Self-assessment season is in full swing, and plenty of sole merchants throughout the nation are already prepping their returns for the January 31 2026 deadline.
If submitting your tax return provides you a headache simply interested by it, HMRC’s new digital instruments and assist companies would possibly come as a welcome aid.
As a part of a wider push to rework the method, HMRC has launched a variety of modifications to enhance the expertise for over 12 million self-assessment clients.
What’s altering for self-assessment filers?
HMRC has introduced numerous measures to enhance buyer expertise. A few of the fundamental modifications are:
- Enhancing the digital Self Evaluation registration and opt-out processes
- Introducing higher on-screen messages to reassure clients and scale back the necessity for them to chase progress on enquiries
- Enhancing the late submitting and late fee penalties on-line appeals course of
The modifications are a part of HMRC’s Transformation Roadmap, which was printed on July 21 2025. It outlines digital enhancements, companies and measures that can rework the UK’s tax and customs system by 2030, according to the federal government’s 2020 tax technique.
James Murray, Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, stated, “The federal government is modernising the service that HMRC gives for British folks and companies.
“Our new fee plans for Self Evaluation will save folks effort and time with their tax affairs and assist them keep away from making errors.”
A significant objective of the Transformation Roadmap is to determine HMRC as a digital-first organisation, with 90% of buyer interactions happening on-line by 2030. Clients with out digital entry, and people in weak conditions or with complicated tax conditions, will proceed to obtain focused assist from HMRC.
The brand new options and enhancements can be supplied without charge to sole merchants and companies, with 12 million anticipated to file a self-assessment tax return this 12 months. These modifications are designed to ease administrative burdens and tackle widespread ache factors.
A Which? survey acknowledged that self-assessment tax returns take a mixed 19 million hours to finish, that’s round two and a half hours on common per individual. One in 5 report that the method takes lower than an hour, whereas for others, it could possibly take a laborious 5 hours.
Why the HMRC Transformation Roadmap issues for sole merchants
HMRC’s digital overhaul will assist sole merchants handle tax extra successfully by tackling key ache factors.
A standard headache for freelancers is monitoring earnings throughout a number of gigs and invoices. By switching to the favored HMRC app or utilizing your on-line account, clients can simply observe earnings, deadlines, and entry AI-assisted assist with out having to contact HMRC instantly.
As well as, the app offers useful deadline reminders to assist sole merchants keep away from late fee fines and curiosity prices. Whereas a report 11.5 million tax returns have been filed by the deadline in 2024, an estimated 1.1 million clients missed the deadline.
Submitting or paying your tax return late can result in an preliminary £100 nice, adopted by day by day penalties, further prices of 5% or £300 at 6 and 12 months, and additional 5% penalties on unpaid tax at 30 days, six months, and 12 months, plus curiosity.
Lastly, versatile fee plans can be arrange on-line, which can be an enormous assist to these desirous to unfold the price of tax funds to enhance money circulation.
As Making Tax Digital (MTD) continues to roll out, digital tax instruments can be more and more customary. As of April 6 2026, sole merchants and landlords with a qualifying earnings of greater than £20,000 should now file their self-assessment tax return digitally.
What ought to sole merchants do now?
To remain forward of the January tax return deadline, sole merchants can take these fast steps:
- Obtain the HMRC app or log in to your on-line account to test your annual earnings abstract
- When you’re involved about making the deadline, arrange a Time to Pay association to unfold the fee throughout instalments
- Use HMRC’s up to date digital assistant or webchat for any last-minute questions
We’d suggest beginning to price range for future tax payments in good time and signing up for HMRC e mail alerts to remain knowledgeable.
Whereas overhauling processes usually requires some adjustment, the shift to extra digital instruments means managing your tax as a sole dealer will finally be sooner, easier, and fewer annoying in the long term.
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