MTD Income Tax Sign-Up Offline 11–15 September 2026: Act Before the Outage
HMRC will take Making Tax Digital for Income Tax sign-up offline from 5pm Friday 11 September to 1pm Tuesday 15 September 2026 — sole traders and landlords still unsigned should complete registration before that window.
HMRC’s Making Tax Digital for Income Tax sign-up guidance, last updated 13 August 2026, confirms planned maintenance from 5pm on Friday 11 September 2026 to 1pm on Tuesday 15 September 2026. During that period you will not be able to sign up for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax. That is a hard service outage for new registrations — not a soft advisory.
As of 19 August there are just over three weeks before the freeze starts. Sole traders and landlords who must use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax for 2026 to 2027 — typically those with qualifying income from self-employment and property over £50,000 — should treat the outage as a deadline to finish sign-up, software authorisation, and any catch-up quarterly updates they still owe after the 7 August soft-landing window.
Who should sign up before 11 September
You need Making Tax Digital for Income Tax from 6 April 2026 if your total annual income from self-employment and property is over £50,000 (qualifying income is turnover before expenses, based on the prior tax return). You must already be registered for Self Assessment and have submitted a tax return in the last two years. Agents can sign clients up, but authorisation and software still need to be in place before the maintenance window.
HMRC will not apply penalty points for late quarterly updates in the first mandated tax year (2026 to 2027), but updates remain required and late tax returns or late payments still attract penalties. Soft landing is not permission to ignore digital records or to leave sign-up until after mid-September.
Practical checklist before the outage
Confirm whether you (or each client) are already signed up in the online service, and whether every self-employment and property income source is listed.
Authorise compatible MTD software and complete any missed quarterly updates for the year so far — volunteers must also send missed updates once signed up.
Diary the 11–15 September freeze so partners do not schedule onboarding clinics that collide with the outage.
If all self-employment or property income has ceased since the last return, contact HMRC before the next tax year begins so records are updated — otherwise you may still be pulled into Making Tax Digital for Income Tax.
How FinnAccountings helps before the freeze
Digital books make quarterly updates faster once you are inside Making Tax Digital for Income Tax. 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 sign you up with HMRC or submit quarterly updates on your behalf.
Related reading
Three-week countdown from 20 August to the 11 September outage.
Pair this outage diary with HMRC’s broader autumn automatic sign-up programme for remaining mandated customers.
If you missed the first quarterly update, use the soft-landing catch-up guide before the September freeze.
Landlords still unregistered after 7 August should not wait for mid-September maintenance to clear.
Sources & references
This article draws on official guidance from the sources below.
- Sign up for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax
HM Revenue & Customs · Accessed 2026-08-19 - Find out if and when you need to use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax
HM Revenue & Customs · Accessed 2026-08-19 - Sign up your client for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax
HM Revenue & Customs · Accessed 2026-08-19
Put this advice into action
FinnAccountings automates bookkeeping, tax, and VAT for Ireland and the UK.
Try AI accounting free