MTD for income tax 

Making Tax Digital (MTD) for income tax is being phased in for sole traders and landlords from April 2026. ICAEW has published a range of guidance, from news articles to detailed guidance, all of which can be accessed at ICAEW’s MTD hub.  

Guidance published in recent months includes: 

• a short video explaining the basics of MTD income tax;
• a news article setting out HMRC’s plans to begin writing to taxpayers from April 2025;
• a series of articles from Rebecca Benneyworth on preparing your practice for MTD, including testing the system, reviewing clients’ needs and managing workflows:
• an episode of the Tax Track podcast exploring the benefits of testing MTD income tax; and
• a quiz that you can use to identify gaps in your knowledge.  

Research and development tax relief 

Research and development (R&D) tax relief continues to be a challenging environment due to changes to the rules, to the process for making a claim and to HMRC’s compliance approach.  

This was the subject an episode of the Tax Track podcast where Tax Faculty staff explored recent developments, including a new HMRC disclosure facility (also explained in a tax news article) and the decisions in some high-profile tax cases.  A TAXline article published alongside the podcast sets out the current position in numbers. 

For further information, see ICAEW’s R&D tax relief hub. 

Mandatory payrolling of benefits in kind 

The government has said it will mandate the reporting of income tax and class 1A national insurance contributions for most benefits in kind (BiKs) through pay-as –you-earn in real time. This is a significant change for employers, taking effect from April 2026. 

Tax Faculty staff explained what employers can do to prepare in an episode of the Tax Track podcast. A recent tax news article sets out ICAEW’s concerns with the government’s proposals, based on a representation sent to HMRC.  

For a reminder of changes affecting employers from April 2025, see this TAXline article. 

Employee ownership trusts (EOTs) 

In a series of articles for TAXline, Nick Wright sets out the basics of EOTs, including the pros and cons and the typical structure, and takes an in-depth look at the tax reliefs. Finance Bill 2024-25 makes significant changes to EOTs. Read more in this tax news article.  

VAT 

ICAEW continues to publish content for its campaign discussing how to fix VAT. Visit the hub to learn more and test your knowledge with the VAT quiz. 

Also in VAT, recent TAXline articles have explored the implications of the latest decision in the Sonder Europe Ltd tour operators’ margin scheme case, and HMRC’s new guidelines on VAT compliance controls.