Check the HMRC notice, confirm your business and property income sources and arrange compatible software or an authorised accountant. If HMRC has signed you up for 2026/27, organise digital records from the tax-year start and check which updates remain outstanding. Your earlier Self Assessment return can still be due.
Confirm what HMRC has done
HMRC began signing up people in the 2026/27 cohort who had not signed up themselves. That generally concerns qualifying income over £50,000 in 2024/25. Check the genuine HMRC notice and your online account instead of assuming any message about MTD is authentic.
Check the income sources it holds
HMRC uses information it already has. Confirm which trades and property sources continue, which have stopped and whether a new source is missing. Use the actual start or cessation dates. If you believe you should not be in scope or are exempt, contact HMRC with the relevant evidence.
Choose how the records and filings will be handled
You need suitable software, either used yourself or through an authorised accountant. Bring the digital records up to date from the tax-year start. Check which cumulative updates have been sent and keep the confirmations. A signup notice alone does not show those updates are complete.
First-year relief does not remove the work
HMRC is not applying quarterly-update penalty points for 2026/27, but records and updates are still required. Late annual returns and late tax payments have their own consequences. Your 2025/26 Self Assessment return can also remain due on 31 January 2027.
If you want TaxSimba to help
Send the notice, income-source details and existing filing evidence when enquiring about MTD support. Confirm the work and period included before purchase. Use the incorrect-signup guide if the issue is whether HMRC should have put you in MTD at all.
A useful order for your first checks
- Read the notice and check the signup in your HMRC account.
- List the continuing businesses and records already held.
- Check software and agent arrangements, including who can file.
- Identify outstanding updates and agree the catch-up work.
- Keep the earlier Self Assessment return on its own task list.
Bring those five answers to an enquiry. They help distinguish a straightforward setup from missing-records work. If the notice looks wrong, use the guide to disputing MTD signup rather than buying a service on the assumption that the notice must be correct.
HMRC may use a more recent filed return
HMRC’s signup guidance also refers to checking 2025/26 information if that return has already been submitted. Read the actual notice and source details before assuming an older figure explains the signup.
Use the notice to check the underlying records
Illustrative example.
A fictional sole trader stopped one activity but still receives rental income. They should not assume that ceasing the trade means every MTD obligation has ended. Check which sources remain and what dates HMRC holds.
A different taxpayer whose trading and property sources all ceased needs the cessation dates checked against HMRC’s guidance. Keeping the notice, the source list and the dates together is more useful than treating “signed up” as a complete description of their circumstances. Do not discard the earlier Self Assessment return task while setting up current-year records.
| Check | Practical action |
|---|---|
| Income-source record | Identify continuing, new and ceased sources and the actual dates. |
| Software or agent | Confirm coverage and responsibility for the remaining obligations. |
| Earlier-year return | Check it separately from current-year MTD setup. |
Do I have to wait for another HMRC letter?
Use the official HMRC service to check your position and follow the applicable guidance. Do not leave a confirmed obligation unattended while waiting for a repeat notice.
Does first-year penalty relief remove the record-keeping requirement?
No. The relief for quarterly-update penalty points does not mean digital records and required updates can be abandoned.
Download a checklist for this guide
- HMRC notice and date received
- Continuing, new and ceased income sources
- Actual cessation dates where relevant
- Software, agent and outstanding-update plan
- Earlier-year annual-return status