This will be the last year that a straightforward, single self assessment tax return is available for landlords, sole traders and self employed with income over £50,000 as they will have to report under Making Tax Digital (MTD) for Income Tax from April 2026. This will be in additional to their annual self assessment tax return, although HMRC does say it will prepopulate MTD's taxpayers returns. Regardless, it will still be admin to check imported data is correct and complete.

The deadline for self assessment taxpayers for tax returns for 2024-25 tax year is 31 January 2026 for online submissions, 31 October 2024 for paper returns.

Mandatory MTD for Income Tax will be rolled out to affected groups earning over £50,000 a year, drawing in landlords, sole traders and self employed. It will be compulsory for this cohort from April 2026, changing the face of the tax landscape and raising compliance costs across the board as these taxpayers will have to file quarterly digital reports with HMRC, as well as a fifth year end summary.

But HMRC was celebrating last week, when it released figures showing that record 299,419 returns filed in the first week of the new tax year.

But early filing is still the exception and not the norm, with the week one total only up by less than 10% compared to 270,916 people in 2020.

There were 57,815 early filers on the opening day, which was a Sunday, compared to 67,870 people who filed on Saturday 6 April 2024. HMRC is encouraging people to file early so they know what tax they owe sooner, plan for any payments in advance and can avoid the stress of leaving it until January. It also gives more time for people to raise queries with HMRC, a constant headache as call centres are increasingly pared back.

But for some early filing makes sense, giving peace of mind to focus on the business in hand.

Jade Milbourne, 34, runs a dog grooming salon with her business partner. They offer high-quality dog grooming and teeth cleaning services for dogs ranging from chihuahuas to German shepherds. She has been running the business for five years and believes the way to stay on top of her tax return each year is to stay organised.

Milbourne said: ‘Filing early means that I have plenty of time to pay my tax bill. I set aside money from my wage each month and pay it as soon as I can, but also have the flexibility and time to save up more money, if needed.

‘I always find the more organised you are throughout the year, the less stressful it is to complete my tax return.’

Anyone who thinks they may need to complete a tax return for the 2024 to 2025 tax year can use the checker tool on gov.uk to find out. New entrants to self assessment must register to receive their unique taxpayer reference (UTR). This can only be done online or by letter as of 6 May.

UTR numbers no longer available by phone, says HMRC | 8 May 2025