Checked against GOV.UK on 14 August 2026 · Self Assessment contact, registration and payment pages read 22 September 2026 · Applies from 6 April 2026 onwards.
“MTD is simply using a computer to supply hmrc with the same information you currently supply by paper, and quarterly.”
We hear this most. a landlord answering a frightened one, OpenRent Community forum, 31 July 2026 — someone in the same position as you.
If Making Tax Digital applies to you, three dates matter and nothing else does. Your next quarterly update is due 7 November 2026, and because updates are cumulative it covers 6 April to 5 October 2026 — so it also catches up 7 August 2026 if you missed it. Your tax return for 2026 to 2027 is due 31 January 2028, and that one is still in the points system. And from September 2026 HMRC has been signing people up itself, in stages, if they had not signed up.
You are not alone, and this is the measured version of that sentence. HMRC put 864,000 sole traders and landlords in scope for this tax year (HMRC, 5 February 2026), and reported on 12 August 2026 that 436,000 had sent a first quarterly update and 570,000 had signed up. We have not subtracted one from the other to make a "how many are behind" headline — they were published six months apart and count different things — but you can see the size of the room you are standing in.
twenty minutes, tonight, with last year's tax return in front of you
None of those three steps costs money. Anyone charging you to do them is selling you something HMRC gives away.
Where these come from, on GOV.UK: quarterly updates and their deadlines · the tax return · who has to use MTD, and when · working out qualifying income · the recognised-software finder · what to do if HMRC signed you up.
HMRC publishes the official list of software recognised for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax, and its own guidance says plainly that “free products are available for those with simple tax affairs”. We drove that finder ourselves on 1 September 2026 and it returns recognised products costing £0 — for sole traders and for landlords, including bridging tools that submit straight from a spreadsheet you already keep. We take no commission from any of them, we rank none of them, and this site carries no affiliate links.
HMRC's official software finder (gov.uk) · how bridging software works · the free two-number check · your own four dates
Signing up for Making Tax Digital is free at GOV.UK. So is the checker on this page, and so is every answer on this site.
One line answers Self Assessment questions, and it is not the line for software faults or for a lost password. This page carries the number GOV.UK publishes, the hours it is open, the written route, and the three things people ring about that can be settled without ringing at all.
Telephone: 0300 200 3310
Outside the UK: +44 161 931 9070
Open Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm, closed bank holidays.
Read from the HMRC Self Assessment contact page, last updated 28 July 2026. If that page ever stops showing a number, this page will say so rather than print one from memory.
GOV.UK lists what to call about: your Self Assessment returns, payments, replacements or notices; and signing up for or using Making Tax Digital for Income Tax.
There is no textphone number on that contact page. GOV.UK publishes no textphone number on the Self Assessment general enquiries page. The route it publishes for anyone who cannot use a telephone is the extra support guide. Read the extra support guide.
You can write instead. The address GOV.UK publishes is:
Self Assessment
HM Revenue and Customs
BX9 1AS
United Kingdom
It is a 10-digit number. You will usually get your UTR by post around 15 days after you register. It takes longer if you live overseas. You can find it in your Personal Tax Account, in the HMRC app, or on a previous return or notice: the GOV.UK page on finding your UTR lists each place.
The account details, the reference format and how long each payment method takes are all published: GOV.UK bank transfer page. Our own page is HMRC self assessment bank account details.
You file and check what you owe in the online service: sign in to file your Self Assessment tax return. GOV.UK deadlines guidance puts the online return deadline at 31 January and the paper deadline at 31 October.
The same line takes questions about signing up for and using Making Tax Digital for Income Tax. HMRC guidance says you must be registered for Self Assessment and have submitted a tax return in the last 2 years before you can sign up. Our own start here: what Making Tax Digital is.
GOV.UK publishes 0300 200 3310 for Self Assessment general enquiries, open Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm, closed bank holidays.
Yes. GOV.UK publishes +44 161 931 9070 as the number from outside the UK.
Yes, for signing up and using the service. GOV.UK says technical questions about your software go to the software provider instead.
Everything above is free and stays free. What it cannot do is hand you a record: a written, ticked list of what you have done about Making Tax Digital and what is still open, in the order HMRC asks for it. That is what the checklist is, it is one payment, and there is a 14-day no-questions guarantee.
Building software instead? Every answer on this site is free as JSON at /api/answers, and the whole corpus in one pull is a paid door with prepaid credit: the terms are on /llms.txt.
Andrew at Axion Labs
I built this site because my own first read of the MTD guidance took an afternoon and left me less sure than when I started. The rules aren't secret — they're all on GOV.UK — they're just spread across a dozen pages, and the answer to one ordinary question is usually split across four of them. So: one question, one page, sources at the bottom, and the date I checked them. If something here reads as wrong to you, it might be. Tell me and I'll fix it that day.
General information about UK tax rules, not tax advice. Your own circumstances and HMRC's official guidance govern your position. If you are unsure, speak to an accountant or contact HMRC. Tax rules change — if this page is more than a few months old, check the GOV.UK pages linked above. Found an error? Email hello@getaxionlabs.com and we will correct it.
← All Making Tax Digital answers
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