Updates: Use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax
2026
The 'Introduction' and 'Signing up' sections have been removed and replaced with a new 'Before you use this guide' section. This new section explains what Making Tax Digital for Income Tax is, what you need to do, what to expect in the first year, and a checklist to help you use the guide.
This new section includes information about authorising your compatible software and checking your accounting period before you start using Making Tax Digital for Income Tax.
Access your new Making Tax Digital for Income Tax service after you sign up
This new section includes information about how to access the service and what you can do in your online account. This information was in the 'After you sign up' section, which has now been removed.
The guidance has been updated to explain how landlords who jointly let properties need to submit their tax return if they do not include expenses in their quarterly updates. Guidance has been added to explain how to report foreign property, property by property.
Guidance on bank feed and software changes has been moved to the digital record-keeping section and clarifies that customers are responsible for accurate records when software is connected to their bank account.
The section on what to do during the tax year has been removed as the information is now provided in ‘Before you use this guide'.
The section on when to start creating digital records now specifies when to start creating digital records based on accounting periods.
The section on ‘When to create digital records’ has been renamed to ‘Creating digital records for your quarterly updates’ and now includes guidance about catching up.
Further guidance has been provided on disallowable expenses.
Adjust your self-employment and property income
This guidance has been updated to include further details on how Rent-a-Room relief is dealt with differently to other adjustments.
The guidance has also been updated to explain that accounting adjustments are not required if you’re using the default cash basis.
A new section on adjustments relating to the chosen accounting period has been added with examples of different scenarios.
The 'Adding a new self-employment or property income source' section has been updated to include information about when and how to add a new source, adding income if you're a landlord and adding other income sources.
The 'Ceasing income sources' section has been updated to include information on ceasing a single source of income, your only source of income and other sources of income. It has also been updated to include guidance on 'Acting on behalf of someone who has died'.
The 'Amending your tax return' section has been updated to include when you can make an amendment and correcting your digital records.
The 'Opting out' section has been updated to include when you can opt out and what to do if you choose to opt out.
The 'Changing your compatible software' section has been updated to include how long you need to store digital records and removing the link between old bridging software and your records.
The 'Changing your tax agent' section has been updated to include information on changing, removing and adding tax agents and that digital records from previous tax years are not automatically transferred between agents.
New sections for 'Using Making Tax Digital voluntarily', 'If you become exempt' and 'If you become insolvent' have been added.
Information about how to get help and support for the 2026 to 2027 tax year has been added.
The introduction and 'After you have submitted your tax return' sections have been updated to include a link to information about penalties for those required to use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax.
The guidance on authorising your software has been updated to include an identity check and connecting software to HMRC.
The guidance has been updated to explain that if you get a share of profit from a partnership as an individual partner, this does not count towards your qualifying income.
The guidance has been updated to explain that you do not need to create digital records for a share of profit you get from a partnership as an individual partner.
The guidance has been updated to explain that if you get a share of profit from a partnership as an individual partner, you will need to add this as an income source on your tax return.
Guidance for creating digital records has been updated to clarify including ‘expenses’ in records and to clarify if your accounting period ends on 31 March you have chosen calendar updates in your software before you send your first quarterly update.
2025
Guidance has been updated to clarify how penalty points work if you miss a deadline for sending an update.
Information about what digital records you need to keep if you use the trading income allowance, property allowance and Rent-a-Room Scheme has been added. Information about what you should do with records that have come through software that connects to your bank account has been added. Information about what digital records you can keep if you get new self-employment or property income, and you're already using Making Tax Digital for Income Tax, has been added. The information about what you can do if someone else tells you about your income has been updated to confirm this also includes disguised investment management fees or income based carried interest.
Information about changing your software and changing your tax agent has been added.
The guidance has been updated to include what you should do if you've previously signed up for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax and think you've become digitally excluded.
Information updated to confirm what agents, who haven't been creating their client's digital records, should do if they want to access their client's digital records.
