HMRC Will Sign Up MTD Customers from September 2026 — Act Before the Letter

On 12 August 2026, HM Revenue & Customs published a press release confirming that more than 436,000 sole traders and landlords have successfully sent their first Making Tax Digital (MTD) for Income Tax quarterly update for 2026/27, with over 570,000 customers now signed up to the service. The same announcement is the planning signal for anyone still outside the system: from September 2026, HMRC will begin signing up customers who should be using MTD for 2026/27 but have not yet done so.

That staged sign-up does not replace your legal duty if you are already in scope. Sole traders and landlords with qualifying income over £50,000 have been required to keep digital records and send quarterly updates since April 2026. The first quarterly update deadline for all customers was 7 August 2026. Soft landing means no penalty points for late quarterly updates in 2026/27 — but the updates remain required, and HMRC’s September programme is designed to bring remaining mandated customers into the service.

HMRC’s press release is explicit: taking action now means you stay in control, can confirm Making Tax Digital for Income Tax details from the start, and have time to choose recognised software that fits your business — rather than waiting for HMRC to sign you up from September. New guidance will be published in late August explaining what to do if you receive a letter about being signed up.

Quarterly updates are not tax returns. They are short category summaries sent through HMRC-recognised software and typically take minutes once digital records are clean. The Self Assessment deadline remains 31 January. In-scope customers still need quarterly updates in place to submit a tax return under the MTD for Income Tax rules.

From April 2027, the mandation threshold falls to more than £30,000 of qualifying income. Points-based penalties for missed quarterly deadlines apply from 6 April 2027 onwards for those mandated from April 2026. Treat September auto-enrolment as a prompt to finish software choice and the first update now — not as a reason to wait for a letter.

Confirm whether your 2024/25 Self Assessment qualifying income from self-employment and property put you over £50,000. Use HMRC’s GOV.UK MTD step-by-step collection and checker tools if you are unsure.

Choose HMRC-recognised software (full accounting or bridging) and send any outstanding first quarterly update for 6 April–5 July 2026 (or the calendar-period equivalent). Soft landing removes late-update points this year; it does not remove the filing requirement.

Watch for late-August GOV.UK guidance on HMRC sign-up letters. Keep contact details current on your Government Gateway account so any letter or digital message reaches the right person.

Diary the next standard quarterly deadline — 7 November 2026 for the 6 July–5 October period — so catch-up on Q1 does not collide with Q2 prep.

Organised income and expense categories make quarterly updates faster to review. FinnAccountings helps Ireland and UK sole traders, landlords, and advisers prepare bookkeeping and tax packs with Chartered Accountant insight before you or your ICAEW/ACCA or Chartered Accountant (Ireland) adviser files. Start a free trial for review-ready drafts — we prepare records; we do not submit MTD quarterly updates or Self Assessment returns to HMRC on your behalf.

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If you missed 7 August, start with the missed-first-deadline catch-up briefing, then the post-first-update roadmap toward 7 November.

Missed the first MTD deadline? Soft landing catch-up →

Landlords still unregistered after the first update window should confirm software and signup steps before HMRC’s September programme.

MTD landlords still unregistered after 7 August →

Use the dual-market tax calculator only for high-level Income Tax and National Insurance planning — not for quarterly update totals.

Free tax calculator for Ireland and the UK →