Digital links: what HMRC actually requires
A digital link is a transfer that carries your figures from your spreadsheet to your bridging software, and on to HMRC, without retyping and without copy and paste. Under Making Tax Digital for Income Tax you only need one if you use more than one software product.
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When you actually need a digital link
You only need a digital link if you use more than one software product. HMRC puts it plainly: you do not need to digitally link your software to other products if you use a single product to do everything. A spreadsheet plus separate bridging software is two products, so the link rules apply. HMRC describes bridging as software that connects to your existing records, such as those held in spreadsheets.
The one rule spreadsheet users get wrong
Once you have created a digital record and it has been sent to HMRC in a quarterly update, you must not manually move that record within your record-keeping software or to other software. In practice that means you fix a figure in the spreadsheet and let the link carry it across. You do not retype it into the bridging tool.
What breaks a digital link
HMRC names two things you must not do. You must not copy information by writing it out in another cell or in other software, and you must not use cut and paste or copy and paste to move records. So both manual retyping and copy and paste between your spreadsheet and your bridging tool are not acceptable digital links.
What counts as a digital link
HMRC lists several acceptable ways to link your records, including:
- linked cells in spreadsheets, for example a formula in one sheet that mirrors a value in another cell;
- emailing a spreadsheet so the figures can be imported into another product;
- putting the records on a portable device, such as a memory stick, and giving it to someone who imports them;
- XML or CSV import and export, and downloading and uploading files;
- an automated data transfer;
- an application programming interface (API) transfer.
When you do not need a link at all
Some records sit outside these rules. You do not need a digital link for income that is not self-employment or property, such as dividends or savings interest. You do not need one for software that does not create your self-employment or property records, such as a bookings system or a till. You do not need a link to submit-only tax-return software, because that software gets its data directly from HMRC. And a joint landlord does not need to link their records to the other owner's records.
There is no soft landing for digital links
Do not assume an easing-in period. HMRC has not stated any transition easement for digital links under Making Tax Digital for Income Tax. The one 2026/27 easement that does exist covers penalty points for late quarterly updates for the April 2026 cohort, not digital linking, so treat the link rules as applying from the day you are mandated.
Common questions
Do I need a digital link if I only use one software product?
No. HMRC says you do not need to digitally link your software to other products if a single product does everything. The link rules start once you use more than one, for example a spreadsheet plus separate bridging software.
Can I copy my spreadsheet total into the bridging software by hand?
No. HMRC says you must not copy information by writing it out in another cell or in other software, and must not use cut and paste or copy and paste to move records. Use a formula-linked cell, or import the file.
How do I correct a figure after I have filed a quarterly update?
Make the correction in your spreadsheet, then digitally link that record to your bridging software again. Do not retype the new figure straight into the bridging tool.
Is this the same as the digital link rules for MTD for VAT?
The idea is similar, but this page follows HMRC's own Making Tax Digital for Income Tax guidance, which now publishes its own list of acceptable digital links. We do not borrow the VAT rules.