How to register for Making Tax Digital (and what happens once you're in)

That changes how you tell HMRC about your rental income. Instead of one Self Assessment return after the year ends, you send a running update four times a year and submit one final declaration to close the year off.

This page is the onboarding bit: when you join, how to register, and what happens next. Once you're set up, the detail of what you send and when lives on MTD deadlines and quarterly updates, which is the page to bookmark for the dates.

If you're not sure whether you're caught yet, the MTD threshold calculator checks your numbers in under a minute. The rest of this page assumes you're in.

When does MTD start for you

MTD for Income Tax is rolling out in waves, sorted by qualifying income. Qualifying income is your gross income from UK property and self-employment added together, before any expenses come off. It's not your profit, and it doesn't include your salary, dividends, pension or savings interest.

• Over £50,000: you joined from 6 April 2026. This is live, and it's you.

• Over £30,000: you join from 6 April 2027.

• Over £20,000: you join from 6 April 2028.

So the answer to "when does MTD start" depends on the income you reported, usually on your most recent Self Assessment return. HMRC looks back at that figure to decide your wave. If your property and self-employment income together cleared £50,000, you're in the first wave and the rest of this page is your manual. If you're closer to one of the later thresholds, the MTD threshold calculator will tell you which year you join.

Limited companies are not in scope. MTD for Income Tax applies to individuals, so if you hold property through a company, this doesn't apply to that income.

How to register for MTD

You don't get moved across automatically. You sign up for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax through HMRC, and you do it once. Here's the order it runs in.

1. Get your software sorted first. You can't register meaningfully without MTD-compatible software, because the sign-up connects your software to your HMRC record. Spreadsheets on their own won't do it. Pick your software, then register.

2. Sign in to HMRC. Use your existing Government Gateway user ID, the same one you use for Self Assessment. If you've never had one, you'll create it as part of signing up. Have your National Insurance number to hand.

3. Sign up for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax. On GOV.UK, follow the sign-up service for MTD for Income Tax. HMRC will ask which accounting period you use (most landlords use the standard 6 April to 5 April tax year) and confirm the income sources you'll be reporting.

4. Connect your software. You authorise your chosen software to talk to HMRC on your behalf. This is what lets it send your quarterly updates straight through. You grant permission once, and it stays connected.

5. Check the agent question. If an accountant files for you, they register you through their agent services account instead, and you authorise them rather than connecting software yourself. If you're with Provestor, this is handled for you.

That's registration done. From that point your software knows where to send your figures, and HMRC knows to expect them.

What happens once you're registered

Two things go to HMRC across the year. You send a quarterly update four times, each one a running total of your property income and expenses, and then you submit one final declaration after the tax year ends to confirm the figures and close the year. The final declaration replaces the Self Assessment return for everyone in MTD; there's no separate end-of-period statement, that step no longer exists.

You don't need to hold all of that in your head right now. The dates, how the cumulative updates work, what you actually send each quarter, and what happens if you're late are all set out on MTD deadlines and quarterly updates. For most first-wave landlords the next live deadline is 7 August.

One reassurance worth stating now: MTD changes how you report, not how or when you pay. Your payments on account stay where they were, due 31 January and 31 July. Sending updates four times a year does not mean paying tax four times a year.

Make it painless

Registration is a one-off. Running MTD well across the year is the part that benefits from the right setup. The point of MTD-compatible software is to take the records you're keeping anyway and send them straight to HMRC, so each quarterly update is a quick review rather than a project. Provestor keeps your property figures current and sends your updates on time.

For the full picture of how MTD fits together, including who's affected and what counts toward the threshold, start with Making Tax Digital for landlords. For the dates and how each update works, see MTD deadlines and quarterly updates.