Exemptions and
digital exclusion

Making Tax Digital for Income Tax applies to sole traders and landlords whose qualifying income is over the threshold for the year: £50,000 from April 2026, £30,000 from April 2027 and £20,000 from April 2028. Some people over those thresholds still do not have to use it. HMRC grants most exemptions automatically, from what you put on your 2024 to 2025 tax return. The rest, including digital exclusion, have to be applied for.

This guide sets out both lists as GOV.UK publishes them, how long each exemption lasts, and how the application works. GOV.UK's exemption page was last updated on 28 May 2026, and its application page on 17 August 2026.

“If you are exempt, you will not have to use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax but you must continue to report your income and gains in a Self Assessment tax return as normal.”

How exemptions work

GOV.UK divides exemptions two ways. By how you get them:

• Automatic exemptions are given by HMRC based on the information it holds, so you do not need to contact HMRC or apply.
• Exemptions you need to apply for need you to tell HMRC why you are exempt.

And by how long they last:

• Permanent, unless your circumstances change.
• Temporary, lasting until April 2027 at the earliest.

Partnerships sit outside both lists: they do not currently need to use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax, and HMRC says it will set out their timeline in the future. If you are a partner who also has your own self-employment or property income, that income can still bring you in.

Automatic exemptions that are permanent

These apply unless your circumstances change, and you do not apply for them:

• Qualifying income of £20,000 or less. You are automatically exempt.
• No National Insurance number before the start of the tax year. You are exempt and cannot sign up. GOV.UK's example: someone who receives their number on 30 April 2026, with qualifying income over £50,000 for 2024 to 2025, is exempt for 2026 to 2027.
• Returns made on behalf of an entity. Non-resident companies filing an SA700 and trusts filing an SA900, including charitable trusts and trusts of non-registered pension schemes. Their returns carry on as normal.
• Personal representatives of someone who has died, who must still complete any outstanding returns.
• Lloyd's members who included the SA103L page for an underwriting business on their 2024 to 2025 return.
• People not physically or mentally capable of providing information to HMRC, who said so on their 2024 to 2025 return and have a power of attorney in place, or a legally appointed deputy, controller or guardian.

A role-based exemption covers only the role. If you are a trustee or a personal representative with your own self-employment or property income, GOV.UK says you may still need to use Making Tax Digital to report that income.

Automatic exemptions that end in April 2027

You do not need to use Making Tax Digital for 2026 to 2027 if, on your 2024 to 2025 return, you:

• claimed averaging relief as an individual (as a farmer, market gardener or someone who personally creates literary or artistic works) on the SA103 page;
• claimed qualifying care relief, for example as a foster carer or kinship carer;
• included the SA107 page for income from trusts or estates;
• included the SA109 page (residence and remittance basis).

These are temporary. GOV.UK says you will need to use Making Tax Digital from the 2027 to 2028 tax year if your qualifying income is above £30,000 in 2025 to 2026.

Automatic exemptions that last beyond April 2027

These cover people whose 2024 to 2025 return included the SA102M page as a minister of any faith, religion or denomination, the SA103L page as a Lloyd's member with self-employment or property income, or a declaration that they received or transferred Married Couple's Allowance (for those born before 6 April 1935) or Blind Person's Allowance. GOV.UK says these people will need to use Making Tax Digital in the future, and that HMRC will set out the timeline later.

Exemptions you need to apply for

If you expect a claim or page you did not have before. If your 2024 to 2025 return did not include one of the claims or pages above but you reasonably expect your 2025 to 2026 or 2026 to 2027 return to include it, you apply rather than getting it automatically. That covers the averaging relief, qualifying care relief, SA107 and SA109 cases (until April 2027), and the minister, Married Couple's Allowance and Blind Person's Allowance cases (beyond it). Partners who claim averaging relief on the SA104 page apply too. GOV.UK warns that you should not apply if you do not have a good reason to think you will include the information.

