How to sign up for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax

Signing up is done online in a few minutes. Here is who needs to do it and when, what to have ready, the exact steps on GOV.UK — and the one thing to do straight after.

Do you need to sign up now?

£50,000+

in 2024 to 2025

You should already be using MTD since 6 April 2026. Sign up now if you have not.

£30,000+

in 2025 to 2026

MTD starts on 6 April 2027. You can sign up early, as a volunteer.

£20,000+

in 2026 to 2027

MTD starts on 6 April 2028. No rush, but getting ready early helps.

Qualifying income = self-employment and property income before expenses. Check your own start date.

HMRC may have signed you up already. From September 2026, HMRC said it would start signing up people who should use MTD from April 2026 (qualifying income over £50,000 in 2024 to 2025) and had not signed up themselves. You get a letter in your HMRC online account or by post. You then access HMRC online services, check the income sources HMRC holds for you, get compatible software, and catch up on your digital records and any overdue quarterly update. What to do if HMRC signed you up

Before you start

You must be registered for Self Assessment and have submitted a tax return in the last 2 years.
Choose software that works with MTD for Income Tax and covers all your income. HMRC advises checking with the provider that it meets your needs.
For the tax year before you start, you still send a normal Self Assessment tax return.

What you will need

The user ID and password you got when you registered for Self Assessment.
Your business start date, or the date you started receiving property income — only if it was within the last 2 tax years.
The tax year you will start using MTD.
If you are a sole trader: your business name (the name on your invoices), business address and trade.

How to sign up, step by step

Open HMRC's sign-up service on GOV.UK.
Sign in with the same user ID and password you use for Self Assessment.
If asked, prove your identity: either match a photo of your face to your passport or driving licence with an app on your phone, or answer questions about information HMRC already holds (for example your passport, driving licence, latest P60 or a recent payslip).
Check each self-employment and property income source. Add any that are missing — you sign up every income source.
Confirm the tax year you will start using Making Tax Digital for Income Tax.

If you have an accountant, they can sign you up instead through their agent service.

Straight after: connect your software to HMRC

Before you create any digital record, you authorise your software:

Choose the option to connect with HMRC in your software.
Enter the user ID and password you used to sign up.
Pass the identity check if you are asked to.
Give your software permission to connect with HMRC.

You repeat this every 18 months; your software should remind you. Then check your accounting period: software assumes 6 April to 5 April. If your accounts run from 1 April to 31 March, select calendar update periods before your first quarterly update — you cannot change it afterwards.

Signing up early

You can volunteer before you are required to. You then send any quarterly updates you have missed for the year so far. While you are volunteering, late quarterly updates do not get penalties; late tax returns still do (2 points means a £200 penalty for volunteers).

Software to have ready

Most searched products that send quarterly updates and the final tax return:

Software	Type	Final tax return	Sole trader	UK property	Foreign property
Xero	Records	Yes	Ready now	Ready now	Ready now	Website
QuickBooks	Records	Yes	Ready now	Ready now	Not included	Website
FreeAgent	Records	Yes	Ready now	Ready now	Not included	Website
Zoho	Records	Yes	Ready now	Ready now	Not included	Website
QuickFile	Records	Yes	Ready now	Ready now	Not included	Website
TaxCalc	Bridging	Yes	Ready now	Ready now	Ready now	Website
Clear Books	Records	Yes	Ready now	Ready now	Ready now	Website
Pandle	Records + Bridging	Yes	Ready now	Ready now	Not included	Website

Compare all 158 HMRC-recognised products

Which software handles your whole situation?

Answer a few questions: start date, calendar of deadlines and the products that fit you.

Start the 2-minute check

Sources (checked 9 October 2026): GOV.UK — Sign up for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax (updated 7 April 2026), Making Tax Digital for Income Tax, if HMRC has signed you up, get your software ready, send quarterly updates (penalties for volunteers). This is guidance, not tax advice.