How do I sign up for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax?

Sign up on GOV.UK using your Self Assessment sign-in, once you are registered and have filed a return in the last 2 years. If you start on 6 April 2027, HMRC urges signing up now.

Signing up for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax (MTD) is done through an online GOV.UK service. Most of the work is getting ready for it: knowing your start date, having the right details to hand and choosing software. This page follows GOV.UK's sign-up guidance, last updated on 13 October 2026 and checked on 15 October 2026.

Before you sign up

GOV.UK sets two conditions. You must be registered for Self Assessment, and you must have sent a tax return in the last 2 years. If you have never filed a return, register for Self Assessment first.

Then check three things:

• That you need MTD, and from when. Your qualifying income is your self-employment and property income before expenses. Over £50,000 on your 2024-25 return meant starting on 6 April 2026, and you can still sign up. Otherwise, over £30,000 on your 2025-26 return means a start date of 6 April 2027.
• That you are not exempt. For example, qualifying income of £20,000 or less is an automatic exemption.
• That your software works with MTD. GOV.UK lists products that have passed HMRC's recognition process in its software finder. HMRC does not recommend any of them.

What you will need

You must tell HMRC about all your self-employment and property income, including any that has stopped since your last return. If you have more than one business or let property, check each one in the service and add any that are missing.

How the sign-up works

You sign in to the GOV.UK sign-up service and answer questions about your income sources and start year. HMRC checks your eligibility from what you tell it. If HMRC needs more proof of who you are, it asks you to use a mobile app with your passport or driving licence.

From September 2026 HMRC also began signing up people who should be using MTD for 2026-27 but had not joined, using details from their latest return. GOV.UK says that information may be out of date, so it is worth signing up yourself, or checking what HMRC has set up, rather than relying on it.

What this means for you

If you join on 6 April 2027, you sign up for the 2027-28 tax year. Your first quarterly update covers 6 April to 5 July 2027 and is due by 7 August 2027. Nothing about your earlier years changes: your 2025-26 return is due by 31 January 2027 and your 2026-27 return by 31 January 2028, sent in the usual way.

GOV.UK says the relief from penalty points for late quarterly updates covers 2026-27. At the Budget on 28 October 2026 the government said people who must join in April 2027 will get no penalty points for late 2027-28 quarterly updates either, though the updates must still be sent. For them, the earliest a late update can earn a point is 7 August 2028. Four points means a £200 penalty.

If you sign up voluntarily, GOV.UK says there are no penalties for late quarterly updates, and HMRC will confirm when you become liable for them.

Whoever does the work, the sign-up is the same. If you use an accountant, bookkeeper or managed service, they can sign you up through their HMRC agent services account once you have authorised them.

Steps to sign up

1. Work out your qualifying income for 2025-26. The free MTD check shows your start date.
2. Make sure you are registered for Self Assessment and have filed a return in the last 2 years.
3. Choose MTD-compatible software, or the person or service that will send your updates.
4. Gather the details in the table above, including the start date of any new business or let.
5. Sign in to the GOV.UK sign-up service with your Self Assessment user ID and password, and add every income source.
6. Complete any identity check HMRC asks for.
7. Start keeping digital records and put 7 August, 7 November, 7 February and 7 May in your diary.

There are more guides in the trades section, and in the landlord section if you let property, including what to do if you own it jointly.