Sign-up problems
and how to fix them

Signing up for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax usually goes smoothly. When it does not, the cause is nearly always one of a handful of things: a condition not met, records HMRC holds that are out of date, a business that has stopped, or the identity check.

HMRC has not published the messages the sign-up service shows when something goes wrong; the service sits behind sign-in. So this guide does not guess at error codes. It sets out the situations GOV.UK describes, what it says to do about each, and who to contact.

“When HMRC signs you up, we use only the information we already hold about you. This may not include any changes to your circumstances since you last submitted a tax return.”

The quick list

You do not meet the two conditions

GOV.UK says that to sign up you must be registered for Self Assessment and have submitted a tax return in the last 2 years. HMRC checks your eligibility from the details you give.

Not registered for Self Assessment. Register first. HMRC's improved registration service, launched in September 2026, puts your Unique Taxpayer Reference in your online account within 72 hours instead of up to 15 days by post.

Registered, but no recent return. HMRC says customers who are already registered but did not submit a 2024 to 2025 return will need to reactivate their account if they need to submit one for 2025 to 2026. Filing the return you owe is the route back in.

In a partnership. Partnerships are not in Making Tax Digital for Income Tax yet; HMRC will set out their timeline later. If you also have your own self-employment or property income, that can still bring you in.

The service does not appear in your HMRC account

Sole traders and landlords reach Making Tax Digital for Income Tax through their existing HMRC online account, with their Self Assessment sign-in details. If it is not listed, GOV.UK says to add it yourself: sign in, select "Add a tax to your account", choose Making Tax Digital for Income Tax and answer the security questions.

If HMRC says it has signed you up, GOV.UK adds that a message appears on screen once you sign in confirming you are already signed up. If you do not see the message, you are not signed up yet.

The identity check

GOV.UK says you may be asked for further proof of identity after signing in. If you are, you use an app on your mobile phone to provide details of your current passport or driving licence. The option to prove your identity by answering questions was removed on 13 October 2026. If you have difficulties confirming your identity, GOV.UK says to contact HMRC for support.

Use the same user ID and password you got when you registered for Self Assessment. If you have more than one HMRC sign-in, the one linked to your Self Assessment is the one that matters.

Signing up in the first year

• Sole traders and landlords in scope for 2026-27864,000+
• Signed up by 12 August 2026570,000+
• First quarterly update sent by 12 August 2026436,000+

HMRC holds out-of-date details

When HMRC signs you up itself, it uses only the information it already holds, which may not include changes since your last tax return. When you sign up yourself, GOV.UK says you can get your details right from the start by making sure your income sources are up to date and including your latest circumstances.

To change details such as your business address, description or name, GOV.UK says to contact Self Assessment general enquiries. If you have an agent, they use the agent dedicated helpline. Some changes can be made in the service itself: your HMRC account lets you add a new sole trader or property business and tell HMRC when one has stopped.

A business that has stopped

At sign-up. The sign-up service asks you to include self-employment or property income that has ceased since your last return. If all of it has ceased, GOV.UK says you need to tell HMRC before the start of the next tax year; if you do not, you will need to use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax. HMRC then updates your records and writes to confirm you will not need to use it.

After HMRC signed you up. If all your self-employment or property income ceased before 6 April 2026, HMRC's guidance says you will not need to use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax for 2026 to 2027, but you still submit your 2025 to 2026 return. If you did not tell HMRC before it contacted you, it will have signed you up from the information it had, so tell it now.

During the year. GOV.UK says you must tell HMRC by the quarterly update deadline for the period the business stopped, send the final quarterly update for the period that includes the date it ceased, and still include it in that year's tax return through your software.

You do not think you should be signed up

If HMRC has signed you up and you do not think you need to use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax, its guidance says to contact Self Assessment general enquiries. Check the figure first: qualifying income is turnover from self-employment and property together, before expenses, not profit, and that surprises a lot of people. The MTD requirement checker works it out from your numbers.

If the reason is that you cannot use software, because of age, health, disability, religious belief or location, an exemption for digital exclusion may apply, and GOV.UK says to keep using the service while you wait for HMRC's decision. The exemptions guide covers who qualifies, including the automatic exemptions you do not need to apply for.

The wrong tax year

Volunteers choose whether to sign up for the current tax year or the next. If you chose the wrong one, GOV.UK says to contact Self Assessment general enquiries for support. If you are required to use the service, HMRC says it will contact you if it notices a problem with the tax year you signed up for.

Software that will not connect

Connecting software is done in the software: choose the option to connect with HMRC, sign in with the details you signed up with, pass the identity check if asked, and give permission. If that fails, GOV.UK says to contact your software provider directly for technical support; HMRC cannot answer technical questions about software or give advice about specific products. The connection lasts 18 months before you repeat it.

Signing up close to a deadline

GOV.UK warns that online services may be slow during busy times, and links a status page for checking problems with the service. HMRC planned two awareness campaigns for October and November 2026, one for the 7 November quarterly update deadline and one for the £30,000 to £50,000 group joining in April 2027, so the weeks before 7 November are busy.

If you are signing up in that window:

• sign up as early as you can, rather than on the day of a deadline;
• remember that in the 2026 to 2027 tax year a late quarterly update earns no penalty points, so a sign-up problem that makes you late is fixable, though the update is still owed;
• keep building your digital records from the start of the tax year while you sort the sign-up out, so the update is ready to send once you are in.

If your accountant is signing you up

Most agent sign-up problems come down to authorisation. GOV.UK says an agent who is not authorised by a client cannot sign them up. Existing Self Assessment authorisations are recognised for Making Tax Digital, but adding them to the agent's account does not sign you up; each client is still signed up individually. If your agent sends you an authorisation link, it expires after 21 days, and you sign in with the details for your Self Assessment. The guide to signing up through an accountant covers the rest.

Who to contact

• Signing up for or using the service: Self Assessment general enquiries, 0300 200 3310, or +44 161 931 9070 from outside the UK, Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm, closed bank holidays. HMRC's digital assistant can also help, and can transfer you to a webchat with an adviser when one is available.
• Agents: the agent dedicated line, 0300 200 3311, same hours, with webchat for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax.
• Lost user ID or password, or error messages in your online account: the online services helpdesk.
• Software problems: your software provider.

HMRC's dedicated customer support team is only for people who tested Making Tax Digital in 2024 to 2025 or 2025 to 2026; for 2026 to 2027 the route is Self Assessment general enquiries.

Once you are in, first steps after signing up covers connecting software and your first update. TapTax connects to HMRC with your Self Assessment sign-in and shows which quarterly updates HMRC is expecting, so a missing business or a wrong period shows up before you file rather than after.