HMRC Signed Me Up for Making Tax Digital - What Do I Do Now?

From early September 2026, HMRC is writing to sole traders and landlords who haven't yet signed up for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax themselves, and signing them up automatically. This applies if HMRC's records show your qualifying income (self-employment and/or property, combined) was over £50,000 in the 2024-25 tax year. It's happening in stages, thousands of people a day, pausing during the Self Assessment peak in January.

How you'll find out

HMRC will write to you shortly after signing you up, explaining what's happened and what to do next. Depending on your communication preferences, that letter arrives either by post or in your HMRC online account (your Personal Tax Account, or Business Tax Account). If you use an agent or accountant, the letter is addressed to you, not them - HMRC asks you to share it with your agent yourself, since they won't contact your agent directly.

What you need to actually do

Being signed up by HMRC isn't the end of it. You (or your agent) still need to log into HMRC online services and review and confirm the sign-up data HMRC used. For individuals that's your Personal Tax Account; agents do this via the Agent Services Account.

Then what?

Once you're signed up and confirmed, you're required to keep digital records and submit quarterly updates to HMRC, plus a year-end declaration, using MTD-compatible software - a spreadsheet on its own no longer counts unless it's connected via bridging software. Quarterly deadlines are one month after each quarter ends: 7 August, 7 November, 7 February, and 7 May, for the standard 6 April-based quarters.

Should I still sign up myself, or just wait for the letter?

HMRC's own guidance is clear on this: it's still better to sign up yourself, or through your agent, rather than wait to be auto-enrolled. Signing up yourself means your record starts from accurate information you've provided, rather than HMRC's estimate from a past return. Self and agent sign-up routes stay open the whole time HMRC is running this auto-enrolment, so there's nothing stopping you from getting ahead of it.

How many people does this affect?

According to HMRC's published Press Notice, 436,000 sole traders and landlords have already made the move to Making Tax Digital. The September auto-enrolment wave is aimed at everyone above the £50,000 threshold who hasn't yet, so if you've just received a letter, you're joining a large, well-established group, not a small pilot.

Getting your first quarterly update done

Once you're confirmed and need to file, Quartax is built for exactly this: upload your bank statement as a CSV, review AI-categorised transactions against HMRC's expense categories, and submit directly to HMRC in one click. No bookkeeping software, no spreadsheets to maintain. Your first return is free.