How to sign up for MTD for Income Tax, step by step

acrenvo.com/guides/mtd-how-to-sign-up, last reviewed 25 October 2026

You sign up for Making Tax Digital (MTD) for Income Tax online, and GOV.UK sets out the steps below in the order they come. The next group joins on 6 April 2027, when MTD reaches qualifying income over £30,000.

1. Check that you need to use it. You need to use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax if you are a sole trader or a landlord registered for Self Assessment, you get income from self-employment or property, or both, and your qualifying income is more than the relevant threshold for the tax year. The Am I in MTD? calculator checks your own figures against each threshold step.
2. If you may be exempt, apply first. GOV.UK puts this before signing up, because an exemption can change whether you need to use MTD at all.
3. Check you can use the sign-up service. GOV.UK says you must be registered for Self Assessment and have submitted a tax return in the last 2 years.
4. Have your details ready. To sign up you’ll need your business start date or the date you started receiving property income (if this is within the last 2 tax years) and to confirm the tax year you will start using Making Tax Digital for Income Tax. Sole traders also need their business name, address and trade.
5. Sign in and sign up. You’ll need to use the same user ID and password you got when you registered for Self Assessment.

You sign up online, through the service GOV.UK’s sign-up page links to. If you use an agent, they can sign you up for MTD for Income Tax instead of you doing it yourself. The rest of this guide takes each step in turn, with GOV.UK’s own words.

Callum is fictional, but his position is a common one. He lets two flats, sends a Self Assessment tax return every January, and his gross rent sits above £30,000 without reaching £50,000. That puts him in the group MTD reaches from 6 April 2027. He would like to know what signing up asks of him before he sits down to do it, rather than finding out halfway through the form.

Who needs to sign up, and from when

Whether you need to sign up depends on your income. GOV.UK says: “Qualifying income is your total income from self-employment and property, before expenses (also known as turnover), based on the tax return you submitted in the previous tax year.” Other income, such as a wage or a pension, does not count towards that figure. For Callum, that means adding up his rent before any costs and comparing it with the threshold for each tax year, which is what the calculator does for you.

HMRC does write to people it expects to need MTD. GOV.UK says: “If your income is above the relevant threshold, HMRC will write to you confirming that you need to start using Making Tax Digital for Income Tax by the start of the following tax year.” It is just as clear that waiting for that letter is not enough: “If you do not receive a letter, it is still your responsibility to check if and when you need to use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax, and to make sure you are signed up and ready to use it when you need to.”

GOV.UK does not give a sign-up date for everyone. GOV.UK’s section on when to sign up speaks only to people who need to use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax for the 2026 to 2027 tax year. It gives no date by which people who need to start from the next step should sign up. That was the position when we checked on 21 October 2026. The guide to the 6 April 2027 step covers what else to prepare for that date, and the deadlines calendar lists the quarterly dates for every MTD tax year. Signing up also leaves one part of the old routine in place. You still need to submit a Self Assessment tax return for the tax year before you start using Making Tax Digital for Income Tax.

Before you sign up, check whether you are exempt

An exemption is worth ruling out first, because if one applies the rest of this guide may not. When we checked on 3 October 2026, GOV.UK’s exemption application page said that if you need to use MTD from 6 April 2027, you can apply now. You can apply yourself, or someone can apply for you if they are an authorised agent, or a friend or family member with your authorisation.

To apply, you must either call or write to HMRC using the contact details in Self Assessment: general enquiries. Agents use the Agent Dedicated Line for Self Assessment or PAYE for individuals. The guide to MTD exemptions explains who is exempt automatically, who has to apply, and what the application asks for.

What the sign-up service asks for

Two conditions come before anything else. GOV.UK says that to sign up you must be registered for Self Assessment and have submitted a tax return in the last 2 years. So if you have only just started trading or letting, you will need to have sent a return before the service will let you in.

Once you are in, GOV.UK says that to sign up you’ll need:

• your business start date or the date you started receiving property income (if this is within the last 2 tax years)
• to confirm the tax year you will start using Making Tax Digital for Income Tax

If you’re a sole trader, you’ll also need:

• your business name — this is the name you use on your invoices
• your business address
• the nature of your business (your trade)

Callum lets property and has no trade, so for him the first list is the whole of it. Having those details in front of you before you start saves stopping partway through to look them up.

Signing in and confirming who you are

The service uses the sign-in details you already have for Self Assessment, rather than new ones. GOV.UK says: “You’ll need to use the same user ID and password you got when you registered for Self Assessment. You may be asked to provide further proof of your identity to use this service once you’ve signed in. If asked, you’ll need to use an app on your mobile phone to provide details of your current passport or driving licence.” It adds: “If you have difficulties confirming your identity, contact HMRC for support.”

It helps to have your passport or driving licence nearby and your phone charged before you begin, in case the identity check comes up.

Choosing the tax year you start

When you sign up, you will be asked to confirm the tax year you will start using Making Tax Digital for Income Tax. That choice matters, because it decides when your first quarterly update period begins. For anyone signing up before they need to, GOV.UK adds: “You can sign up for the current tax year or the next one.” If you pick the tax year already running, it says that you will need to use software that works with Making Tax Digital for Income Tax to send any missed quarterly updates for the year so far. The guide to signing up for MTD voluntarily explains what starting early involves, including the penalty rules you agree to.

One email a month lists the MTD software price changes we have checked and any changes to HMRC’s list of software. If that would be useful, you can sign up for the monthly price-changes email at the end of this page.

If an accountant signs you up instead

If someone already does your tax return for you, it can make sense for them to handle the sign-up as well. Your agent needs your permission to sign you up, and an agent who is not authorised by you cannot sign you up for MTD for Income Tax. Existing client authorisations for Self Assessment are recognised for MTD for Income Tax.

Being authorised is a separate thing from being signed up, and GOV.UK keeps them apart. Adding an authorisation does not automatically sign you up for MTD for Income Tax, so you or your agent still need to go through the sign-up service. If your agent signs you up for a tax service, sign in to your personal or business tax account to check that the service is displayed, or to add it to your account. The guide to letting an accountant act for you on MTD explains how the authorisation works.

If HMRC has already signed you up

HMRC has been signing up some people itself. GOV.UK says that from September 2026 HMRC will start to sign up anyone who needs to use MTD for Income Tax for the 2026 to 2027 tax year and has not signed up. When HMRC does this, it uses only the information it already holds, which may not include changes to your circumstances since your last tax return. GOV.UK describes HMRC signing people up for the 2026 to 2027 tax year only. It does not say whether HMRC will do the same for people who need to start from the next step.

If you are not sure where you stand, GOV.UK says: “If you are not sure whether you have been signed up, you can check in HMRC online services. Once you are signed in, a message appears on screen confirming that you are signed up, and if you do not see a message, you are not signed up yet.” If HMRC has signed you up, the guide to what to do if HMRC has signed you up walks through the steps GOV.UK lists next. The guide to checking an MTD letter, email or call explains how to tell whether a message came from HMRC.

Once you are signed up

Once you are signed up, the routine begins. From your start date you keep digital records and send quarterly updates through compatible software. The software selector narrows the products we compare to ones that fit your income and budget, the guide to digital records explains what to keep, and the guide to your first quarterly update covers what the first one contains.

Questions people ask about signing up for MTD