HMRC Has Signed You Up for MTD for Income Tax: What Now?

Tax Queen

Tax Expert @ Pie

3 min read

Making Tax Digital for Income Tax became compulsory from 6 April 2026 for sole traders and landlords whose qualifying income exceeded £50,000 in the 2024 to 2025 tax year. From September 2026, HMRC will begin automatically signing up anyone who should have registered but hasn't done so themselves. Anyone contacted by HMRC needs to check their details, choose compatible software and catch up on any overdue quarterly updates, while anyone who hasn't heard yet can still register early or apply for an exemption.

What This Means for You

If you're a sole trader or landlord and HMRC has been in touch to say they've signed you up for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax, here's the short version: from September 2026 onwards, HMRC is automatically enrolling anyone whose qualifying income was over £50,000 in the 2024 to 2025 tax year. You'll need compatible software to keep digital records, send quarterly updates and submit your tax return, starting with the 2026 to 2027 tax year. This applies whether you're a sole trader, a landlord, or both, and the changes roll out in stages between now and April 2026.

If that's you, don't panic. Below is exactly what's changing, what to check and what to do next.

What Making Tax Digital for Income Tax Actually Is

Making Tax Digital for Income Tax replaces the old way of doing self assessment with something more frequent and, as the name suggests, more digital. Instead of one big tax return once a year, you'll create digital records of your self-employment and property income and expenses as you go, then send quarterly summary updates to HMRC every three months. These aren't full tax returns, just running totals pulled from your records, so there's no need to panic about doing four mini tax returns a year.

You'll still submit a proper tax return at the end of the year and pay your full bill by 31 January, so nothing changes there. What does change is the record keeping itself. You can no longer wait until January to gather up a shoebox of receipts; the whole point of the scheme is that your books stay current throughout the year.

From 6 April 2026, this becomes compulsory for sole traders and landlords earning over £50,000, unless you qualify for an exemption. The threshold then drops to £30,000 from April 2027 and £20,000 from April 2028, so even if you're not caught this time around, it's worth getting familiar with the process now rather than later.

Pie Tax's Making Tax Digital software covers digital record keeping, quarterly updates and your final submission all in one place, rather than piecing together separate tools as the deadline approaches.

If HMRC Has Already Signed You Up

You'll have had a confirmation letter, either through your HMRC online account or by post, telling you that HMRC has enrolled you based on your 2024 to 2025 tax return figures. Once you've had that letter, there are three things to work through.

Check your details are accurate. Sign in to HMRC online services using your usual Self Assessment login and confirm the income sources HMRC holds on file. This means checking your self-employment and property income, including any overseas properties (all your UK properties count as one "UK property business", and all foreign properties as one "foreign property business"). Add anything new since your last return and flag anything that's stopped.

If your circumstances have changed since your last submission, this is the point to sort it, because HMRC is only working from what it already has on record.

Choose compatible software. HMRC doesn't provide this itself, so you'll need to pick a product that handles digital record keeping, quarterly updates and your tax return under one roof. A lot of people end up cobbling together two or three disconnected tools at this stage, which usually means more admin, not less.

If you'd rather avoid that, Why Pie explains how everything from record keeping to submission works from a single app, and our guide on how to connect Pie to Making Tax Digital walks through the setup step by step.

Catch up on overdue updates. Once you've authorised your software and checked your accounting period, you'll need to backdate your digital records to the start of the tax year and send any overdue quarterly update straight away. The good news is you won't get penalty points for a missed quarterly deadline in the 2026 to 2027 tax year specifically, though points still apply if you miss the tax return deadline itself. Once you're caught up, our guide on filing your MTD quarterly update in the Pie app covers the ongoing process, including the deadlines themselves (7 August, 7 November, 7 February and 7 May).

If You Haven't Heard from HMRC Yet

Sign in to HMRC online services to check your status before assuming you're in the clear. If a message confirms you're already signed up, follow the steps above. If nothing appears, you're not enrolled yet, but you can still sign up yourself or ask an agent to do it on your behalf ahead of time.

There's a real advantage to doing this early rather than waiting for HMRC to catch up with you. Signing up yourself means you control exactly which income sources and details go into the system, rather than relying on HMRC's records, which are only ever as current as your last tax return and might not reflect anything that's changed since.

If you think you shouldn't need to use the service at all, for instance if you believe you're digitally excluded and it wouldn't be reasonable for you to keep digital records or submit online, you can apply for an exemption rather than waiting to be enrolled by default.

Getting Set Up Properly

Once you know where you stand, the practical part is picking software that actually fits how you work, rather than the first option you come across. How Pie Works walks through the full process, from digital record keeping right through to your final submission, and you can compare current plans on the pricing page to see what's included at each level.

If you'd rather just get moving, you can try Pie today for free and have your quarterly updates and tax return handled from one place, with HMRC dealt with on your behalf throughout.

What To Do Next

The mansion tax is a property charge, separate from your income tax return, but it's a good reminder to keep all of your tax affairs organised in one place. Whether you're a sole trader, freelancer, or landlord managing rental income, staying on top of your obligations makes it easier to plan for extra costs like this one, and if you're a landlord this is also a good moment to check where you stand with Making Tax Digital for Income Tax, which is being phased in over the next few years.

Pie is self-assessment software that lets you file your Self Assessment for free, with no hidden costs and no surprises. You can add multiple incomes, track everything in real time, and submit directly to HMRC without paying a penny to do it. Sign up today for free to get started before the next tax year creeps up on you.

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