Notifications and reminders

The Notifications tab in Settings is where MTD Lite members turn on email reminders and choose how far ahead they arrive. It groups deadline reminders, compliance and certificate reminders, and product update emails in one place. Everyone can see their due dates on the Filing Calendar on any plan, but the reminder emails themselves are an MTD Lite feature.

What the Notifications tab is for

The Notifications tab in Settings is where you control the emails the app sends you. It holds three groups:

• Deadline Reminders: emails ahead of your HMRC quarterly update and Final Declaration deadlines.
• Compliance & Certificate Reminders: emails before statutory property items (gas safety, EICR, EPC, deposit protection) are due. This group is for property landlords on MTD Lite (see below).
• Product & Feature Updates: occasional product news, which you can opt out of.

Note: The Notifications tab is an MTD Lite feature, so it is only visible on a paid plan. Everyone can still see their due dates on the Filing Calendar on any plan; the reminder emails are what MTD Lite adds.

Important: There are no rent reminders in the app. The reminder emails are for HMRC deadlines and, for property landlords, compliance certificate expiry.

Set up deadline reminders

These emails go out a set number of days before each HMRC deadline.

1. Open Settings from the dashboard (the sidebar, or the back-to-dashboard header).
2. Click the Notifications tab. This tab is only visible on MTD Lite.
3. Under Deadline Reminders, use the toggle to switch email reminders on or off.
4. Under "When to remind me", tap one or more of the timing chips: 14 days, 7 days, 3 days, and 1 day. You can select several, and a reminder is sent at each one you choose.
5. Optionally set a Notification Email. Type a different address here if you want reminders to go somewhere other than your account email. Leave it blank to use your account email.
6. Click Save Preferences. A green Notification preferences saved. confirmation appears.

Tip: If you have never saved a preference, the app defaults to reminders 7 days and 1 day before a deadline. Change the chips and save to set your own timing.

When a reminder fires, the email links to the Filing Calendar so you can see your due dates and act on them.

Compliance and certificate reminders

If you let property certificates lapse it is easy to miss a renewal, so the app can email you before each one is due.

1. Open Settings > Notifications (MTD Lite only).
2. Scroll to Compliance Reminders.
3. Use the Compliance & Certificate Reminders toggle to switch these emails on or off.
4. Click Save Preferences.

These emails go out ahead of statutory items such as gas safety, EICR, EPC, and deposit protection, with follow-ups as a date gets closer and once an item is overdue. The lead times the app uses are reminder settings, not legal deadlines, so for the actual rules on when a certificate is due, check with your accountant or a relevant authority. See Right to Rent, deposits and certificates.

Note: The Compliance & Certificate Reminders group is for property landlords on MTD Lite. It appears once your account includes property income and you have added at least one property, so a self-employment-only account does not show it. The rest of the Notifications tab still works without it.

Product and feature updates

This controls whether you receive occasional product-news emails.

1. Open Settings > Notifications (MTD Lite only).
2. Scroll to Product & Feature Updates.
3. Use the toggle to opt in or out.
4. Click Save Preferences.

Important: Opting out only stops non-essential product news. Essential messages are always sent: your deadline reminders, compliance alerts, and security notices ignore this setting.

Where the dates come from

The app shows your due dates (from HMRC) on the Filing Calendar, and that is what the reminder emails are timed against. The Filing Calendar is available on every plan, so you can always see when things are due even on Free. See The Filing Calendar and your HMRC obligations.

If something goes wrong

• I cannot find a Notifications tab. The tab is an MTD Lite feature, so Free accounts do not see it. See Plans and pricing to upgrade. Your due dates still show on the Filing Calendar in the meantime.
• The Save Preferences button is disabled. Nothing has changed since the tab loaded. Make a change (a toggle, a timing chip, or the email field) to enable saving. Separately, if reminders are on but you have unticked every timing, saving is rejected with a prompt to select at least one timing, so pick at least one of 14 days, 7 days, 3 days, or 1 day before you save.
• I turned reminders on but no emails arrive. Reminders only fire when a deadline is exactly one of your chosen days away, and only when you have a property or business that existed during the relevant tax year, so brand-new accounts with no data are skipped. Each interval is also sent only once. Confirm you are on MTD Lite, have added a property or business, and that today matches one of your chosen lead days.
• There is no Compliance Reminders group. This group is for property landlords on MTD Lite and only appears once your account includes property income and you have added at least one property. A self-employment-only account does not show it.
• I stopped product-news emails but still get reminder emails. This is by design. The Product & Feature Updates opt-out only covers non-essential news. To stop deadline emails specifically, turn off Deadline Reminders.

For anything about your actual deadlines, thresholds, or penalties, check with HMRC or your accountant, or see the MTD guide.

Frequently asked questions

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