Can you switch MTD software mid-year?
Yes. Nothing in the Making Tax Digital rules locks you into one product for the tax year. If your software is fighting you, you can leave it. What the rules care about is how your records make the journey: once a record has been sent to HMRC in a quarterly update, moving it by hand is against the rules. Export and import is fine. Retyping is not.
The digital-links rule, plainly
gov.uk requires you to "digitally link your record-keeping software and software that uses your records to make submissions to HMRC". And once a record "has been sent to HMRC in a quarterly update, you must not manually move the record within your record-keeping software or to other software". That includes writing it out in another cell, and "cut and paste or copy and paste to move records".
What counts as a digital link is spelled out too: "linked cells in spreadsheets", "XML, CSV importing and exporting", "automated data transfer" and "application programming interface (API) transfer". Note the second one: a plain CSV export from your old software, imported into the new one, is a permitted digital link. The rule is aimed at retyping, not at moving.
What a mid-year switch actually looks like
- Export the year so far from the old product: CSV or any supported digital transfer.
- Import into the new product, so it holds your records from 6 April onwards.
- Carry on. The deadlines don't move: 7 August, 7 November, 7 February, 7 May, whichever product sends them.
Cumulative updates make this kinder than you'd expect. Every quarterly update covers the year from 6 April, so the new software's first update simply re-states the year so far from the records you imported. There's no seam for HMRC to see, and nothing to resend from the old product.
What to check before you jump
- The new product can take your records digitally. CSV import or an API. If the only way in is typing, that's the one route the rules rule out for already-sent records.
- It's on HMRC's compatible list. The software finder on gov.uk is the register of products that can keep digital records and submit.
- Your old records stay reachable. The record-keeping duty doesn't end at the switch: records must be kept for at least 5 years after the 31 January deadline of the relevant tax year. Export everything before the old subscription lapses, not after.
Quick answers
Can I change MTD software part-way through the tax year?
Yes. The rules don't tie you to one product for the year. The move itself has to respect the digital-links rule: records already sent to HMRC in a quarterly update must transfer digitally, not by retyping.
Can I just type my old records into the new app?
For records already sent to HMRC in an update, no: gov.uk bans manually moving them between software, including copy-and-paste. Use CSV export and import or another digital transfer, which the rules explicitly permit.
Do my quarterly updates restart when I switch?
No. Updates are cumulative from 6 April, so the new software's first update re-states the year so far. The deadlines stay 7 August, 7 November, 7 February and 7 May.
What happens to records in software I've stopped paying for?
They're still your legal responsibility: business records must be kept for at least 5 years after the 31 January deadline. Export everything before the old subscription ends.
Your records should stay yours
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Join the betaSources: gov.uk, find software that's compatible with Making Tax Digital for Income Tax (updated 8 May 2026); use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax: create digital records (updated 2 June 2026) and send quarterly updates (updated 2 June 2026); business records if you're self-employed. Checked on 8 July 2026.