New research from Tide shows 216,000 landlords and sole traders have yet to sign up for Making Tax Digital, with the August 7th deadline days away.
Sole traders and landlords across the UK could face a costly summer of stress, as new research from business management platform Tide reveals that more than 200,000 qualifying business owners aren't ready for the Making Tax Digital switch, with the first filing deadline less than 30 days away.
Tide first flagged the issue in February 2026, when it found sole traders faced a £2.18 billion compliance bill, equivalent to £753 per business.
The new research surveyed 500 sole traders and landlords with annual revenues above the £50,000 qualifying threshold for year one of MTD. It finds that many aren't ready for the change or remain unsure what Making Tax Digital means for them, despite the first filing deadline falling on August 7th.
With the deadline just days away, 22% of owners still don't know it's coming. A quarter (25%) haven't yet signed up with HMRC for Making Tax Digital, a requirement for any qualifying business owner or landlord. Of the estimated 864,000 who qualify for MTD in 2026, that leaves 216,000 yet to sign up and submit their first update.
85% don't know how often they'll need to file
The first quarterly filing deadline looks set to bring a summer of tax stress, and the research shows confusion will continue well beyond August. Making Tax Digital requires business owners to file tax information to HMRC five times a year, comprising four quarterly updates and one final annual submission.
Tide's survey finds that 85% of those joining MTD this year don't know this, and 1 in 3 (31%) instead believe they'll need to file eight times or more. Awareness has barely moved since Tide's February research found 83% of sole traders didn't realise they'd need to file five times a year.
Six days of admin, £1.5 billion in lost revenue
The launch of Making Tax Digital lands during busy summer trading periods, at a time when many business owners had hoped for time off. Nearly half (44%) say they'll be forced to focus time during normal working hours on MTD-related admin, while 1 in 3 (32%) feel they'll have to complete it during time off.
In total, sole traders and landlords foresee the new tax admin requiring six full days of their attention over the next 12 months, a time cost Tide estimates at £1.5 billion in lost revenue across qualifying businesses in the first year of Making Tax Digital.
