06/03/2026
It’s been another busy week of lead meetings! It feels like a mix of catching up after my holiday and a real surge in MTD awareness.
Making Tax Digital (MTD) for Income Tax kicks off this April for sole traders and landlords with gross income over £50,000.
HMRC has sent out letters, so the "it won't happen to me" phase is officially over! If you know anyone panicking about their digital records, please do pass them our details—we’re here to make the transition as painless as possible.
The Spring Forecast: Steady but Somber
As Rachel Reeves hinted, Tuesday’s Spring Forecast was light on new tax surprises—she’s sticking to her "one major budget a year" rule. However, the outlook remains a bit bleak:
• Growth Downgraded: The OBR cut the 2026 growth forecast to 1.1%.
• Fiscal Drag: No movement on tax thresholds, meaning more people are being pulled into higher brackets as wages rise.
• Global Headwinds: The Chancellor reiterated that the conflict in the Middle East is a significant risk to energy prices and economic stability.
• April Reminders: She confirmed the planned hikes coming next month, including the Dividend Tax increase (up by 2%) and the BADR (Capital Gains) rate jump from 14% to 18%.
QuickBooks Conference & Tim Harford
I’m currently in London for conferences, and had a fantastic day at the QuickBooks event yesterday. It was great to hear from Tim Harford OBE—his insights on the "Jagged frontier of AI Capability" were really interesting.
Key Takeaways:
• Innovation on a Budget: How to stay creative when resources are tight (a common theme for our micro-business clients!).
• AI & Automation: It’s not just a buzzword anymore; it’s about how we use it to free up time for the actual human advice that software can't replace.
• MTD Readiness: The tech is ready, even if we’re still waiting on the final few "HMRC quirks" to be ironed out.
✨ Looking Ahead
I’m working a few hours this morning before switching off to celebrate a friend’s 50th birthday! I’ll be spending the rest of the weekend catching up with family and friends here in London.
Hope you all have a brilliant weekend! 🍷