Checked against GOV.UK on 20 October 2026 · Applies from 6 April 2026 onwards.
“why is there not a simple software that one can use?”
We hear this most. a landlord who banks online and has done for 34 years, OpenRent Community forum, 1 August 2026 — someone in the same position as you.
MTD Survival Kit, £28 for a sole trader or a landlord, £46.08 for both. It is one payment, with no subscription.
Built for anyone behind on updates or holding HMRC's letter. The kit holds a bookkeeping spreadsheet in HMRC's update categories, a walkthrough and a deadline calendar file. It sends nothing to HMRC. Every answer on this site stays free.
See what is in the kit →Whatever software you end up choosing, it has to hit these dates. Your next quarterly update is due 7 February 2027, and because updates are cumulative it covers 6 April 2026 to 5 January 2027. Missed an earlier one? GOV.UK does not say, on the pages we read, that a later update closes it, so check the list in your HMRC online account and send any that are still open. 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.
HMRC's letters go to people who should be using MTD and have not signed up themselves. For scale: 570,000 had signed up and 436,000 had sent a first quarterly update when HMRC reported on 12 August 2026. The in-scope figure was 864,000 (HMRC, 5 February 2026). Six months separate the two releases, and they measure different things. We do not subtract one from the other, and neither count tells you who will get a letter.
one sitting, tonight, and you may not need to spend a penny
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 20 October 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.
On 12 August 2026 HMRC announced that it will start signing up people who need to use Making Tax Digital for 2026 to 2027 but have not signed up themselves.
From September 2026, HMRC will begin signing up customers who should be using MTD for the 2026 to 2027 tax year but have yet to do so, helping them meet their requirements. HMRC said this would happen in stages over the coming months, and that customers can avoid it by signing up themselves first.
HMRC also said new guidance would be published in late August 2026 to explain what customers need to do if they receive a letter from HMRC about being signed up.
HMRC's stated reason: signing up yourself means you can make sure your MTD details are correct from the start, choose the software that works best for you, and prepare in your own time, rather than waiting to be contacted.
| Figure | Source and date |
|---|---|
| 864,000 sole traders and landlords facing the new rules | HMRC news release, 5 February 2026 |
| More than 570,000 signed up to the service | HMRC news release, 12 August 2026 |
| More than 436,000 first quarterly updates sent | HMRC news release, 12 August 2026 |
These are HMRC's published figures on the dates shown, measuring different things at different times. We have not netted them off against each other and neither has HMRC.
Being signed up does not change what you owe or when. It changes how you report: digital records, four quarterly updates, and the tax return from software. Check the guidance HMRC publishes with the letter, confirm the business and property details HMRC has used, and get software in place.
Sign up yourself instead → Check whether you are actually in scope →
HMRC said on 12 August 2026 that from September 2026 it would begin signing up, in stages, customers who need to use MTD for 2026 to 2027 but have not signed up themselves.
Axion Labs
We don't sell software, take commission, or rank products, so we can say the plain thing: check HMRC's own list before anyone's sales page, and filter it for the free ones. They exist. If your records already live in a spreadsheet, bridging software is built for exactly that, and you do not have to move onto a monthly subscription to comply.
Sources re-checked 2 November 2026: 18 of 18 unchanged since we read them.
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.
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