Shortly after the latest UK budget announcement under the new Labor leadership, accounting giant Sage has launched a free tool to help clients get to grips with the changes.
Sage Accounting Individual Free has been made available to help sole proprietors and landlords prepare for the upcoming digital tax rules they will need to comply with from 2026.
The upcoming Making Tax Digital for Income Tax legislation will impact around 2.8 million sole traders and landlords earning over £20,000 across the country.
Sage is preparing for the upcoming MTD legislation
With the expansion of the government’s digital tax law to more types of employees, digital record keeping will be made mandatory. Sage’s solution targets those who currently rely on paper-based tracking with an easy-to-use system available on web and mobile.
Neal Watkins, EVP Small Business at Sage, noted that many existing tools can be time-consuming, preventing small businesses from focusing on generating revenue. He added: “Our aim is to help small businesses and sole traders thrive by giving them the tools and advice to succeed and making it easier for the smallest businesses to participate in the digital economy.”
Sage’s MTD solution allows users to capture, categorize and organize incoming and outgoing money for free, but they can also choose to upgrade to more comprehensive systems for more advanced financial monitoring.
Treasury Secretary James Murray said MTD systems help reduce errors, making the tax system more efficient. Murray added: “It’s fantastic to see industry leaders working with us to modernize the tax system by providing free software to tens of thousands of UK businesses.”
The company has committed to making this free system a reality for sole traders and landlords across the UK, but no launch date has yet been announced.