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Use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax

From:
HM Revenue & Customs
Published
22 April 2024
Updated:
2 June 2026 - See all updates

Submit your tax return

How to complete and submit your tax return using software that works with Making Tax Digital for Income Tax.

Once you have made all the adjustments to your self-employment and property income and expenses, you will need to use your software to:

  • complete your tax return
  • submit your tax return

You must submit your tax return by 31 January following the end of the relevant tax year, but you can submit it earlier.

For example, you can submit your 2025 to 2026 tax return at any time from 6 April 2026 to 31 January 2027.

You will still need to submit a Self Assessment tax return as you normally do for the tax year before you start using Making Tax Digital for Income Tax.

For tax years after this, you will need to use your Making Tax Digital software to complete and submit your tax return.

If you miss the deadline for submitting your tax return, you will receive a late submission penalty point. You can find out more about penalties for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax.

Add other sources of income and gains

You need to make sure all your other taxable sources of income or gains for the year are included in your Making Tax Digital for Income Tax software.

If HMRC has information about your other income sources, we will add them to your tax return for you.

Information HMRC will add

Information HMRC will add includes:

  • employment (PAYE) income
  • student loan plan type and postgraduate loan (including repayments taken from PAYE, if any)
  • income from state, private and occupational pensions
  • other taxable state benefits
  • Construction Industry Scheme (CIS) — subcontractor deductions
  • Capital Gains Tax residential property disposals
  • Marriage Allowance claims

After HMRC have added this information, you can find it in either your:

  • software (when you ask for a calculation)
  • HMRC online services account

You must check this information before you submit your tax return.

If we do not have all the information about your other income sources, you will need to add them yourself.

Information you will add

Information you will need to add includes:

  • savings interest 
  • your share of profit from a partnership as an individual partner 
  • dividends (including those from your own company)
  • payrolled benefits in kind that are not subject to Class 1A National Insurance contributions
  • any other income or gains that have not been automatically added

You must add this information before you submit your tax return.

Submitting your tax return

Before you submit your tax return, you must add all income sources and gains and check all information is correct and complete. 

You will need to use your software to make any corrections before you submit. Once you have made your corrections, this will overwrite the previous information.

You must then submit your tax return using Making Tax Digital for Income Tax software.

How to submit your tax return

  1. Go into your software and confirm you’re ready to submit.

  2. View and check the tax calculation is correct.

  3. Submit your tax return by declaring that your information is correct and complete to the best of your knowledge.

You’ll then see a message in your software to tell you your tax return has been submitted.

Submitting your client’s tax return

You can only submit your client’s tax return using Making Tax Digital for Income Tax if you are their main agent.

If your client, or a supporting agent, has sent quarterly updates or added other income sources and gains, you can view these in your software but you will not be able to view their digital records.

If you find an error or notice that information is missing, you must correct the information.

Before you submit your client’s tax return, you must add all their income sources and gains.

How to submit your client’s tax return

  1. Go into your software and confirm you’re ready to submit.

  2. View and check the tax calculation is correct.

  3. Share a copy of the information being submitted with your client.

  4. Ask the client to check and provide written confirmation the information is correct and complete.

  5. Submit your client’s tax return by declaring that the information and calculation is correct and complete to the best of your knowledge.

You’ll then see a message in your software to tell you your client’s tax return has been submitted.

If you disagree with the calculation or there is an error in your software

If there is an issue in your software and you are unable to resolve the problem yourself, you must contact your software provide for support first.

If you have spoken to your software provider and:

  • they have not been able to resolve your issue

  • you still cannot:

    • confirm your tax calculation is correct
    • submit your tax return

In these cases, you must tell HMRC as soon as possible.

After you have submitted your tax return

If you need to correct or include something else, you should amend your tax return.

The information you give to HMRC will generate your Self Assessment tax bill for that tax year.

Making Tax Digital for Income Tax will not change the way you pay tax or the dates that payments are due.

If you do not pay your Self Assessment tax bill on time, you will receive a late payment penalty.