Information has been updated to clarify the different update periods and when you should use them. Information added to confirm that when you are volunteering the deadlines for quarterly updates will show as the fifth of the month within your HMRC online services account, and this will change ahead of 6 April 2026.
Guidance updated to confirm the information that HMRC and you will need to add to your tax return within your software, before you submit your tax return. Information about the steps you need to go through within your software to submit your or your client's return and what to do if information is incorrect has also been added.
The guidance has been updated to include information about choosing more than one agent.
The guidance has been updated to confirm if you have qualifying income over £20,000 you will need to use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax, and that the government is introducing legislation to confirm when you will need to start using the service from.
Title of the chapter has been updated to reflect the chapter content more closely. A section about adding other income sources has been added and information updated to confirm you should submit the information about your other income sources through your chosen Making Tax Digital for Income Tax software.
Information has been updated as the deadlines for sending HMRC quarterly updates is the 7th of the month.
Information has been updated on when sole traders and landlords must use Making Tax Digital based on qualifying income thresholds (£50,000+, £30,000+, and £20,000+). An explanation of qualifying income and what is not included, and early sign up options, have been added.
This section has been renamed from 'Before you sign up' to 'Signing up' and restructured with clearer information about roles and responsibilities for both individuals and agents. This section now further explains agent services account requirements, software considerations, and authorisations.
This section has been restructured to clarify how to access the Making Tax Digital service through HMRC online accounts for both individuals and agents. Account features have been expanded to include claiming refunds, adjusting payments, and viewing refund status. Customer support team details have been moved to the 'Help and support' section.
Information has been added about the records you need to keep, when you need to keep them, the specific requirements for those records, and how to categorise your records if you are a landlord that jointly lets a property. Information about what you need to record in your digital records has been clarified. Information about what you need to do to correct your digital records has been added.
Information has been added to explain what will be sent to HMRC in your quarterly updates and that you will not need to resend quarterly updates separately if you have made an adjustment. Information about sending updates more frequently than every quarter and how long before the end of an update period you can send an update if you know you will be receiving no income for the rest of that period. Information for landlords that jointly let properties has also been added.
Information around adjusting category totals has been updated to clarify examples for accounting adjustments if you use traditional accounting. Information about how to claim trading or property allowance in your records has been clarified and what you will need to do in your software if you have a capital allowance claim has been added.
Finalise your Income Tax position
Information about what happens after you have submitted your tax return has been clarified.
Information on ‘What to do if you sign up during the tax year’ has been added (previously in ‘Introduction’) explaining options for catching up with digital record-keeping and quarterly updates when joining the service mid-year.
Information has been restructured to clarify support options for those who are signed up and those who are not signed up. Details about the dedicated customer support team (previously in ‘After you sign up’) have been moved to this section. Links to improved step-by-step guides for individuals and agents have been added to help users understand how to use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax in the correct order.
Finalise your Income Tax position
Guidance updated to explain it's not possible to use HMRC online services for the remainder of the 2024 to 2025 tax year and the upcoming 2025 to 2026 tax year, and to advise users what to do if the software they currently use does not support the submission of personal income sources.
New section added.
2024
Information has been added on how to catch up with your digital records and quarterly updates during the tax year.
Information has been added on how to catch up with your digital records and quarterly updates during the tax year.
Information has been added on how to catch up with your digital records and quarterly updates during the tax year.
Updates to the guidance to remove out of date information about Making Tax Digital for Income Tax.
This section has been retitled and the information has been updated on what you should do and expect before signing up.
New section added.
Information about records you can choose to keep digitally has been updated.
Information updated to confirm what you need to do if you want to change from calendar update periods to standard update periods.
Finalise your Income Tax position
Information updated to confirm you must send HMRC information on personal income sources before you make your final declaration.
Updates to the guidance to reflect current support available for those who have and have not yet signed up to Making Tax Digital for Income Tax.
Information has been updated to confirm if you need to keep digital records of personal income sources that you report through Self Assessment and when you should start creating your digital records.
First published.
First published.
New section added.
New section added.
Make any adjustments to your business income
New section added.
Finalise your income tax position
New section added.
First published.