If you are a sole trader or landlord with more than £50,000 of qualifying income, HMRC may have signed you up for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax without you actively registering.
That sounds alarming. In reality, HMRC is using information from your previous tax returns and other records to identify people who should already be using the new system.
The important point is this: if you fall into the first group affected, your MTD start date was 6 April 2026. You should not wait for HMRC to contact you before getting organised.
Here is what auto-enrolment means, how to check whether it has happened and the five things to do this week.
First, who is caught by MTD?
The first compulsory group includes individuals who receive income from:
- Sole-trader or self-employed work
- Property lettings
- A combination of self-employment and property income
For the first stage, you are likely to be affected if your qualifying income was more than £50,000 in the 2024/25 tax year.
The phrase “qualifying income” is where many people get caught out.
It means your gross income before expenses, not your profit.
For example:
- A sole trader has sales of £58,000 and expenses of £18,000. Their qualifying income is £58,000, not £40,000.
- A landlord receives £54,000 in rent but has £15,000 of allowable property expenses. Their qualifying income is still £54,000.
- Someone has £35,000 of self-employed income and £20,000 of rental income. Their combined qualifying income may be £55,000.
Employment income, dividends and pension income are generally not included in this particular test. However, your exact position can depend on the type and source of your income.
You can read HMRC’s explanation of how to work out your qualifying income.
The MTD rollout is happening in stages
The £50,000 threshold is only the first step.
The current timetable is:
| Qualifying income | MTD start date |
|---|---|
| More than £50,000 based on 2024/25 income | 6 April 2026 |
| More than £30,000 based on 2025/26 income | 6 April 2027 |
| More than £20,000 based on 2026/27 income | 6 April 2028 |
This means that even if you are not caught by the first stage, you may be caught by a later one.
HMRC has been gradually signing up people who appear to be within the rules but have not registered themselves or appointed an accountant to do it for them.
Auto-enrolment does not mean HMRC has completed your tax return. It does not calculate your expenses for you. It also does not replace your normal Self Assessment responsibilities.
It means you are expected to:
- Keep digital records.
- Use compatible software.
- Send HMRC updates every quarter.
- Complete the end-of-year process and final figures.
How will you know if HMRC has signed you up?
HMRC may tell you in one of three ways.
1. A letter
HMRC may send a letter to the address it has on record for you. Do not ignore it or assume it is general information. Read it carefully and check which income sources HMRC has included.
2. A message in your HMRC online account
Sign in to your HMRC online account and check your messages, Self Assessment area and Making Tax Digital status.
You may be asked to confirm details such as whether you have self-employment income, property income or both.
3. A notification to your accountant
If you have an authorised tax agent, HMRC may notify them instead. This is one reason to check that your accountant has the correct authorisation and up-to-date contact details.
If you have not received a letter or online message, do not automatically assume that you are outside the rules. HMRC’s process is being carried out in stages, and people may receive communications at different times.
HMRC’s guidance on what to do if it has signed you up is worth reading, but it can be difficult to interpret without knowing how the rules apply to your particular circumstances.
A note about the 31 January pause
There is a lot of confusion around 31 January.
The normal Self Assessment deadline remains important. For the 2025/26 tax year, your online tax return and any tax due are normally due by 31 January 2027.
At the same time, HMRC’s automatic enrolment activity is expected to pause around the January deadline while attention is focused on Self Assessment.
That pause does not mean:
- Your MTD start date has been delayed
- You can ignore quarterly updates
- You have extra time to start keeping digital records
- You are no longer within the rules
In other words, a pause in HMRC’s sign-up activity is not a pause in your responsibilities.
For many people affected by the first stage, the first quarterly deadlines for the 2026/27 tax year are:
- 7 August 2026 – April to June
- 7 November 2026 – July to September
- 7 February 2027 – October to December
- 7 May 2027 – January to March
If you are reading this in October 2026 and have not yet dealt with MTD, the next quarterly deadline is already approaching.
The five things to do this week
1. Check your position
Start by checking your 2024/25 Self Assessment return.
Add up your gross self-employed income and gross property income. Do not deduct expenses at this stage.
Then check your HMRC online account for an MTD message or sign-up notice. If you are unsure whether a particular income stream counts, ask for advice rather than guessing.
You can also use HMRC’s MTD eligibility guidance.
If your gross qualifying income was more than £50,000, treat the matter as urgent even if HMRC has not contacted you yet.
2. Get compatible software sorted
MTD requires you to use software that can keep the necessary records and send information to HMRC.
This does not necessarily mean buying an expensive system. The right choice depends on how complicated your business is, whether you have employees, how many properties you own and whether your accountant will be working in the same system.
Avoid leaving this until the week before a deadline. Set up the software, connect any appropriate bank feeds and make sure you understand how sales, rent, expenses and private payments will be recorded.
HMRC provides information about using Making Tax Digital for Income Tax.
3. Make your records digital
A box of receipts and a spreadsheet updated once a year will not be a comfortable way to manage quarterly reporting.
Start bringing together:
- Sales invoices and payment records
- CIS statements and subcontractor income
- Rent received from tenants or letting agents
- Business bank transactions
- Receipts for allowable expenses
- Mileage and other business-use records
- Property repair and management costs
Digital records do not mean every document must look complicated. It means there should be a reliable, organised record of what came in, what went out and why.
The earlier you start, the easier it is to identify missing invoices, duplicated expenses and payments that need checking.
4. Tell your accountant, or find one
If you already use an accountant, contact them now and ask:
- Has HMRC notified you about MTD?
- Am I already signed up?
- Which software do you recommend?
- Who will send the quarterly updates?
- What information do you need from me and when?
If you do not have an accountant, this is a good time to find one who understands sole traders, CIS and property income.
An accountant should not simply submit figures at the last minute. They should help you set up a process that gives you a clearer view of your income, costs and tax position throughout the year.
Makes Sense Accountants supports sole traders and self-employed individuals, including CIS subcontractors, with straightforward advice and deadline management.
5. Put every quarterly deadline in your diary
Quarterly reporting is the biggest practical change for many people.
Put the relevant dates in your calendar now. Then create an earlier internal deadline for gathering your records.
For example, set yourself a reminder two or three weeks before the HMRC deadline to:
- Reconcile your bank account
- Upload missing receipts
- Check invoices and rent received
- Review CIS statements
- Ask questions about unusual transactions
- Send everything to your accountant
That small amount of planning can prevent a quarterly deadline becoming a stressful emergency.
Where HMRC is likely to spot problems
Quarterly reporting gives HMRC more regular information than the old annual-only process.
HMRC may be able to compare what you report with information it already holds, including:
- Previous Self Assessment returns
- Information from banks and payment providers
- Rental income information from letting agents
- CIS records
- Other third-party information
This does not mean every difference is automatically an error. Income can change. A large repair bill can affect profit. A letting agent’s statement may cover a different period from your own records.
However, unexplained inconsistencies are more likely to need attention when figures are submitted several times a year.
The safest approach is not to inflate or reduce figures to make them look similar to an old return. Keep proper records, report the correct information and explain genuine changes when needed.
You may have been auto-enrolled, but you are not on your own
MTD sounds like another layer of administration, but it can become manageable once the right software and routine are in place.
The danger is ignoring the letter, putting off the software decision or assuming that the January pause gives you more time. It does not.
Check your position this week, especially if your 2024/25 gross self-employed or property income was over £50,000. If you would like someone to explain the rules in plain English, help you choose a system or manage the quarterly deadlines, contact Makes Sense Accountants to arrange a conversation before the next quarterly deadline.