Making Tax Digital Is Coming for Locum GPs - Are You Ready? (Most Aren't)

If you're a locum GP in the UK, there's a good chance you've heard the phrase "Making Tax Digital" and then promptly ignored it.

You're not alone.

But from April 2026, most self-employed GPs will be legally required to submit quarterly income and expense reports to HMRC - not yearly, and not on spreadsheets.

The good news?

You do not need to panic, and you do not need to change accountant.

And if you use airGP, you can already start preparing.

TL;DR - Making Tax Digital for GPs

• From April 2026, most locum GPs must submit quarterly income and expense summaries to HMRC.
• This is part of Making Tax Digital (MTD).
• You do not pay tax quarterly and do not lose your accountant.
• You do need clean, digital records every quarter.
• airGP now lets you export quarterly MTD-ready reports and email them to your accountant.

What is Making Tax Digital (MTD) - in plain English?

Making Tax Digital (MTD) is HMRC's plan to move self-employed tax reporting from:

• "Once a year, scramble at Self-Assessment time"

to:

• "Small, digital updates sent quarterly"

For locum GPs, this means:

• Keeping digital records of income and expenses.
• Sending quarterly summaries to HMRC (either yourself or via your accountant).
• Still submitting an end-of-year declaration as usual.

It does NOT mean:

• Paying tax four times a year.
• Losing your accountant.
• Sending HMRC every single invoice or receipt.

HMRC only receives quarterly totals, not line-by-line detail.

When does MTD affect GPs?

MTD for Income Tax applies to self-employed people earning:

• 50,000+ per year: from April 2026
• 30,000-50,000 per year: expected from April 2027

Most locum GPs fall into the first group.

That means the 2026-27 tax year will be your first MTD year, but preparation really starts now.

Why most GPs are unprepared (and that's understandable)

GPs already juggle:

• Sessions across multiple practices
• Invoices, pensions, expenses
• Appraisals, CPD, revalidation

MTD adds another layer:

• Quarterly deadlines
• Correct date ranges (UK tax quarters are not calendar quarters)
• Making sure all expenses are included (GMC, indemnity, subscriptions, etc.)

Many GPs still rely on:

• Manual spreadsheets
• Bank statements
• Last-minute email chains with accountants

That approach will become painful under MTD.

How airGP helps you prepare for Making Tax Digital

To help locum GPs get ahead of MTD, we've added a new feature to airGP:

Quarterly Tax Reports (MTD-ready)

You can now:

• Select a tax year
• Choose Q1, Q2, Q3, or Q4 (using correct UK tax quarter dates)
• Export a quarterly CSV report
• Email that report directly to your accountant

All in a few clicks.

Why this matters (even if MTD feels far away)

MTD is not just a tax change - it's a workflow change.

GPs who prepare early will:

• Avoid last-minute stress
• Spot missing expenses sooner
• Have cleaner, more accurate records
• Make life easier for their accountant

GPs who do not may find themselves:

• Scrambling every quarter
• Rebuilding data retrospectively
• Paying accountants more to fix messy records

Do I have to submit MTD reports myself?

No.

Most GPs will continue to:

• Use software like airGP to keep records
• Send quarterly summaries to their accountant
• Let the accountant handle HMRC submissions

airGP is designed to support that workflow, not replace your accountant.

What's coming next in airGP

This is just the first step.

We're actively working towards:

• Automated quarterly MTD report sent to your accountant
• Submission tracking (draft / sent / confirmed)
• Optional direct HMRC integration in the future

Our goal is simple:

Make GP admin boring, predictable, and stress-free, even when HMRC changes the rules.

Already using airGP?

You can start exporting quarterly reports today from the Tax section.

Not using airGP yet?

Now is the perfect time to get your locum admin MTD-ready, without spreadsheets or panic.

https://airgp.co.uk

airGP helps UK locum GPs manage sessions, invoices, expenses, pensions, and now MTD preparation, all in one place.