If you are digitally excluded. GOV.UK defines this as it not being reasonable for you to use compatible software to keep digital records, send quarterly updates or submit your tax return. It gives three examples:

• your age, health condition or disability stops you from using a computer, tablet or smartphone to keep digital records or submit them to HMRC;
• you are a practising member of a religious society or order whose beliefs are incompatible with using digital communications or keeping digital records, and you do not use a computer, tablet or smartphone for business or personal use;
• you cannot get internet access at your home or business because of your location, and cannot get access at a suitable alternative location.

HMRC considers every application case by case, and its internal manual anticipates that it will be rare for the conditions to be met. If an agent, friend or family member applies for you, the exemption is still based on your personal circumstances.

Who joins Making Tax Digital for Income Tax, and when

• From 6 April 2026: over £50,000 on the 2024-25 return£50,000
• From 6 April 2027: over £30,000 on the 2025-26 return£30,000
• From 6 April 2028: over £20,000 on the 2026-27 return£20,000

Reasons HMRC will not accept on their own

HMRC will not accept an application if your only reason is one of these:

1. You previously filed a paper return.
2. You are unfamiliar with accountancy software.
3. You have a small number of digital records to create each tax year.
4. It will take extra time or cost for you to sign up to and use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax.

These matter because they are the reasons people most often give. If one of them is your situation, the answer is usually help rather than an exemption. The HMRC software directory shows what each product covers and what it costs. An accountant or bookkeeper can do the digital part: GOV.UK notes that if your agent uses compatible software to keep digital records and submits them to HMRC, they can meet the requirements on your behalf. The guide to signing up through an accountant explains how that works.

How to apply

There is no online form. To apply for yourself or on behalf of someone else, you must either call or write to HMRC using the contact details in Self Assessment: general enquiries.

When to apply depends on when you would start:

• Starting 6 April 2026: you can apply now.
• Starting 6 April 2027: you can apply now.
• Starting 6 April 2028: you should apply from summer 2027 onwards.

HMRC aims to respond within 28 calendar days of receiving your application. If it refuses, you can appeal up to 30 days after the date on the letter.

Already exempt from MTD for VAT? If HMRC previously confirmed you are digitally excluded from sending VAT returns through compatible software, contact Self Assessment general enquiries by phone or in writing with your National Insurance number, your VAT registration number and the reason, and say whether your circumstances have changed. If they have not, HMRC will confirm you are exempt from Making Tax Digital for Income Tax too; if they have, you apply. An exemption from MTD for VAT because of an insolvency procedure does not carry over: if you are signed up for Income Tax, you are not exempt and should keep using the service.

If you have already been signed up

This is the situation many people are in now that HMRC has been signing people up itself since September 2026. GOV.UK says that if you have already signed up and your circumstances have changed, you should apply for an exemption and continue to use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax while you wait to hear from HMRC.

So an application does not pause anything. Keep your records and send the updates you can while HMRC decides. In 2026 to 2027 late quarterly updates do not earn penalty points, which takes some of the pressure off, but every update is still owed. What to do when HMRC signs you up covers the rest of that situation, including what to do if your business stopped before April 2026.

What changes if you are exempt

An exemption takes you out of Making Tax Digital for Income Tax, not out of Self Assessment: you still report your income and gains on a tax return as normal.

Penalties are the other difference. GOV.UK says that while you are exempt during the 2026 to 2027 tax year, you remain on the current late payment and late filing penalties for Self Assessment. From April 2027 the new points-based penalties apply to everyone who submits a personal Self Assessment return, and for an exempt person the penalty point threshold decreases from 4 points to 2.

Not exempt, but not sure you can do it alone

Most people who find Making Tax Digital hard are not digitally excluded. They are busy, unsure about software or worried about getting it wrong, and for them a simple app or an accountant is the realistic route. TapTax is designed for people who have never used accounting software: it imports bank statements, sorts transactions into HMRC categories and checks every quarterly update with you before you file.

If you are still working out whether you need to use the service at all, start with the MTD check or the MTD requirement checker. If you think HMRC has signed you up wrongly, the sign-up problems guide covers who to contact. The glossary entry on Self Assessment covers what stays the same, and National Insurance number explains the number HMRC uses to sign you up.