Check what to do if HMRC has signed you up for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax

What Making Tax Digital for Income Tax is

Making Tax Digital for Income Tax is a new way for sole traders and landlords to report their income and expenses to HMRC.

From 6 April 2026, sole traders and landlords with qualifying income over £50,000 in the 2024 to 2025 tax year and who are not exempt need to use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax for the 2026 to 2027 tax year.

You need to use compatible software that works with Making Tax Digital for Income Tax to:

• create and store digital records of your self-employment and property income and expenses
• send quarterly updates every 3 months based on the digital records you create in your software — these are totals of your self-employment and property income and expenses (they are summaries, not tax returns)
• submit your tax return and add any other income sources you have, unless we have already added them for you

You’ll still need to pay your full tax bill by 31 January following the end of the tax year.

There are changes to penalties that apply to Making Tax Digital for Income Tax. You can find out more about this in ‘After HMRC has signed you up’.

If HMRC has signed you up

As you’ve not signed up yourself or through an agent, we’ve now signed you up on your behalf and contacted you to confirm this. You may receive this confirmation letter in your HMRC online services or by post depending on your circumstances.

You should now follow the steps for ‘After HMRC has signed you up’.

If you’re not sure if you have been signed up or we’ve not signed you up yet, follow our guidance in ‘If you’ve not been contacted by HMRC’.

After HMRC has signed you up

You must follow these steps to start using Making Tax Digital for Income Tax. If you’re an agent, you can follow these steps on behalf of your client. You can find out more in the ‘If you’re an agent’ section.

1. Access HMRC online services 

Before you can use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax, you’ll need to access HMRC online services and select ‘Making Tax Digital for Income Tax’. 

If you’re a sole trader or landlord sign in to HMRC online services — you’ll need the sign in details you use for Self Assessment.

If you’ve never used HMRC online services, you’ll need to set up an account first.

2. Check and confirm the records HMRC has are correct 

After accessing HMRC online services, you’ll be asked to check the records we hold about your self-employment or property income which are based on your 2024 to 2025 tax return. If you have an agent, you should check and discuss these details with them.

You’ll need to: 

• confirm your self-employment and property income details including any UK and overseas properties — all of your UK properties are treated as one ‘UK property business’ and all your foreign properties are treated as ‘one foreign property business’
• add any new self-employment income or property income in the UK and overseas since you submitted your last Self Assessment tax return — you should follow the guidance about creating digital records and sending quarterly updates for these new income sources
• tell us if any income sources have ceased (stopped) since you submitted your last Self Assessment tax return

Based on your income sources and circumstances, you could be eligible for an exemption. You can find out if you can get an exemption from Making Tax Digital for Income Tax.

If you tell us all your self-employment or property income sources have ceased

If all your self-employment or property income sources ceased by 5 April 2026, you’ll not need to use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax for the 2026 to 2027 tax year.

If all your income sources ceased after 6 April 2026, you’ll:

• still need to use compatible software to submit a final quarterly update covering up to the date your income source ceased
• still need to submit your 2026 to 2027 tax return
• not need to use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax after this

If you need to tell us about any other changes

If you need to make any other changes to your information, such as changing your business address, description or name, contact Self Assessment: general enquiries.

If you’re an agent, you should contact the agent dedicated helpline.

3. Get software that works with Making Tax Digital for Income Tax 

For Making Tax Digital for Income Tax, you must use compatible software. You can choose it yourself or ask your agent to do this for you.

There are different types of software — you can choose an all-in-one software product to create digital records, send your quarterly updates and submit your tax return, or you can choose more than one product.

HMRC does not provide software, but you should choose the right software that works with Making Tax Digital for Income Tax by using our find software tool to:

• check software you already use
• find new software — there are both free and paid for options available
• check the software covers all your income sources

You should also check your software works with your chosen accounting period (standard tax year, calendar update periods or neither) before you start to use it.

4. Catch up on creating digital records and quarterly updates 

You need to use compatible software to:

• catch up and create digital records from the start of the tax year — before this, you must authorise your software and check your accounting period in your software
• send your overdue quarterly update as soon as possible

You can find out more information about creating digital records and sending quarterly updates in Use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax.

In your HMRC online account you’ll see: 

• any overdue quarterly updates 
• upcoming quarterly updates deadlines

You’ll not get penalty points for missing a quarterly update deadline for the 2026 to 2027 tax year. You still need to keep digital records and send your final quarterly update for the tax year before you can submit your tax return. For the 2026 to 2027 tax year, penalty points will still apply for missing the tax return deadline.

Read more about changes to penalties that apply for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax, including how penalty points work.

5. Use our guide for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax

Once you’ve caught up, you should continue creating digital records and sending quarterly updates. You can find out more about using Making Tax Digital for Income Tax including:

• further guidance on digital records and quarterly updates
• adding or ceasing income sources
• adjusting your self-employment and property income
• submitting your tax return
• what to do if your circumstances change
• help and support for the 2026 to 2027 tax year

If you’re an agent, you’ll need to be authorised before you can:

• create, store and correct digital records of your client’s self-employment and property income and expenses
• send quarterly updates to HMRC on your client’s behalf
• submit your client’s tax return and pay tax due by 31 January the following year

If you’ve not been contacted by HMRC

You can check if you’ve been signed up for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax for the 2026 to 2027 tax year in HMRC online services if:

• you’re not sure if you have already been signed up
• you’ve not been contacted by us yet

Once you’re signed into your account, a message will appear on screen confirming you are already signed up.

If we’ve signed you up, you’ll be asked to confirm which income sources you have. Once confirmed, you can then follow the rest of our steps for ‘After HMRC has signed you up’.

If you do not see a message, you are not signed up yet. You can:

• still sign up yourself
• ask your agent to sign you up on your behalf
• find out if and when you need to use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax

If you’re an agent, you’ll see a similar message confirming your client has been signed up and you’ll also need to check your clients’ income sources. If you do not see a message, you can still sign up your client.

Signing yourself up helps you to better prepare for using Making Tax Digital for Income Tax. When you sign up, you can make sure your details are correct from the start by:

• making sure your income sources are up to date
• including your latest circumstances in the service

When we sign you up, we use the information we already hold about you. This may not include any changes to your circumstances since you last submitted a tax return.

You’ll also need to update your information in the service or contact us, depending on the changes you need to make before you start using Making Tax Digital for Income Tax.

If you think you do not need to use the service 

You should contact Self Assessment: general enquiries if you’ve been signed up by us and you do not think you need to use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax.

You can also find out if you can get an exemption from Making Tax Digital for Income Tax.

For example, you can apply for an exemption if you think you’re digitally excluded. This means it is not reasonable for you to use compatible software to keep digital records, send quarterly updated or submit your tax return.

If you’re an agent

If you have clients who need to use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax from April 2026, it’s important you check with them if we have contacted them. If they’ve not received a letter in their online account or by post, there is still time to sign them up.

If they’ve already been signed up by us, you need to follow the same steps in the ‘After HMRC has signed you up’ section but for step 1, you’ll sign in using your agent services account instead.

You can apply for an agent services account if you do not already have one.

In your agent services account, you need to check:

• you’ve added your authorisations for each client
• your client’s Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR) appears in your agent services account
• that Making Tax Digital for Income Tax has been added

After accessing your account, you’ll need to search for each client using their UTR. You’ll be asked to check the records we hold about your client’s self-employment or property income sources based on their 2024 to 2025 tax return. You need to do this for each client.

If you’re an agent, you should contact the agent dedicated line if your client has been signed up and you disagree that they need to use the service.