Tracker
The United Kingdom has no clearance or continuous-transaction-controls system in force. Its route into digital tax has run through record-keeping rather than the invoice. Under Making Tax Digital, VAT-registered businesses keep digital records and file through the tax administration's software rather than a manual return. The programme is now extending to Income Tax Self Assessment: from 6 April 2026 it applies to sole traders and landlords with qualifying income over 50,000 pounds, from 6 April 2027 the threshold drops to 30,000 pounds, and from 6 April 2028 to 20,000 pounds.
The UK is also moving on e-invoicing. At Budget 2025 the UK tax administration confirmed, in its consultation response, that it will introduce mandatory e-invoicing for all VAT invoices from 2029, covering business-to-business and business-to-government transactions. A full implementation roadmap and technical standards are due at Budget 2026. That decision moves the UK from the post-audit baseline towards a structured-invoice regime, though the detailed model is not yet published.
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Mandate | Making Tax Digital (MTD); e-invoicing announced for 2029 |
| Model | Digital record-keeping and API filing; no clearance live |
| Status | MTD live (VAT), phasing for Income Tax; e-invoicing announced |
| Scope | VAT-registered businesses and, phasing in, Income Tax filers |
| MTD Income Tax | 50,000 pounds (2026), 30,000 (2027), 20,000 (2028) |
| E-invoicing | All VAT invoices from 2029 (roadmap at Budget 2026) |
| Last verified | 16 July 2026 |
GOV.UK, Making Tax Digital for Income Tax: gov.uk/guidance. E-invoicing decision: the UK tax administration's consultation response.