Sign up your client for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax
Use the online service to sign up your client for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax if you’re an agent.
If you’re not an agent, there’s a different way to sign up as an individual for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax.
What Making Tax Digital for Income Tax is
Making Tax Digital for Income Tax is a new way for sole traders and landlords to report their income and expenses to HMRC.
From 6 April 2026, some sole traders and landlords must use it, based on their total annual income from self-employment and property.
You or your client will need to use software that works with Making Tax Digital for Income Tax to:
- create, store and correct digital records of their self-employment and property income and expenses
- send their quarterly updates to HMRC
- submit their tax return and pay tax due by 31 January the following year
Before signing up, you and your client should decide how you will meet these requirements and choose the software that best meets their needs.
Who should sign up and when
Making Tax Digital for Income Tax is currently voluntary. You may be able to sign up your client to help us test and develop the service. If your client wants to sign up at this stage, they can choose whether they want you to sign up them up:
- for testing
- early, so you and your client are prepared to use the service
HMRC will check that your client is eligible to sign up based on the details that you provide.
From 6 April 2026, some of your clients will need to use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax. Whether your client needs to sign up depends on their total annual income from self-employment or property.
Use our tool to find out if and when your client needs to sign up.
If you know when your client needs to sign up, you can read use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax to find out more information about:
- what to expect after you sign up
- the different steps you will need to take during the tax year
- help and support
If your client chooses to sign up now
You or your client will still need to submit a Self Assessment tax return for the 2024 to 2025 tax year.
If your client will need to sign up in future
You can either:
- sign up to test the service now, for all your client’s self-employment and property income sources — once signed up you will not need to sign up your client again
- continue submitting a Self Assessment tax return as normal and sign up at a later date
Who can sign up voluntarily
We’ll ask you some questions when you sign up your client. This will confirm if they’re able to sign up voluntarily.
You can sign up your client voluntarily if all of the following apply:
- their personal details are up to date with HMRC
- they’re a UK resident
- they have a National Insurance number
- they have submitted at least one Self Assessment tax return, or you have done this on their behalf
- they’re up to date with their tax records — for example, they have no outstanding tax liabilities
- their accounting period runs from either:
- 6 April to 5 April
- 1 April to 31 March — you must make sure you and your client’s software can support this accounting period
Who cannot sign up voluntarily
You cannot sign up your client voluntarily if they:
- have a payment plan with HMRC
- are a partner in a partnership
- claim Married Couple’s Allowance
- claim Blind Person’s Allowance
- are currently, or are going to be, bankrupt or insolvent
- are an MP, minister of religion or Lloyds underwriter
- have income from being a foster carer or being in a shared lives scheme
- have income from a trust
- are subject to a compliance enquiry
- use ‘averaging’ or other arrangements because their profits vary between years — for example, because they’re a farmer, writer or artist
Before you sign up your client
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Check if your client can sign up for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax.
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Get compatible software that works with Making Tax Digital for Income Tax.
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Create an agent services account if you do not have one already one. Your agent services account is different to your HMRC online services for agents account.
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Get your client’s details and details of their income sources.
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Get your client’s permission to sign them up.
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Get your client to authorise you. What you need to do depends on if you are already authorised by your client for Self Assessment or not.
Choose your software
You and your client will need to get software that works with Making Tax Digital for Income Tax. When choosing software, always check with the software provider to make sure it meets your needs.
What client details you’ll need
You’ll need your client’s:
- full name
- date of birth
- National Insurance number
If your client is a sole trader, you’ll also need:
- their business name — this is the name they use on their invoices
- their business address
- the nature of their business (their trade)
If your client has multiple income sources, you’ll need to sign up each one for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax.
For each of your client’s income sources, you’ll need:
- their business start date or the date they started receiving property income (if this is within the last 2 tax years)
- the accounting method such as cash basis accounting or traditional accounting
- the tax year your client would like to start using Making Tax Digital for Income Tax
Your client’s accounting period
If your client uses an accounting period that runs from 1 April to 31 March, you should make sure the software they choose supports this. You or your client must also:
- select calendar update periods in the software before the first update is made
- make an adjustment at the end of the first tax year — so that their income and expenses from 1 April to 5 April are included in their tax return
Get your client’s permission
You should talk to your client before you sign them up. You should tell them:
- what you’re signing them up to
- what it means for them
HMRC’s new penalties will apply to your client if they miss deadlines for:
- submitting their tax return
- paying their bill
Your client will not receive a penalty during the testing phase for missing a deadline for sending a quarterly update.
You should read more information about the new penalties and when they apply.
We’ll write to your client to confirm when they’ve become liable for these penalties.
Add your client authorisation
Your existing client authorisations for Self Assessment are recognised for Making Tax Digital. If you are already authorised by your client:
- for Self Assessment in your HMRC online services account only, you may need to add your authorisation from your HMRC online services account to your agent services account before you sign up your client
- for Self Assessment in your agent services account already, or through a digital handshake for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax, you can sign up your client — see ‘How to sign up your client’ section
If you are not already authorised by your client for Self Assessment, you will need to sign into your agent services account and follow the steps in your account to ask your client to authorise you.
Adding your client authorisation to your agent services account will not remove it from your HMRC online services account.
If you are not authorised by your client, the sign up process for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax cannot be completed.
How to sign up your client
You’ll need the Government Gateway user ID and password you got when you signed up for an agent services account.
Online services may be slow during busy times. Check if there are any problems with this service.
Next steps
Read more information about how to use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax.
If you have a query about your software (such as creating records and sending updates), contact your software provider.
Updates to this page
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Information about what Making Tax Digital for Income Tax is has been updated.
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The 'Who cannot sign up voluntarily' section has been updated to remove those who have income from a furnished holiday let.
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Steps about what you need to do before you have signed up your client in the system have been added. Information about what you need to do to make sure you are authorised for Self Assessment and Making Tax Digital for Income Tax in your agent services account has been added. Information about when penalties do and do not apply during the testing phase has been clarified.
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The list of who cannot voluntarily sign up for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax has been updated.
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Information added to confirm that you need to sign up each income source for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax if your client has multiple sources of income. Information added about what you need to do if your client has already authorised you for Self Assessment in your HMRC online services for agents account.
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Information for users who want to voluntarily sign up now has been updated as you can now use the sign up service instead of a software provider. Information about who can and cannot sign up voluntarily has been updated.
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Welsh translation added.
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The date for helping to test and develop Making Tax Digital for Income Tax has been extended to 6 April 2026.
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The steps to take and what you will need before using Making Tax Digital for Income Tax have been updated. You can check if you can voluntarily sign up your client now.
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Information on what you'll need and before you sign up for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax has been updated.
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Information on what to do after you've signed up your client has been updated.
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A Welsh translation has been added.
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Information in the 'Before you start' section has been updated with what you need to do before you can sign up a client for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax.
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Information has been updated under 'before you start' to advise ways your client can authorise you through your agent service account.
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Welsh translation has been added.
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First published.