Can I change my Making Tax Digital software or agent part way through the year?

Yes. GOV.UK says you can change your Making Tax Digital software at any time, and switch agent. Updates already sent stay with HMRC. Your next update covers the year so far, usually from 6 April (1 April on calendar periods).

Making Tax Digital for Income Tax (MTD) means keeping digital records of your self-employment and property income in compatible software and sending HMRC an update every quarter. GOV.UK covers changing app and changing, adding or removing an agent. It does add that you "may find it easier to change your software at the end of the tax year". In our reading, that is because a mid-year switch means moving this year's records across. This page follows GOV.UK and HMRC guidance as checked on 18 October 2026.

What happens to the updates you have already sent

Each quarterly update covers the tax year so far: usually from 6 April to the end of the update period, or from 1 April if you use calendar update periods. HMRC's guidance for software developers says HMRC receives and stores each update, and that each new one replaces the previous one, because each covers the year to date. In a year straight after you change between standard and calendar periods, HMRC's manual sets the start date by the previous year's choice: 1 April if calendar periods applied last year, otherwise 6 April. So bring records across from the start date shown on the updates you have already sent, not a date you assume.

So, in our reading, nothing sent is lost. But your next update, from the new software, must show your totals for the whole year to date, not just the latest 3 months. That is why the new software needs this year's records in it. For example, if you started MTD on 6 April 2026, use standard periods and switch now, before sending your second update, that update covers 6 April to 5 October 2026 and is due by 7 November 2026.

You can check what has gone already: after each update, the recent activity in your HMRC online account says "You sent a quarterly update".

Moving your records across

The law says your digital records must be kept in compatible software, and a set of programs only counts as one if data recorded in one does not have to be typed again into another. GOV.UK sets out what to do for each kind of switch.

Where your old software can export, the simplest route is usually to move records digitally, for example by exporting and importing a CSV file. GOV.UK lists CSV import and export as one way to link records. If it cannot export usable records, GOV.UK's guidance on changing software says you can recreate this year's records in the new software instead. GOV.UK's general digital-link rules still say a record already sent to HMRC in an update must not be copied out by hand or cut and pasted into other software. In our reading, recreating records is a switch-only exception.

You must keep your digital records for at least 5 years from each year's submission deadline, whichever software you move to. For 2026-27, the tax return is due by 31 January 2028, so those records must be kept until at least 31 January 2033. Export a copy from your old software before you stop paying for it.

Changing agent part way through the year

You can have one main agent at a time and any number of supporting agents. The new agent sends you an email link from their HMRC agent services account, and you accept it by signing in with your own HMRC details. GOV.UK says the link expires after 21 days. Once you choose a different main agent, the old one loses access to your account.

If you stop using an agent altogether, remove their authorisation through the Manage your tax agent or Manage who can deal with HMRC option in your HMRC online account. GOV.UK says to remove them from Self Assessment as well, as a separate step, or they can still act for you there. Make sure any new agent can see the records they need, including earlier years.

What this means for you

A switch is usually a records job, not a form for HMRC. In our reading, the sign-up service does not ask you to name your software: GOV.UK's list of what you need to sign up does not include it. Instead, you connect the new software by authorising it with the HMRC sign-in details you used to sign up (Government Gateway or GOV.UK One Login), and repeat that every 18 months.

Watch your update period too. Software starts on standard periods, ending on the 5th of the month, and you cannot change your periods for the rest of the year once an update has gone. HMRC keeps a calendar period choice year on year until you change it back. So, in our reading, if you use calendar periods, check that the new software shows them before you send anything.

For 2026-27, HMRC does not give penalty points for late quarterly updates. From 2027-28, if you have to use MTD, each late update earns a point, and 4 points bring a £200 penalty, so leave time before the next deadline.

Steps to switch mid-year

1. Choose the new software, or agree terms with the new agent, well before your next deadline.
2. Export this year's records and earlier years' records from your old software and store them safely.
3. Authorise the new software with HMRC, or accept the new agent's request within 21 days.
4. Import or recreate this year's records in the new software, or link bridging software to your spreadsheet.
5. Remove the old bridging link, or the old agent's authorisation for both MTD and Self Assessment.
6. Check the year-to-date totals and the update period type, then send the next update by its usual deadline.

Not sure when you start MTD? The free MTD check shows your date. There are more guides in the trades section and the landlord section.