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Has HMRC signed you up for MTD without asking? What to check

By Paul · Last checked against GOV.UK on · How we check facts

If you've had a letter saying HMRC has signed you up for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax, you're not alone. Here's what's going on, how to check, and what HMRC says to do next.

Why it's happening

From 6 April 2026, sole traders and landlords with qualifying income over £50,000 in the 2024 to 2025 tax year need to use MTD for Income Tax, unless they're exempt.

HMRC says that from September 2026, if you're in that group and haven't signed up yet, it will sign you up. This happens in stages over the coming months. HMRC then contacts you to confirm it, either in your HMRC online services account or by post.

When HMRC signs you up, it uses the information it already holds. That may not include changes since your last tax return.

Source: Check what to do if HMRC has signed you up for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax, GOV.UK

How to check if you've been signed up

Sign in to HMRC online services with the details you use for Self Assessment. If HMRC has signed you up, a message on screen says so.

If there's no message, you're not signed up yet. HMRC says you can still sign yourself up, ask an agent to do it, or check if and when you need to join.

If you get an email or text about MTD, I'd go to GOV.UK yourself and sign in from there rather than clicking a link in the message. GOV.UK has a page on how to avoid and report scams and phishing.

Source: Check what to do if HMRC has signed you up, GOV.UK

The five steps HMRC sets out

  1. Access HMRC online services and choose Making Tax Digital for Income Tax. Use your Self Assessment sign-in. If you've never used HMRC online services, you set up an account first.
  2. Check the records HMRC holds. They're based on your 2024 to 2025 return, and your 2025 to 2026 return if you'd sent it before you were signed up. Confirm your self-employment and property income. Add any new income sources. Tell HMRC about any that have stopped. All your UK properties count as one UK property business, and all your foreign properties as one foreign property business.
  3. Get compatible software. HMRC doesn't provide it. Check it covers all your income sources and works with your accounting period.
  4. Catch up. Authorise your software and check your accounting period, then create digital records from the start of the tax year (6 April 2026) and send any overdue quarterly update as soon as possible.
  5. Keep going. Carry on with digital records and quarterly updates for the rest of the year.

Source: Check what to do if HMRC has signed you up, GOV.UK

What about penalties for late updates?

For 2026 to 2027, HMRC says you won't get penalty points for missing a quarterly update deadline. But you still need to keep digital records and send your final quarterly update before you can submit your tax return. And penalty points do still apply if you miss the tax return deadline.

Sources: Check what to do if HMRC has signed you up and Penalties for MTD for Income Tax, GOV.UK

If your self-employment or property income has stopped

  • All of it stopped before 6 April 2026: update your information in your HMRC online account. You won't need to use MTD, but you still need to send your 2025 to 2026 tax return.
  • All of it stopped on or after 6 April 2026: you still use MTD and compatible software to send a quarterly update up to the date it stopped, and to submit your 2026 to 2027 tax return. After that you won't need MTD.

Source: Check what to do if HMRC has signed you up, GOV.UK

If you think HMRC has got it wrong

HMRC says to contact Self Assessment: general enquiries if you've been signed up and don't think you need to use MTD.

You can also check the exemptions guidance. For example, you can apply if you think you're digitally excluded, which means it isn't reasonable for you to use software to keep digital records and send updates.

Your 2025 to 2026 return is still due

Being signed up for MTD doesn't change your current Self Assessment. If you haven't sent your 2025 to 2026 return yet, it's still due by 31 January 2027. You also still pay your full tax bill by 31 January after the end of each tax year. More in my guide to the 31 January 2027 deadline.

Source: Check what to do if HMRC has signed you up, GOV.UK

Joining in April 2027 instead?

If your qualifying income was over £30,000 in 2025 to 2026, you start from 6 April 2027. HMRC's sign-up-for-you page only talks about the 2026 to 2027 group, so don't wait to see if it happens to you. HMRC says that if it reviews your return and finds you're over the threshold, it will write to you. If you don't get a letter, you still need to check and sign up.

You can sign up yourself before your start date. HMRC says signing up yourself means you can make sure your income sources and details are right from the start.

Sources: Find out if and when you need to use MTD for Income Tax and Sign up for MTD for Income Tax, GOV.UK

Not sure which year applies? The free checker tells you in about a minute. Need software? Try the software chooser.

Sources

We checked each of these on GOV.UK on 3 November 2026. If HMRC changes them, this page will change too.

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This page is general information, not tax advice. Read why. Page history: 3 November 2026, full check against GOV.UK.

Drafts are sometimes prepared with help from AI writing tools. Every fact is checked against the GOV.UK page it links to, and Paul reads and approves each page before it goes up. How we check facts.

Quotes and facts from GOV.UK: contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Quoted words are HMRC's or HM Treasury's, not ours.