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The implementation of Making Tax Digital for Income Tax (MTD IT) from April 2026 is changing the way accountants deliver services to affected businesses. Sole Traders and Landlords with income above £50,000 can no longer rely on the annual self-assessment tax return service and once a year contact with an accountant to meet HMRC’s requirements.
To support clients, accountants now need to offer a range of MTD IT specific services, including digital record keeping, quarterly submission of MTD information to HMRC, a final MTD submission with the self-assessment tax return and tax calculation due by 31 January. However, the discussions with clients around changes to services and fees can be stressful and time consuming. Some accountants may decide to continue with engagements where they make no margin at all rather than have the difficult conversation about increasing fees or disengagement.
What makes pricing MTD IT services so challenging?
MTD IT requires accountants to support clients who previously did not need recurring accounting services, ongoing contact, or software to manage their businesses. Work is now spread across the tax year with peaks of work expected when a quarterly submission to HMRC is due.
When preparing clients for MTD IT, accountants should know which services each individual will need based on an assessment of their historic records and future needs. Some clients with a relatively low number of monthly transactions will be comfortable maintaining their own records and updating HMRC compatible software. Others prefer the accountant to complete all bookkeeping and HMRC submissions on their behalf. Regardless of the scope of work needed, accountants need to ensure they have appropriately qualified and skilled people available to deliver.
With such wide client needs and expectations, and the impact of a fast-changing MTD IT environment, it is little wonder accountants struggle to price services effectively.
Which MTD IT pricing models are available?
Some accountants will look to price services based on existing services such as bookkeeping or personal tax work. They remain committed to a timesheet-based approach and provide an estimate of the cost of a service and bill the amount based on hours recorded at the end of the assignment. The fee per hour is based on the skills and qualifications of accountants and other professionals based on a fixed schedule of rates.
While this may be a comfortable approach and means that accountants do not need to develop MTD IT specific services, it does present some risks. For instance, a client may challenge the number of hours to complete an assignment and there is a time lag between incurring the cost of delivering the service and billing. Clients who have never used services such as bookkeeping or quarterly submission of information to HMRC may struggle to see any value in the additional services needed.
There is also a risk services are not clearly defined, and accountants cannot judge the profitability or otherwise of their MTD IT clients.
A more realistic approach for accountants is to develop a suite of MTD IT services to support clients and recommend the most suitable option.
Tasks such as digital bookkeeping, quarterly MTD IT submissions, the preparation of year-end trading accounts and personal tax services can be outsourced easily to trusted providers. When structured correctly, outsourcing works as an extension of the onshore team – aligned to existing processes, software, systems, and quality standards.
Those accountants with a diverse client base will need to offer a range of services and adapt them as more individuals enter the MTD IT regime in 2027 and 2028.
Which Services Can Be Outsourced Under MTD IT?
Accountants usually seek to outsource recurring bookkeeping and accounting work, including:
- Monthly digital bookkeeping and transaction processing
- Bank reconciliations
- Quarterly MTD IT submissions
- Data validation and correction of errors
- Year-end accounts for sole traders and landlords
- Preparation of personal tax returns.
Outsourcing offers a cost-effective way for accountants to support clients and price services while making the most effective use of any direct contact needed by the onshore team.
Key Benefits of Outsourcing MTD IT Tasks
Outsourcing MTD IT work to Unison Globus UK offers many benefits to UK accountants through:
- Enabling transparent pricing of services completely aligned to client needs
- Helping clients comply with HMRC requirements.
- Reduced risk of penalties for late/missing submissions
- Reduced costs and overheads
- Access to talent and resources
- Increased quality and consistency of work
- Better turnaround times
- Improved client experience
- Data security assurance.
The Unison Globus fixed price outsourcing model for MTD for Income Tax
Unison Globus UK MTD IT services are completely flexible. You can use our MTD Lite, Premium or Full service based on the number of monthly bookkeeping transactions and scope of work your clients need.
Alternatively, accountants can engage accountants and bookkeepers directly on an ad-hoc (hourly) basis or use a dedicated individual to work remotely as part of the onshore team.
Our services are designed to meet the needs of accountants and their clients, whether this is monthly bookkeeping or a fully comprehensive service, as shown below.
| Scope of service | Lite | Premium | Full |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly data collection and bookkeeping – any software |  | | |
| Update HMRC compatible software quarterly |  | | |
| File summary information each quarter using HMRC compatible software | | | |
| Prepare summary annual accounts | | | |
| File final declaration | | | |
| Prepare simple final self-assessment tax return to client approval stage | | | |
MTD Lite service
- Perfect for clients who only need bookkeeping services.
- Update client records on any bookkeeping software, review eligible expenses, monthly bank reconciliation.
MTD Premium service
- For clients needing monthly bookkeeping and quarterly HMRC submissions.
- Includes everything in MTD Lite plus quarterly summaries of income and expenses and filing quarterly returns via client software.
MTD Full service
- For clients needing a comprehensive MTD IT and self-assessment tax return service.
- Includes everything in MTD Premium plus preparation of income and expenses accounts, filing final declarations, and preparing simple self-assessment tax returns.
Fixed Price Monthly Fees
Pricing is based on the number of monthly bookkeeping transactions. A separate engagement is required for each business a sole trader or landlord operates.
| Monthly Transactions | Lite per month | Premium per month | Full per month |
|---|---|---|---|
| Up to 25 | £10 | £15 | £20 |
| 26 to 50 | £15 | £20 | £25 |
| 51 to 75 | £20 | £25 | £30 |
| 76 to 100 | £25 | £30 | £35 |
| 100+ Speak with one of our expert advisors | |||
Our fixed price model recognises the different needs and complexity of MTD IT clients:
- Some clients are comfortable maintaining digital records and can self-serve.
- Others prefer a cost-effective, outsourced solution covering monthly bookkeeping, quarterly HMRC submissions, and self-assessment tax returns.
Developed with feedback from accountants and their clients, our offshore model allows practices to increase efficiency and margins without impacting client service.
Our prices remain fixed throughout the terms of an engagement, enabling accountants to benefit from incremental pricing models or tiered pricing.
How do I find out more?
We have a dedicated page on our website about Making Tax Digital for Income Tax. We provide a free trial of up to 10 hours of accountant time, with turnaround in 72 hours. If you’re looking to outsource services for the first time, increase margins, and help your clients meet MTD IT responsibilities, you can book a video call with one of our expert advisors or email us at [email protected]
