Free download
MTD spreadsheet template (Making Tax Digital)
A free Making Tax Digital spreadsheet for UK sole traders. It is a full bookkeeping workbook organised the way MTD for Income Tax actually works: transactions carry SA103 category dropdowns and are assigned to their MTD quarter automatically, and four quarterly summary tabs total every standard HMRC category with a single clean header row so bridging software can import them. Works in Excel and Google Sheets.
Quick answer
Yes, you can still use a spreadsheet under Making Tax Digital for Income Tax, as long as quarterly updates reach HMRC through bridging software. This free template keeps digital records in MTD quarters (6 April to 5 July, then to 5 October, 5 January and 5 April) and produces an import-ready summary for each quarterly deadline of 7 August, 7 November, 7 February and 7 May.
Get the MTD spreadsheet template
One Excel workbook: income and expenses tabs with SA103 category dropdowns and automatic quarter tagging, plus four bridging-ready quarterly summary tabs covering the 2026/27 MTD quarters. Enter your details and the file downloads immediately.
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What is inside the MTD spreadsheet
- Income and expenses tabs: the same structure as my sole trader bookkeeping spreadsheet, with dropdowns for every SA103 category so records stay consistent.
- Automatic quarter tagging: each transaction is assigned to Q1 to Q4 from its date using the MTD quarter boundaries (6 April, 6 July, 6 October, 6 January). No manual sorting.
- Four quarterly summary tabs: one per MTD quarter, each with a single header row (Category, Amount) and the standard HMRC ITSA categories, deliberately free of totals and decoration so bridging software imports them cleanly.
- Deadlines built in: cell notes on each summary tab give the quarter dates and its filing deadline: 7 August, 7 November, 7 February and 7 May.
How to file a quarterly update from this spreadsheet
- Keep your records in the workbook through the quarter. That is your digital record for MTD purposes.
- When the quarter closes, open its summary tab. Every HMRC category is already totalled for the right date range.
- Feed the summary into bridging software to submit the update to HMRC. My free MTD Bridge Tool accepts exactly this layout: upload the sheet, check the mapping, and it prepares the quarterly summary for you.
- After Q4 you confirm the year in a final declaration, which replaces the old self assessment return under MTD.
Assumes tax year 2026/27 and MTD ITSA thresholds of £50,000 from April 2026 and £30,000 from April 2027. Rates last checked: 15 July 2026.
Do you need this yet
MTD for Income Tax applies from April 2026 if your qualifying income from self employment and property is over £50,000, and from April 2027 over £30,000. If you are under both thresholds you can keep normal records for now, but the quarterly habit is worth building early: switching your bookkeeping format in the same month your first update is due is how deadlines get missed. If you just want simple annual books first, start with the sole trader bookkeeping spreadsheet and move to this one when MTD reaches you.
Can I use a spreadsheet for Making Tax Digital?
Yes. HMRC allows spreadsheets as digital records under MTD for Income Tax, provided the quarterly updates are submitted through compatible bridging software with a digital link, not retyped. This template keeps the records and produces bridging-ready quarterly summaries.
What are the MTD quarterly deadlines?
The standard quarters follow the tax year: 6 April to 5 July, 6 July to 5 October, 6 October to 5 January and 6 January to 5 April. Updates are due one month and a bit after each quarter ends: 7 August, 7 November, 7 February and 7 May.
What is bridging software?
Bridging software is a tool that takes totals from your spreadsheet and submits them to HMRC through the MTD API, keeping the digital link intact. It means you can keep bookkeeping in Excel or Google Sheets instead of moving to a subscription accounting package. The free MTD Bridge Tool on this site does the mapping and summary step.
When does Making Tax Digital for Income Tax apply to me?
From April 2026 if your combined self employment and property income is over £50,000, and from April 2027 if it is over £30,000. Below that, the government has said the threshold will fall to £20,000 in a later phase, so most sole traders will meet MTD eventually.
What goes in a quarterly update?
Totals of your business income and expenses by category for the quarter, not individual transactions and not a tax calculation. That is why each summary tab in this template is just a category column and an amount column: it is exactly the shape HMRC expects.
Related tools and downloads
Digital Adaption helps UK businesses fix the data behind the numbers: bookkeeping workflows, reporting you can trust and systems that talk to each other. Get in touch. Need a version of this tool built for your own company, with your rates, categories and workflows baked in? We build custom calculators, workbooks and internal tools. Contact us for a tailored quote.