisworthconsideringsomeoftheother advantagesitcouldgiveyouandyourbusiness.
RegisteringforMTD
Basedonyourtaxreturninformation,HMRCwillgetintouchwithyouifyouneedtogetreadyforMaking TaxDigital
However,HMRCwillnotsignyouupautomaticallyThisissomethingyouwillneedtodo,anditis importanttodothisintime
Arethereanyexemptions?
TherearesomeautomaticexemptionsfromMTDForinstance,ifyouaresubmittingataxreturnasa trusteeorasapersonalrepresentativeofataxpayerwhohasdied,thereisnoneedtosignupforMTD. Generally,HMRCwilltellyouifyouareautomaticallyexempt
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Inadditiontoautomaticexemptions,therearesituationswhereanexemptioncanbeappliedfor.So,itpays tocheckwhetheryoursituationmightmeanyoucanapply
Whatifyourincomeislessthan£50,000?
MTDisbeinggivenaphasedintroductionMTDwillbecomemandatoryforsoletradersandlandlordsas follows:
•6April2026-thosewithincomeabove£50,000
•6April2027-thosewithincomeabove£30,000
•6April2028-thosewithincomeabove£20,000.
Itispossibletovoluntarilysignupsoonerifyouwish
DoesMTDapplytopartnerships?
Notyet,however,HMRChaveadvisedthatbusinesspartnershipswillalsoneedtouseMTDinthefuture. Thetimelineforwhenthiswillhappenwillbesetoutatalaterdate
WouldyoulikehelpwithMTD?
Choosingsoftwarecanbeabitofaminefield,soifyouwouldlikesupport,wecanofferyouatailored recommendationandanytrainingyouneed.WecanalsohandleyourregistrationwithHMRC.
Ifyouwouldlikeongoinghelpwithbookkeeping,fillinginthequarterlyreturns,oryoujustwantustohandle theend-of-yearreturn,pleasegetintouchWewouldbehappytohelpyou!
ChancellorIncreasesAgriculturalandBusinessPropertyReliefAllowanceto £2.5Million
SurpriseamendmenttoIHTproposals
Thegovernmenthasannouncedamajorchangetotheagriculturalpropertyrelief(APR)andbusiness propertyrelief(BPR)reformsthatwilltakeeffectfrom6April2026
Thefull100%relieffrominheritancetaxwillnowapplytothefirst£2.5millionofqualifyingassets,upfrom thepreviouslyannounced£1million
Thismeansthatacouplecannowpassonupto£5millionofagriculturalorbusinessassetsbetweenthem tax-free,inadditiontothestandardinheritancetaxallowancesthatapply
Theproposedreformstoinheritancetaxonagriculturalandbusinessassetswerefirstannouncedaspart ofthe2024AutumnBudget,andthisisnowthesecondamendmenttotheoriginalproposalsThefirst amendmentwasincludedinthe2025AutumnBudgetandthenewallowancecannowbetransferred betweenspousesorcivilpartners
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HMTreasuryhassaidthattheincreaseinallowancewillhalvethenumberofestatesthatwillbeaffected bythereforms,andthataround85%ofestateswillpaynomoreinheritancetaxthantheywouldhavedone withoutthereforms
Ifyouwouldlikepersonalisedadviceonhowtheseinheritancetaxreformsandthenewincreasein allowanceswillaffectyourestate,pleasegetintouchWewouldbehappytohelpyou!
ChoosingtheRightManagedServiceProvider
WhattoasktogettherightITsupport
MostsmallerbusinessesuseaManagedServiceProvider(MSP)toprovideITandwebsitesupportIfyou arenotanITexpertyourself,itcanbechallengingtoknowhowtoselectanMSPandensurethattheywill delivertheservicesyouneedforyourbusiness.
WithUKbusinessesincreasinglyunderattackfromcybercriminalsandyourMSPhavingaccesstoyour systemsanddata,it’salsoimportanttoknowthatyourtheyareseriousaboutcybersecurity.
TheNationalCyberSecurityCentre(NCSC)haspublishedahandyguidethatcanhelpyouasktheright questionsandbeabletotakeaproactiveapproachwithyourMSP.
What’sintheguide?
Thefollowingsubjectsarecoveredintheguide:
•ChoosinganappropriateMSP-Theguideincludesinformationonthecertificationsyoushould expecttoseeandwhatshouldbecontainedinaclearcontract
•SecurityissuestodiscusswithyourMSP-Theseincludeideasforconversationstohavewith yourMSPonpatchingandupdates,backups,access,logsandincidentresponse.
