HMRC starts signing sole traders up to Making Tax Digital itself in September

From September 2026 HMRC starts signing sole traders and landlords up to Making Tax Digital for Income Tax itself, without waiting for them to register. Guidance published on August 24 sets out the first wave: anyone whose qualifying income passed £50,000 in the 2024 to 2025 tax year and who has not signed up for 2026 to 2027 already. Sign-ups run in stages over the following months, and HMRC writes to you after it has done it.

Being signed up starts the work rather than finishing it. You still need compatible software, digital records going back to 6 April 2026, and any quarterly update you have already missed. More than 436,000 people sent their first one by the August 7 deadline, out of over 570,000 signed up.

Missing a quarterly deadline carries no penalty points for 2026/27, though the Self Assessment deadline still does. Check where you stand with our UK MTD checker.

Our take: signing yourself up is worth the hour, because then you pick the software instead of inheriting a start date.