Signing up for Making Tax Digital: it doesn't happen by itself

Checked against gov.uk on 8 July 2026. When the rules change, this page changes.

If your qualifying income was over £50,000 in 2024-25, Making Tax Digital applies to you from 6 April 2026. But being in MTD and being signed up for it are two different things, and the second one is on you. Nobody flips the switch for you. gov.uk's wording is direct: "if you're required to use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax for the 2026 to 2027 tax year, you should sign up now."

You sign up, HMRC doesn't do it for you

HMRC does send letters: "HMRC will write to you, confirming that you need to start using Making Tax Digital for Income Tax." But the same page removes any comfort in waiting for one: "if you do not receive a letter, it is still your responsibility to check if and when you need to use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax."

The sign-up itself happens on gov.uk, on the page called "Sign up for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax". You use the login you already have: "you'll need to use the same user ID and password you got when you registered for Self Assessment."

The two conditions before you start

gov.uk lists exactly two things you must already be:

• Registered for Self Assessment. If you're trading above £1,000 you almost certainly are. If not, registration comes first.
• A tax return submitted in the last 2 years. MTD builds on your Self Assessment history rather than starting from nothing.

What you'll need

• Your business start date, or the date you started receiving property income. This confirms which tax year you start MTD in.
• Your business name and business address.
• The nature of your business: what you actually do.
• Your Government Gateway user ID and password, the same ones you use for Self Assessment.
• Compatible software to keep the digital records MTD requires. Sign-up puts you in the system; the software is where the obligations actually get met.

Should you sign up before you have to?

You can: "you can sign up for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax before you're required to use it."

Here's the straight version of what that means. Signing up early means the MTD duties start early: digital records in software and quarterly update deadlines, ahead of anyone making you. There is a cushion this year, because HMRC "will not apply penalty points for late quarterly updates for the first tax year (2026 to 2027)". But the clean way to think about it: volunteer when your records are already digital and the quarterly rhythm costs you nothing. If you're not required yet and not ready, the smarter first step is getting the record-keeping habit in place, then signing up.

Not sure whether you're required, or from when? The checker above gives you your start date in four questions.

What happens after you sign up

Three duties, all software-shaped: keep digital records as you go, send a quarterly update by each deadline (the first is 7 August 2026, then 7 November, 7 February and 7 May), and submit your tax return through your software by 31 January as usual. The return doesn't go away, it just moves into the software too.

Quick answers

Related guides: Making Tax Digital, explained · Does MTD apply to you? · Your first quarterly update · Do you still do a tax return?

Sources: gov.uk, sign up for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax (updated 26 June 2026); find out if and when you need to use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax (updated 26 March 2026); get ready for Making Tax Digital, an agent toolkit (updated 7 July 2026). Checked on 8 July 2026.