HMRC thank you for everything that you are already doing – and have done – to support Making Tax Digital (MTD) for Income Tax.
In this update, HMRC have included reminders, videos and links to resources.
The first quarterly update deadline is 7 August.
You’ll be able to use your software to generate the first return for you. It does this by creating totals for each income and expense category, based on the digital records you’ve created in the first quarter of the tax year.
You can send the update to HMRC straight away. If you want to make changes – or if you have not finished creating their digital records yet – you have until the 7 August 2026 to send it.
A quarterly update is not a tax return and you do not need to make any accounting or tax adjustments before sending it.
Once you’ve sent the quarterly update, you’ll be able to see your client’s estimated tax bill, which will build throughout the rest of the year.
Your software will default to an accounting period of 6 April to 5 April. If your client’s accounting period covers 1 April to 31 March, select calendar update periods in your software before sending your first update (you will not be able to change it for the rest of the tax year). You’ll need to do this for each of your clients’ self-employment and property businesses.What to do before you can send your update
Remember that you will not be able to send your clients’ quarterly update until you:
1. Add client authorisations to your Agent Services Account
You can use your existing client authorisations for MTD for Income Tax but you need to add them to your Agent Services Account first.
75% of people are expected to use an agent for MTD in 2026
MTD for Income Tax has also enabled customers to appoint more than one agent, giving them more control over how they manage their tax affairs.
If you do not have an Agent Services Account
You must have an Agent Services Account to be able to use MTD for Income Tax. If you do not already have one, you need to create one. An Agent Services Account is not the same as an HMRC online services for agents account. You can watch the video below for more information.2. Sign your clients up for MTD
If your clients needs to use MTD for Income Tax this tax year, it’s not too late to sign them up now.
If you’re not sure whether a client needs to use MTD, use our online tool to find out if and when they need to use it. You’ll need to sign up each client individually.
Signing your clients up gives you the opportunity to control how they join MTD for Income Tax. You can check that their income sources are up to date, make any changes that you need to and make sure your clients are set up with the correct MTD obligations from the start.
On average, sign up takes less than 4 minutes per client
3. Link your chosen software to HMRC
To be able to send a quarterly update, you need to link your chosen software to HMRC.
To do this, select the option in your software to connect to HMRC. Then enter your firm’s Agent Services Account user ID and password.
Pass the identity check – which is required for fraud prevention – by entering personal information and details from identity documents.
Finally, give permission for your software to connect to HMRC.
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If you’re still choosing your software
Use our software finder tool to help:
- find compatible software that meets your needs
- search for your existing software to check if it works with MTD for Income Tax
