Prepare to be signed up for MTD 

Last week, HMRC confirmed that, from September 2026, they will sign up taxpayers who are required to use Making Tax Digital (MTD) for Income Tax for 2026-27, but who have not yet registered for the service themselves. They have now published guidance setting out the steps affected individuals should take.

HMRC will automatically sign up taxpayers if their records show qualifying income exceeded £50,000 in the 2024-25 tax year and they have not yet registered.

For taxpayers whose level of income means that they are not required to join MTD until 2027-28 or 2028-29, there is no change. It is only taxpayers who were required to sign up to MTD for 2026-27 that will be automatically signed up by HMRC.

What happens if HMRC automatically signs you up?

HMRC will contact you directly, either by post or digitally depending on your contact preferences, asking you to complete a ‘checking step’.

You can complete this checking step yourself, or you can ask us as your agent to do it for you. Because HMRC will not write to us to say that they have signed you up, you will need to let us know if you would like us to help you.

If you would like to complete the checking step yourself, it can be carried out in the ‘Making Tax Digital for Income Tax’ section of your HMRC online services account; this will be your Personal Tax Account or Business Tax Account. If you have never used an HMRC online services account, you will need to set up an account.

The ‘checking step’ will involve verifying the information HMRC holds on your business and property income. It is important to remember that HMRC’s information derives from historical data for 2024-25. This means it is possible that HMRC could include details for businesses that have ceased.

If your business has ceased, you do not need to use MTD and HMRC will confirm this once they have been contacted.

Once joined, you will need to use compatible software to catch up and create digital records from the start of the tax year. Any overdue quarterly updates will need to be submitted as soon as possible (the first quarterly submission was due on 7 August 2026).

HMRC have confirmed there will be no penalty points for missing a quarterly update for 2026-27. A final quarterly update will be required before the 2026-27 tax return can be submitted, and penalties will be charged if the tax return is submitted late.

If you have been signed up and are not sure why or need any other help with MTD, please contact us. We’d be happy to help you!