{"id":37173,"date":"2026-04-03T12:36:16","date_gmt":"2026-04-03T11:36:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/figsflow.com\/uk\/?p=37173"},"modified":"2026-04-03T12:36:40","modified_gmt":"2026-04-03T11:36:40","slug":"weekly-news-and-updates-for-accountants-3-april-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/figsflow.com\/uk\/weekly-news-and-updates-for-accountants-3-april-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"Weekly News & Updates for UK Accountants (3 April 2026)"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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This weekly news and updates for UK accountants lands at the start of a new tax year and three days before MTD for Income Tax becomes law. Alongside that, CIS rules tighten, multiple tax rates shift, and HM Treasury has announced the first review of approved mileage rates in fifteen years.<\/p>

Four stories. All live from Monday or already in motion.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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MTD for Income Tax Starts in Three Days <\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Your qualifying clients are entering a new compliance regime on Monday, 6 April 2026. The penalty framework that comes with it rewards early action and penalises delay.<\/strong><\/p>

Making Tax Digital<\/a> for Income Tax becomes mandatory on 6 April 2026 for self-employed individuals and landlords with qualifying income above \u00a350,000, based on 2024 to 2025 records. There are no submission penalties for missing quarterly deadlines in this first year (2026-27), but digital record-keeping applies from day one. The first quarterly update deadline is 7 August 2026.<\/p>

Late payment penalties<\/a> apply from 6 April 2026, structured in tiers based on how long the tax remains outstanding. Clients struggling to pay should contact HMRC before the deadline. A payment plan agreed in time pauses penalties from the date of contact.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Payment Timing<\/th>\n 2026 to 2027<\/th>\n 2027 to 2028<\/th>\n <\/tr>\n <\/thead>\n
Up to 15 days late<\/td>\n No penalty<\/td>\n No penalty<\/td>\n <\/tr>\n
16 to 30 days late<\/td>\n 3% of the outstanding tax as at day 15, waived in the first year of MTD<\/td>\n 4% of the outstanding tax as at day 15, waived in the first year of MTD<\/td>\n <\/tr>\n
31 or more days late<\/td>\n 3% as at day 15, plus 3% as at day 30, plus a daily rate of 10% per year from day 31 until settled or up to 2 years<\/td>\n 4% as at day 15, plus 4% as at day 30, plus a daily rate of 10% per year from day 31 until settled or up to 2 years<\/td>\n <\/tr>\n <\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t
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Clients whose qualifying income ceased before 6 April 2026 do not need to register. To exit, notify HMRC by phone or webchat.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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CIS Rules Tighten From 6 April <\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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Two changes to the Construction Industry Scheme land this weekend. Both carry penalties that your contractor clients may not yet be aware of.<\/strong><\/p>

From 6 April 2026, contractors must submit a monthly CIS return even in months where no subcontractors were paid. Previously, a nil return was optional where no payments had been made. That position has changed. The obligation is now absolute, and contractor clients who have treated quiet months as exempt months are now non-compliant by default unless they act.<\/p>

The second change carries more serious consequences. HMRC now has the power to cancel Gross Payment Status immediately where fraud is suspected in the supply chain, without the contractor necessarily having been the source of that fraud. A firm that fails to detect fraud within its subcontractor network could lose GPS for five years and face a penalty of 30% on the tax lost. The due diligence requirements on contractor clients have effectively increased overnight.<\/p>