Should I join Making Tax Digital voluntarily?

Checked against GOV.UK on 14 August 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.

Short answer

You can, for this tax year or the next. Volunteers get no penalties for late quarterly updates — but a lower 2-point threshold on tax returns.

Whatever software you end up choosing, it has to hit these dates. 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.

What to do tonight

half an hour, tonight, and you may not need to spend a penny

Open HMRC's own recognised-software list before you open anyone's sales page. It is the only list that decides what can actually send an update.
Filter it for products that cost £0. They exist, for sole traders and for landlords, including bridging tools that submit straight from a spreadsheet you already keep.
If your records are already in a spreadsheet, keep the spreadsheet. Bridging software is built exactly for that, and nothing in the rules requires you to move to a monthly subscription.

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.

The free route, before anyone sells you a subscription

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.

Volunteering lets you learn the system on an easier setting before your mandatory year, with one trade-off that is easy to miss.

What you can do

You can sign up before you need to, for the current tax year or the next one. HMRC's example: you may need to use MTD from 6 April 2027, but you can sign up and volunteer now.

The catch-up rule

If you sign up part-way through a tax year, you will need to use compatible software to send any quarterly updates already missed for the year so far.

Penalties while volunteering

Penalties do not apply to late quarterly updates while you are volunteering.
Penalty points still apply to late tax returns — and for volunteers the threshold is 2 points before a £200 penalty, not 4.
HMRC will contact you to confirm when you have become liable for the new penalties after you sign up.

The payment grace period, once only

In your first year of the new penalties you get 30 days from the payment due date to pay in full or agree a payment plan before penalties start; after that it is 15 days. You only get the 30-day period once. If you volunteered and are now required to use MTD, you continue on 15 days — you do not get a fresh 30 days when you become mandatory.

The case for and against, plainly

For: you learn the software and the rhythm in a year where late updates carry no penalty, and you fix data problems before they matter.

Against: you take on four extra submissions a year earlier than the law requires, a lower tax-return penalty threshold, and you spend your one-off 30-day payment grace period early.

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.

Questions people ask

Do volunteers get penalties for late MTD quarterly updates?

No. Penalties do not apply to late quarterly updates while you are volunteering, but late tax returns carry points with a lower 2-point threshold.

Andrew at Axion Labs

I don't sell software, take commission, or rank products, so I 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

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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