•DetailstocheckinyourMSPcontract-Forinstance,youwillwanttoknowaboutyourService LevelAgreement(SLA)responseandresolutiontimes,andwhatplansyouhaveforsystems thatarecomingtotheendoftheirlife
TheguideconcludeswithanMSPduediligencechecklistthatcouldbeausefulresourcewhendiscussing yourITsystemsandwebsitewithyourcurrentMSPorwhenyouneedtofindanewone
Toreviewtheguide,seetheNCSCwebsite
SpringForecastScheduledfor3March2026
Willtherebeanychangestotaxpolicy?
TheChancellor,RachelReeves,hasrequestedtheOfficeforBudgetResponsibility(OBR)topublishan economicandfiscalforecaston3March2026ThiswillbeaccompaniedbyastatementtoParliament
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AssetoutintheBudget,theSpringforecastwillprovideaninterimupdateontheeconomyandpublic finances,ratherthanassessingthegovernment’sperformanceagainstthefiscalmandate
Thismeanstheforecastisunlikelytoresultinchangestotaxpolicy,however,thefulldetailswillonlybe completelyclearoncetheforecastispublishedandtheChancellorhasrespondedWewill,ofcourse,keep youupdatedoncetheforecastispublished
AgenticAI:IsIttheFutureofShopping?
ICOweighsinonprivacyconcerns
TheInformationCommissioner’sOffice(ICO)haspublishedanewreportonthewaysagenticartificial intelligence(AI)couldsoonbeusedasdigitalpersonalassistantsorshoppingagents.
ThedevelopmentofAImeansthat,perhapswithinthenextfiveyears,itcouldbeusedtomakepurchases, lookoutforsales,sourcefinancingagreementsandnegotiatepriceswithsellers
AsuserstraintheirpersonalAI-poweredagent,itcouldbegintomakedecisionsandtakeindependent actions,anticipatingneedsandevenmakingproactivepurchasesThese‘AI-gents’wouldcheckpersonal bankaccounts,assesshowapurchasefitswithotherspendingplans,andschedulepurchasesforsales events.
ThereportindicatesthatsomeconsiderthatagenticAIcouldbethecashcowthatprovidesthepay-offfor theinvestmentthathasbeenmadeingenerativeAIinrecentyears.SomearepredictingthatAIand agenticAIcouldhaveabiggerimpactontheworldeconomyandfinancethantheinternetOthersexpress amorecautiousview,feelingthatagenticAI’spotentialandcapabilitiesarebeingexaggerated
TheICO,naturally,isconcernedaboutthechallengesagenticAIwouldraiseinrelationtoprivacyanddata protectionItsreportalsohighlightsthepotentialforusingagenticAItosupportdataprotection,privacyand informationrights
ThereportdoesnotcreatenewguidanceorformalregulationbutshowstheICO’searlythinkingand understandingofthesetechnologicaldevelopments
Ifitisabletodeliveraspromisedandgainsthetrustofusers,AgenticAIcouldmakesignificantchangesto thebusinessenvironmentToreadthereportinfull,itisavailableontheICO’swebsitehere
BacktrackonDigitalIDRequirements
Digitalrighttoworkcheckswillbemandatory,IDoptional
Itappearsthatthegovernmenthasbacktrackedonplanstorequireworkerstoregisterwithitsnewdigital IDprogrammetoprovetheirrighttoworkintheUK
Whileright-to-workcheckswillstillbecarriedoutdigitallyby2029,suchasbyusingbiometricpassports, registeringforadigitalIDwillbeoptional
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TransportSecretary,HeidiAlexander,confirmedthatmandatorydigitalright-to-workcheckswillbebrought intohelpcrackdownonillegalworking,butthatthedigitalIDwillbeonewaythataworkercoulduseto provetheireligibilitytowork
TheideaofcompulsorydigitalIDshasprovedunpopularwithnearlythreemillionpeoplesigninga parliamentarypetitiontoopposetheirintroduction
DetailsonhowthedigitalIDwillworkarenotyetavailable.ManyexpectittobebasedontheGov.ukOne Loginandtheyettobelaunched,GovukWallet
Inthemeantime,itisalreadypossibletousegovernment-certifieddigitalverificationservicestodo passportchecksonBritishandIrishcitizensTheHomeOfficealsoprovideanonlineserviceforverifying thestatusofnon-BritishorIrishcitizenswheretheindividual’simmigrationstatusisheldelectronically