How to sign up for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax with HMRC

Signing up for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax is a separate step from choosing your software. Check if and when you need to use it, choose software that works with it, then sign up through HMRC’s official service. HMRC is now also signing people up itself, so it is worth knowing where you stand.

Making Tax Digital for Income Tax applies if you are a sole trader or a landlord. Not everyone who works for themselves is a sole trader, and the other ways of being self-employed are outside these rules for now. This guide is general information, not individual tax advice. If your situation is unusual, check the latest HMRC sign-up guidance or speak to a qualified tax adviser.

What do you need before you sign up for MTD for Income Tax?

3 checks before you open HMRC’s sign-up service.

1. Check when you need to use MTD for Income Tax

When you start depends on your qualifying income in a given tax year:

• • over £50,000 in the 2024 to 2025 tax year: from 6 April 2026
• • over £30,000 in the 2025 to 2026 tax year: from 6 April 2027
• • over £20,000 in the 2026 to 2027 tax year: from 6 April 2028

Qualifying income is your income from self-employment and property added together, before expenses. HMRC’s online checker tells you if you need to join, when, and whether you may be exempt.

To sign up, you need to be registered for Self Assessment and have submitted a tax return in the last 2 years.

2. Choose software that works with it

HMRC asks you to have software that works with Making Tax Digital for Income Tax before you sign up, and to check with the provider that it covers your type of income.

A lot of that record-keeping can come from work you already do. In EasyInvoice, the invoices you already send become your digital records: the tutor’s term fees and the cleaner’s weekly invoices are recorded against an income source as you create them. Other income, such as the rent from a UK flat, goes in as a simple entry, and your expenses sit in the same place. EasyInvoice is recognised by HMRC for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax, for sole traders and UK property landlords.

See how EasyInvoice supports MTD for Income Tax.

3. Have your login and business details ready

Use the same user ID and password that you use for Self Assessment. HMRC says you will also need:

• • your business start date, or the date you started receiving property income, if this was within the last 2 tax years
• • the tax year you will start using Making Tax Digital for Income Tax
• • for a sole trade, your business name (the one on your invoices), your business address and your type of trade
• • a check of every self-employment and property income source shown in the service, adding any that are missing

How do you sign up for MTD for Income Tax?

The whole journey happens on GOV.UK. Keep your Self Assessment login to hand and allow some time for the identity check.

Step 1: open HMRC’s official sign-up service

Go to Sign up for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax on GOV.UK and select Sign up now. Start from GOV.UK rather than a link in an unexpected email or text message, so you know you are using the official service.

Step 2: sign in with your Self Assessment account

Sign in with the user ID and password you use for Self Assessment. Do not create a new account unless HMRC tells you to.

Step 3: follow HMRC’s questions

HMRC asks for the details it needs for your circumstances. Read each answer before you submit it, especially if you have both self-employment and property income.

Step 4: complete the identity check

HMRC may ask you to prove your identity. It offers 2 ways: matching a photo of your face to your passport or driving licence in an app, or answering questions about information HMRC already holds, such as your latest P60 or a recent payslip.

Step 5: connect your software

Signing up with HMRC and connecting your software are 2 separate steps. Once HMRC has signed you up, go back to your software and follow its steps to connect it to HMRC. One does not complete the other.

You can try EasyInvoice on your own invoices, income and expenses during your free trial.

If HMRC has already signed you up

From September 2026, HMRC is signing up people who need to use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax for the 2026 to 2027 tax year and have not signed up themselves. It happens in stages, and HMRC contacts you afterwards, in your HMRC online services account or by post.

HMRC signs you up using only the records it already holds, based on your 2024 to 2025 tax return (and your 2025 to 2026 tax return, if you sent it before HMRC signed you up). So after the letter arrives, you still have work to do:

• • sign in to HMRC online services with your Self Assessment details
• • check the income sources HMRC has on record, add any new ones and tell HMRC about any that have stopped
• • choose software that works with Making Tax Digital for Income Tax and connect it
• • catch up your digital records from 6 April and send your overdue quarterly update as soon as possible

Signing yourself up before HMRC does it has one advantage. You can make sure your details are right from the start, instead of correcting them afterwards.

Can you still sign up after 6 April?

If you should have started on 6 April 2026, you can still sign up now. Each quarterly update covers the tax year from the start, not just the last 3 months, so your first update picks up everything since 6 April.

