Making Tax Digital (MTD) for Income Tax has well and truly arrived. If you are a sole trader or landlord with gross income over 50,000 GBP in the 2024/25 tax year, you are required to use HMRC-recognised software, maintain digital records of income and expenses, submit quarterly updates, and submit tax return before Jan 31, 2028.
In our previous update, we announced that Zoho Books became an HMRC-recognised software for Making Tax Digital (MTD) for Income Tax. This milestone was focused on helping sole traders transition from spreadsheets to digital record-keeping and quarterly updates via software.
By submitting summary data of income and expenses every three months, businesses gain a real-time view of their income and expenses. However, quarterly updates are only part of the journey. To complete the tax cycle, taxpayers must finalise their figures for the year.
Today, we are excited to announce the launch of the final, critical pieces of the MTD puzzle: End-of-Year Submissions and the Tax Return.
What's in store for sole traders and landlords?
The transition to Making Tax Digital for Income Tax is about more than just quarterly check-ins; it’s about a digital-first approach to your entire financial year. While quarterly updates provide HMRC with a snapshot of your business activity, the end of the tax year requires a more comprehensive summary that also includes adjustments from your business income, and other income sources, before you submit the tax return.
We are glad to announce that Zoho Books now supports End-of-Year Submissions and Tax Return, allowing you to complete your entire MTD journey without ever leaving your accounting dashboard.
This gives sole traders and landlords the much needed confidence and control over the latest compliance requirements.
To best continue, we've done a quick summary of what's covered in terms of allowable expenses and other income sources so you can be ready to file your tax return on or before January 31, 2028.
End-of-year submissions: The "final polish"
Once your four quarterly updates are submitted, you need to finalise your business profit or loss. This is where the End-of-Year Submission and the Business Source Adjustable Summary come into play.
Zoho Books now allows you to make necessary accounting adjustments—such as capital allowances or balancing charges—to your business income. This ensures the data HMRC holds matches your actual taxable profit after all professional adjustments are considered.
Beyond business income
The end-of-year submission is rarely exclusive to just your income from sole trader or landlord business. Most taxpayers have diverse income streams and personal circumstances that affect their final bill. Our new update allows you to report "Other Incomes" and claims directly through Zoho Books, including:
Investment & savings – UK Interest and UK Dividends
Employment data – Information from PAYE (Pay As You Earn) and Non-PAYE sources
Reliefs & allowances – Marriage allowance, student Loan repayments, and brought-forward loss claims
Statutory charges – Class 2 National Insurance and the High Income Child Benefit Charge
The Final Tax Return: Submit with confidence
After consolidating your business adjustments and other income sources, Zoho Books generates your Tax Return. This is the digital equivalent of the old Self-Assessment declaration you have filed on the online HMRC portal.
By pulling all this data into one place, Zoho Books calculates your final tax liability for the year. You can review the breakdown, ensure every loss claim is applied, and then submit the tax return directly to HMRC.
Why this matters
With the addition of end-of-year capabilities, Zoho Books provides a true end-to-end solution.
Eliminate manual entry: No more jumping between your accounting software and the HMRC portal.
Stay compliant: Meet the upcoming 2026 mandates with software that handles the heavy lifting.
Accuracy: Get a clear view of your financials any time and get accurate tax estimates from Zoho Books to ensure you don't overpay (or underpay).
Ready to choose recognised software?
Zoho Books helps both sole traders and landlords stay MTD compliant all year at no cost.
Here is a quick overview of some of what's covered in the free plan:
Invoices & expenses (1,000 each per year)
Receipt autoscans (50 scans per month)
Automatic bank feeds (1 bank account)
MTD for Income Tax (Quarterly updates, end-of-year submissions, tax return)
Self-service customer portal
Mileage tracking
MTD for VAT (if you are VAT registered)
Please check out our pricing page to explore more features available in the free plan.
Sign up today. It's free forever.
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