James Murray, Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury, has called on accountants and tax professionals to take greater responsibility in raising awareness of Making Tax Digital (MTD). His comments follow findings that 39% of company directors remain unaware of what MTD entails.
With the April 2026 deadline for MTD for Income Tax fast approaching—impacting individuals with non-PAYE earnings exceeding £50,000—many still appear unprepared for the forthcoming changes.
Despite ongoing communications, awareness levels remain stagnant. According to recent research, 39% of business owners say they have never heard of MTD, while a further 19% of those who are aware admit they don’t understand how it works.
At a panel event hosted by Free Agent, attended by Murray and HMRC representatives, it was revealed that 17.6% of small businesses anticipate MTD will negatively affect their operations.
Survey data from Free Agent further highlighted that nearly one in five directors don’t understand what MTD is, and almost two in five have never heard of it. This suggests that significant outreach efforts are still required from HMRC ahead of the 2026 rollout.
Murray reflected on the initiative, noting, “When we entered office last July, we inherited existing plans for Making Tax Digital. Over the summer, I pushed HMRC quite hard to reassess those plans. Working closely with Craig Ogilvie and his team, I now feel confident in our current approach and the timetable we’ve laid out.”
He emphasized that educating small businesses on MTD must be a collective responsibility, describing it as a “shared endeavour” that calls for coordinated action across the sector.
Murray acknowledged that businesses are already moving towards digital tools, making now an opportune time for implementing MTD. Nevertheless, he admitted that a large portion of the business community still lacks understanding of the change and what actions they need to take.
“There’s a real need to focus on education,” he said. “Whenever change is introduced, people have concerns. They want to understand how it will impact their daily operations. We need to show them not only that this transition can simplify their processes, but also that there are affordable—and in many cases free—software solutions to support them.”
He encouraged those in the accounting, tax, and software industries to actively engage with clients and peers about MTD over the coming months. “This isn’t something the government can tackle alone,” he said. “We need support from across the profession.”
Craig Ogilvie, HMRC’s Director of MTD, echoed this sentiment, encouraging businesses to join early testing initiatives to better prepare for the shift. “We’re leveraging direct outreach, letters, webinars, events, social media, and marketing to make sure people are informed and ready for MTD for Income Tax,” Ogilvie added.