For the 2026 to 2027 tax year, HMRC does not give penalty points for late quarterly updates. You still need to keep digital records and send the updates before you submit your tax return, and penalties still apply to a late tax return or a late payment.

Can an accountant sign you up?

Yes. HMRC has a separate sign-up route for agents, so your accountant or tax adviser can sign you up if they are authorised to act for you.

That does not mean every app supports agent submissions. EasyInvoice does not support accountants sending quarterly updates on a client’s behalf. You send your own quarterly updates in EasyInvoice, and your accountant can still handle your tax return and other tax work.

Can you sign up voluntarily?

Yes. HMRC lets you sign up before you have to, for the current tax year or the next one. If you are due to start in April 2027, for example, you can volunteer now.

Volunteering means taking on the full routine: digital records and quarterly updates. If you join part-way through a tax year, you need to send any quarterly updates you have missed for that year so far. Volunteers have different penalty rules, so read them before you opt in.

How EasyInvoice turns the invoices you send into MTD records

EasyInvoice is for UK sole traders and landlords who want simple invoicing and MTD records without a full accounting package. Invoicing, not accounting.

With EasyInvoice Premium, you can:

• • create and send invoices, which become your digital income records as you go
• • add income that does not come with an invoice, such as rent from a UK property
• • record expenses, with up to 5 photos or scans attached to each record
• • keep separate income sources apart, each with its own quarterly update
• • check each quarterly update before you send it to HMRC
• • see when HMRC has received it
• • view HMRC’s tax estimate for budgeting after you send an update

The tax estimate is not your final tax bill. EasyInvoice Premium is built for UK businesses that are not VAT registered. It does not cover property outside the UK or submissions by an agent.

Frequently asked questions

Is signing up for MTD the same as registering for Self Assessment?

No. Signing up for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax is a separate process. You need to be registered for Self Assessment and have submitted a tax return in the last 2 years before you can use the MTD sign-up service.

Should I choose software before signing up with HMRC?

Yes. HMRC’s sign-up guidance asks you to have software that works with Making Tax Digital for Income Tax before you sign up, and to check with the provider that it meets your needs.

Does HMRC sign me up for MTD automatically?

From September 2026, HMRC is signing up people who need to use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax for 2026 to 2027 and have not signed up. It does this in stages and contacts you afterwards. You still need to check your income sources in HMRC online services, connect your software and send any overdue quarterly update.

Can my accountant submit quarterly updates through EasyInvoice?

No. EasyInvoice does not support submissions through HMRC’s agent system. You send your own quarterly updates in EasyInvoice, and you can still use an accountant for your tax return and other tax work.

Can I use EasyInvoice for UK property income?

Yes. EasyInvoice supports digital records and quarterly updates for UK property income, including landlords who also have sole trader income. It does not cover property outside the UK.

Who needs to sign up for MTD for Income Tax, and when?

You need to use MTD for Income Tax if you are a sole trader or landlord registered for Self Assessment and your qualifying income is over the threshold for the tax year. That is over £50,000 in 2024 to 2025 (from 6 April 2026), over £30,000 in 2025 to 2026 (from 6 April 2027) and over £20,000 in 2026 to 2027 (from 6 April 2028). Qualifying income is your self-employment and property income before expenses.

What do I need before I sign up for MTD for Income Tax?

You need to be registered for Self Assessment and to have submitted a tax return in the last 2 years. Have your Self Assessment user ID and password ready. HMRC also asks for your business start date (if it was within the last 2 tax years), the tax year you will start, and, for a sole trade, your business name, address and type of trade. HMRC may ask you to prove your identity.

How can I check if HMRC has already signed me up?

Sign in to HMRC online services with your Self Assessment details. If HMRC has signed you up, a message on screen says so and asks you to confirm your income sources. If you see no message, you are not signed up yet, and you can still sign up yourself or ask your agent to do it.

Do I have to sign up if my income is below the threshold?

Not under the timetable HMRC has published. The lowest threshold is £20,000 of qualifying income in 2026 to 2027, which starts on 6 April 2028. You can choose to sign up early, which HMRC calls volunteering, for the current or next tax year. Volunteers have their own penalty rules, so read HMRC’s guidance first.

Can I be exempt from MTD for Income Tax?

Some people can. For example, you could be exempt if you are digitally excluded. If you are exempt, you do not need to use MTD for Income Tax, but you must keep reporting your income in a Self Assessment tax return. You can check the exemption rules on GOV.UK.