How to sign up for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax

To sign up for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax, get compatible software first, then use HMRC's online service with the same Government Gateway user ID you use for Self Assessment. You must already be registered for Self Assessment to sign up.

Last verified: 12 July 2026.

Who can sign up

You sign up if you are registered for Self Assessment, get income from self-employment or a property business (HMRC's term for letting property), and your qualifying income is over the threshold for your wave. To use the sign-up service you must be registered for Self Assessment and have submitted a tax return in the last two years.

If you might be exempt, check the exemption rules first. If HMRC grants you an exemption, you do not sign up. You still file a normal Self Assessment return for the tax year before you start using MTD. If you use an accountant, they can sign you up and file for you.

Get your software before you sign up

This is the step people miss. HMRC does not provide the software, and in its own step order getting compatible software comes before signing up. Sort this out first. Free routes do exist, and we list them before paid options: FreeAgent through a NatWest, RBS or Ulster Bank business account, or a Mettle account you use at least once a month; Starling's Accounting Essentials for its account holders; and Sage's Sole Trader Free tier for non-VAT sole traders.

See the genuinely free software options for who qualifies for each, or compare software against your own answers.

What you will need

• Your Self Assessment Government Gateway user ID and password.
• Your business start date, or the date you started receiving property income, if that is within the last two tax years.
• The tax year you will start using MTD.
• If you are a sole trader: your business name (the name on your invoices), your business address, and the nature of your business.
• If you have more than one self-employment or property business, check each one in the service and add any that are missing.

The steps, in HMRC's order

1. Work out your qualifying income.
2. Check if and when you must use MTD, or check your start date.
3. Get compatible software.
4. Sign up on GOV.UK using your Self Assessment login.
5. Use MTD: keep digital records, send quarterly updates, and submit your Final Declaration. See your deadline calendar.

How signing up works

You sign up on GOV.UK using the same Government Gateway user ID and password as Self Assessment. HMRC checks that you are eligible from the details you give. You may be asked to confirm your identity, either by matching a photo of your face to your passport or driving licence in a phone app, or by answering questions about details HMRC already holds, such as your passport, driving licence, a recent payslip or your latest P60.

HMRC updates this service often. If a screen asks for something different from what you expected, follow the current GOV.UK flow rather than an older set of steps.

What happens after you sign up

You keep digital records of your income and expenses in your software, send a quarterly update for each self-employment and property source by each of the four deadlines (7 August, 7 November, 7 February and 7 May), and submit your Final Declaration after the tax year ends. For the April 2026 wave, the first quarterly update is due 7 August 2026 and the first Final Declaration is due 31 January 2028. Tell HMRC if your circumstances change.

If you sign up part-way through a tax year, you will need to send any quarterly updates that are already due for that year.

Common questions

Related: MTD waves 1, 2 and 3 explained and the genuinely free software options. For quick answers across the whole topic, see the Making Tax Digital for Income Tax questions page.