Intuit unveils QuickBooks tools for Making Tax Digital

Intuit has launched new QuickBooks products and features aimed at sole traders and landlords preparing for HMRC's Making Tax Digital (MTD) for Income Tax rules, which will apply to more than 864,000 taxpayers from 6 April.

It has released a new version of its sole trader bookkeeping product and announced an income tax validation tool to be built into QuickBooks Online. Intuit has also extended support for reporting non-trading income sources under MTD and introduced a new integration for landlords managing multiple properties.

The changes come as small businesses face rising costs. The Federation of Small Businesses has warned of an "unprecedented cost crunch" from April, as sole traders weigh new compliance and administrative demands alongside day-to-day pressures.

New sole trader plan

The main launch is QuickBooks Sole Trader Plus, an updated version of QuickBooks Sole Trader. The plan adds MTD-related tools alongside invoicing, receipt capture, bank reconciliation and mileage tracking.

Automation maps bank transactions and expenses to categories and generates income tax estimates based on the records held in the software. A home-screen feature called Business Feed provides access to digital assistants within the product.

Intuit positioned the update as a way for the self-employed to build more consistent record-keeping habits, rather than treating MTD as a last-minute reporting exercise.

"A lot of sole traders don't use software to prepare their taxes, but there are numerous tangible benefits in doing so, beyond simply complying with the new Making Tax Digital requirements. You get to see your live tax estimates, save time previously spent searching for and compiling evidence of income and expenses, and you can make submissions to HMRC in a few clicks. For those that work with an accountant or bookkeeper, it's a really easy way of sharing information and working together to improve money management. We've made our new Making Tax Digital tools within QuickBooks easy to use, even for those that are digitising their bookkeeping for the first time," said Leigh Thomas, Vice President of EMEA at Intuit.

Income tax checks

Intuit also announced QuickBooks Income Tax AI, a tool it says is coming soon and will be embedded in QuickBooks Online. It focuses on validation and reporting, monitoring business activity and flagging potential income tax obligations and record-keeping issues.

QuickBooks Income Tax AI includes an MTD Readiness Checker that highlights issues to address before submission. It checks for duplicate entries, expenses that appear to be miscategorised against HMRC tax rules, unmapped transactions and post-submission adjustments.

The tool will generate reports with explanations and guidance on how to resolve issues. Intuit said it is designed to reduce errors and lower the risk of penalties by improving the accuracy and timeliness of filings.

HMRC pilot uptake

Adoption of MTD for Income Tax remains at an early stage. More than 20,000 sign-ups have been recorded across the HMRC-led pilot, according to figures cited by Intuit.

In a recent update, Craig Ogilvie, HMRC Director of Making Tax Digital, said QuickBooks has the highest number of cumulative sign-ups during the current testing period, from April 2025 to January 2026, according to Intuit.

The rollout requires affected sole traders and landlords to maintain digital records and send updates to HMRC using compatible software. It marks another step in the UK government's effort to digitise the tax system, following Making Tax Digital for VAT.

Landlord integration

QuickBooks will now support submissions of non-trading income and expenses under MTD. Intuit said the sources covered include employment, interest, UK and foreign dividends, and foreign pensions.

For landlords, Intuit announced a new integration with Hammock. It covers property income streams, including joint-ownership submissions and foreign property income under MTD.

Emma Marszalek, managing director at Bay Bookkeeping Solutions, described a shift away from manual methods and encouraged earlier adoption among clients who are not yet mandated.

"Digital software improves the accuracy of reporting, gives a much better understanding of the figures and makes the information far more useful. Spreadsheets have their place, but the systems we have now, with digital bank feeds and built-in automation, are far superior to anything you could reasonably create manually. That's why, even before Making Tax Digital comes into force for everyone, I'm planning to onboard clients who aren't yet mandated. If someone is around the £30,000 mark, I'd much rather they use the next year as a practice year. Not because they have to, but because it will be better for them," said Marszalek.

Intuit said the new tools will be available within QuickBooks workflows to sole traders, landlords and accounting professionals managing clients under MTD for Income Tax.