Guide · Making Tax Digital
Looking for MTD-compatible software for Corporation Tax? Here's what GOV.UK actually says.
You may have seen software sold as ready for Making Tax Digital for Corporation Tax. Before you choose anything on that basis, it's worth knowing what has, and hasn't, been published.
Updated . Every rule here is quoted from GOV.UK; the sources are at the end.
What GOV.UK has published
GOV.UK's page on Making Tax Digital for Corporation Tax is a consultation on how the idea could work.(source 1) It was published on 12 November 2020.(source 2) It was last updated on 30 November 2021, when the government published a summary of the responses.(source 3) The outcome is a summary of responses on the design of Making Tax Digital for Corporation Tax.(source 4)
That consultation page sets no start date and no requirements. When we searched GOV.UK for Making Tax Digital and Corporation Tax, it was the only page on the subject we found.
What about the technical note?
HMRC's technical note of March 2025 is about Making Tax Digital for Income Tax.(source 5)
We read the note in full. It covers Income Tax, mentions VAT, and doesn't mention Corporation Tax at all.
Where Making Tax Digital does apply to a company
Every VAT-registered business has had to keep digital records and file through Making Tax Digital software since April 2022.(source 6) The return has to be sent using software compatible with Making Tax Digital.(source 7)
So for a VAT-registered company, Making Tax Digital is real today, through its VAT Returns. See VAT returns.
How Corporation Tax is filed today
HMRC expect the return to be filed online.(source 8) To file it with HMRC you need commercial software.(source 9) From 1 April 2028, every company must file its accounts with Companies House using commercial software.(source 10)
None of those is Making Tax Digital. They are the rules as they stand: the return goes online through software, and, from the date above, the accounts go to Companies House through software too.
Where standing.tax stands
We don't describe standing.tax as Making Tax Digital software for Corporation Tax, because there are no published requirements to be compatible with. What it does today is keep your company's records digitally and work the Corporation Tax out from them. When HMRC publish requirements, we'll follow them.
- For a trading company, the Corporation Tax worked out from your books: the taxable profit, capital allowances on the equipment you list, losses carried forward, and the tax after marginal relief.
- The Company Tax Return (CT600) is built from the accounts Companies House accepted, so the two always match.
- A trading company's return can't be sent from standing.tax yet. The Corporation Tax screen tells you why, in a sentence.
Questions people ask
Do I need MTD software for my company's Corporation Tax now?
GOV.UK has published no Making Tax Digital requirement for Corporation Tax; the pages above are what there is. What does apply today is in the section on how Corporation Tax is filed.
Does Making Tax Digital for Income Tax affect my company?
The technical note is about Making Tax Digital for Income Tax, not Corporation Tax. Whether it affects you personally is a question about your own income: that's one for an accountant.
Where these rules come from
Each numbered sentence above is our plain-English version of GOV.UK’s own words, which are below with a link to the page they come from.
- 1.
“The consultation explores how the principles established for Making Tax Digital could be implemented for Corporation Tax.”
GOV.UK: Making Tax Digital for Corporation Tax - 2.
It was published on 12 November 2020.
GOV.UK: Making Tax Digital for Corporation Tax - 3.
It was last updated on 30 November 2021, when the government published a summary of the responses.
GOV.UK: Making Tax Digital for Corporation Tax - 4.
“The government has published a summary of responses to the consultation on the design of Making Tax Digital for Corporation Tax.”
GOV.UK: Making Tax Digital for Corporation Tax - 5.
“This technical note provides further detail on measures relating to Making Tax Digital (MTD) for Income Tax which were announced in the Spring Statement in 2025.”
GOV.UK: Modernising the tax system through Making Tax Digital - 6.
“Since April 2022, all VAT-registered businesses have been required to keep digital records and file returns through MTD-compatible software.”
GOV.UK: Technical note: Modernising the tax system through Making Tax Digital - 7.
“You must submit your VAT Return using accounting software that's compatible with Making Tax Digital.”
GOV.UK: Sending a VAT Return - 8.
“You should file your return online.”
GOV.UK: Company Tax Returns - 9.
“You'll need to use commercial software to file your Company Tax Return with HMRC.”
GOV.UK: Accounts and tax returns for private limited companies - 10.
“From 1 April 2028, all companies must file their accounts using commercial software.”
GOV.UK: Using software to file your company's information
