HMRC letters • Plain English

Making Tax Digital for Income Tax letter

HMRC writes to say you need to use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax, or that it has signed you up. Qualifying income is your self-employment and property income before expenses. The thresholds are over £50,000 (2024/25 income) from 6 April 2026, over £30,000 (2025/26 income) from 6 April 2027 and over £20,000 (2026/27 income) from 6 April 2028. From September 2026 HMRC has been signing up people who needed to but had not.

By The HandySums teamLast checked:

Who gets this

Sole traders and landlords with qualifying income over £20,000.

How to recognise it

  • It says you need to use MTD for Income Tax from a named date.
  • It mentions software, quarterly updates and signing up.
  • It may have a QR code that goes to GOV.UK guidance. If a QR code goes anywhere else, HMRC says so on the letter.
  • If HMRC has signed you up, it writes afterwards to tell you.

What to do

  1. If you have an accountant, send them the letter first.
  2. Work out your qualifying income yourself, even if you did not get a letter. It is your responsibility.
  3. If you agree: choose compatible software, sign up (or check HMRC's sign-up) and authorise the software.
  4. If you disagree: check exemptions, or tell HMRC if your income has stopped.
  5. Put the quarterly update dates in your calendar.

By when

Quarterly updates are due 7 August, 7 November, 7 February and 7 May for those in MTD. Sign up before your start date.

What happens if you ignore it

  • You can face MTD penalties for late updates and late filing.
  • HMRC may sign you up itself using your last return.

Official GOV.UK pages

GOV.UK shows copies of these letters on the agent toolkit page, but its list of genuine HMRC letters does not give a letter code for the MTD letter, so we cite none.

Not sure it is genuine?

Do not use any link or phone number printed in a message you are unsure about. Check the list of genuine HMRC letters, then find HMRC’s contact details on GOV.UK yourself. You never need to upload your letter to HandySums, and we would never ask.

CalculatorMaking Tax Digital checkerDo you need MTD for Income Tax, and from when? Uses the £50k, £30k and £20k thresholds.GuideMTD guideWho's in, from when, what "qualifying income" means for trades, quarterly updates and penalties.GuideNext MTD update guideWho has to send the second update by 7 November, what goes in it, and what happens if it is late.CalculatorWhat has changed for me?Tick your situation and get your own list of every tax change and deadline for 2026/27 and 2027/28, with a £ estimate where we can work one out.

Sources and review

Last checked: 1 November 2026. What this letter is, the deadlines and the penalties described on this page. Written and checked by the HandySums team against the GOV.UK pages below. HandySums is independent and not an accountancy firm — see how we check our sums.

A guide, not tax advice. Results and explanations are a guide and HMRC has the final say. Always follow the dates and instructions on your own letter, and check with HMRC or a qualified accountant if unsure.