Not signed up for MTD yet? What to do

You can connect your HMRC account successfully and still find that HMRC has not signed you up for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax yet. The app does not treat this as an error: it keeps every record, points you to GOV.UK to sign up, and lets you refresh once HMRC confirms.

What this means

Connecting to HMRC and being signed up for Making Tax Digital (MTD) are two separate things. You can finish the connection (see Connect your HMRC account) and HMRC may still report that your account is not signed up for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax. This is common, and the app is built to handle it calmly.

When HMRC reports this, the app does not block you or throw an error. It keeps all of your records and shows a friendly notice that links you to GOV.UK to sign up. You carry on recording, sign up with HMRC, then refresh.

Note: Whether you need to sign up for MTD, and by when, depends on your income and HMRC's rules. We do not state thresholds or dates here. Use the MTD status checker, read the MTD guide, or check with HMRC or your accountant.

Who this is for

Anyone on Free or MTD Lite who has connected HMRC and seen a message that they are not registered or not signed up for Making Tax Digital, or whose businesses have not yet been matched on the HMRC side.

What to do

1. Carry on recording as normal. Keep adding properties, self-employment businesses, income, and expenses. Nothing you enter is lost, and the app builds your quarterly figures automatically from the transactions you record.
2. Sign up for MTD with HMRC. Use the Sign up for MTD on GOV.UK link on the status notice (or Learn how to sign up for MTD on the Filing obligations page) to complete sign-up on GOV.UK.
3. Come back and refresh once HMRC confirms. Open Settings and go to the HMRC tab, then click Refresh from HMRC on the status banner (or Retry Lookup on the business panel). The app then re-pulls your MTD status and links your HMRC income sources.

Tip: Not sure whether you even need to sign up yet? Check the MTD status checker before signing up, so you only do it when it applies to you.

Where you will see this

• Filing obligations page (/tax/filing-obligations): if HMRC returns a not-authorised response for an income type, the page shows Not registered for Making Tax Digital with a Learn how to sign up for MTD link. This page only appears in the menu once HMRC is connected (it sits in the Tax & MTD section of the sidebar), so until then use the always-visible Filing Calendar. See Filing calendar and obligations.
• Status banner: on the Settings HMRC tab (/settings?tab=hmrc), the status banner shows a friendly HMRC hasn't signed you up for Making Tax Digital yet panel with a Sign up for MTD on GOV.UK link and a Refresh from HMRC button.
• Settings, HMRC tab (/settings?tab=hmrc): if HMRC did not return a matching business for your National Insurance Number, you may see No UK Property Business found or SE businesses not linked to HMRC, each with a Retry Lookup button and a Register on HMRC link.

Keep recording in the meantime

Being unsigned up does not stop you using the app. Add and edit properties and businesses, record income and expenses, import a spreadsheet via CSV, and scan receipts if you wish. The app stores each entry as a recorded transaction in your account, so when HMRC signs you up your figures are already in place and ready to submit.

Important: There is no need to keep your figures in a separate spreadsheet while you wait. If you already have a spreadsheet, import it (each row is added to your records in the app) rather than holding totals outside it. See Filing calendar and obligations for how your due dates appear once you are signed up.

If something goes wrong

• Filing Obligations is missing from the menu. It only appears once HMRC is connected, in the Tax & MTD section of the sidebar. Connect HMRC and it will appear there. The Filing Calendar is always visible in the meantime.
• Filing obligations still says Not registered for Making Tax Digital after you signed up. HMRC can take time to record a new sign-up. Click Refresh on the obligations page, or Refresh from HMRC on the banner, once HMRC has confirmed. Obligations appear after HMRC recognises your enrolment.
• No UK Property Business found or SE businesses not linked to HMRC in Settings. HMRC did not return a matching business for your National Insurance Number (for example, not yet registered, or a name mismatch). Click Retry Lookup to re-pull, or use Register on HMRC, then retry.
• Not sure whether you should be signed up at all. This is a tax-rules question, not an app setting. Use the MTD status checker or MTD guide, or check with HMRC or your accountant.

Frequently asked questions

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