If your circumstances change
Source: gov.uk (2025-11-24)

Find out what you need to do when your circumstances change, such as adding and ceasing your income sources, changing software or tax agent, adjusting payments on account, and amending a submitted tax return.

After signing up for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax, you may have a change in your circumstances.

You’ll need to tell HMRC about the changes. This may be a one-off notification, or to report new information relating to a change.

You’ll be able to report most changes using your existing HMRC online services, or you’ll need to contact our dedicated customer support team (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/use-making-tax-digital-for-income-tax/help-and-support).

Adding a new self-employment or property income source

To include a new source of self-employment or property income, you should add it to your HMRC online services account. If you’re an agent, this can be done in the Manage your client’s Income Tax details section.

You will need to provide details about your self-employment and property income sources. This includes your start date if it’s within the last 2 years. For property income sources, this is the date you started to receive rental income. You’ll also need to confirm which accounting method you will use as this should be the same method used for all income sources.

You should then check your software to make sure the business details have been updated. You may need to refresh it in your software. You can then send quarterly updates which will include your new income source.

If you’re not able to keep digital records of the new income source, you still need to report it using your software before you submit your tax return (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/use-making-tax-digital-for-income-tax/submit-your-tax-return). If you’re not able to report your new income source through compatible software, you’ll need to opt out of the testing phase.

Ceasing self-employment or property income sources

You can use your HMRC online services account to cease a source of self-employment or property income. You can do this by entering the date the income source stopped.

After you’ve notified HMRC, you will not need to send any quarterly updates once the business has ended.

Changing your software

You can change the software you use for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax either:
- after the end of the tax year
- during the tax year
You still need to store your digital records for the correct length of time if you change your software.

You should also make sure you can access your digital records from previous tax years. For example, you may need to export your digital records from your old software and store them securely.

If you change your software after the end of a tax year

You do not need to import your digital records from previous tax years into the new software.

You do need to store your digital records from previous tax years securely and be able to access them.

If you change your software during a tax year

If you use software that works with Making Tax Digital for Income Tax to create digital records, you will need to either:
- import your digital records into your new software for the current tax year
- recreate the records in your new software
If you use software that works with Making Tax Digital for Income Tax to connect to your records (bridging software) you will need to link your new software to your record-keeping software.

Changing your tax agent

If you change your tax agent, you need to request your digital records from previous tax years. You’ll need to store your digital records from previous tax years securely and be able to access them.

You’ll need to make sure that:
- you and your new tax agent use software that works with Making Tax Digital for Income Tax, and, if you use different software products, these work together to meet your needs
- your new tax agent is authorised to act for you and use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax on your behalf
- your new tax agent has access to your previous records
Opting out during the testing phase

If you’ve signed up for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax voluntarily, you can opt out at any time during the testing phase.

If you choose to opt out, you’ll no longer need to send quarterly updates for self-employment or property income and expenses using Making Tax Digital for Income Tax. Updates you’ve sent will be deleted for the tax year you’re opting out for.

You’ll still need to submit a Self Assessment tax return (https://www.gov.uk/self-assessment-tax-returns) as usual. You should also find out if and when you need to use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/check-if-youre-eligible-for-making-tax-digital-for-income-tax) in the future.

You can use your HMRC online services account to opt out. Go to View deadlines and Manage how you report to inform us you wish to opt out.

If you’re an agent, you’ll be able do this once you’re authorised and can access your client’s HMRC online services account.

Adjusting your payments on account

Payments on account (https://www.gov.uk/understand-self-assessment-bill/payments-on-account) are advance payments towards your tax bill (including Class 4 National Insurance if you’re self-employed).

If you know your tax bill will be lower than last year, you can reduce your payments on account. You can do this in your HMRC online services account. Access the ‘What you owe’ and ‘Adjust payments on account’ for the tax year sections.

Amending a tax return

If you’ve submitted a tax return using your chosen software for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax and are within the amendment window, contact the customer support team to discuss how to make an amendment.

If you submitted a paper or online tax return for a previous year, follow the guidance to make changes for Self Assessment tax returns (https://www.gov.uk/self-assessment-tax-returns/corrections).

What to do if you sign up during the tax year

If you sign up after the tax year started, you can either:
- catch up now with all digital record keeping (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/use-making-tax-digital-for-income-tax/create-digital-records) and quarterly updates (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/use-making-tax-digital-for-income-tax/send-quarterly-updates)
- start keeping digital records from the date you or your client signed up and update earlier records later
For example, you may choose to catch up later if you do not normally do record keeping until the end of the tax year.

All digital records must be created and quarterly updates sent before submitting the tax return (due by 31 January following the tax year).

Those who have signed up early to the testing phase of Making Tax Digital for Income Tax will not receive penalties for late quarterly updates for the 2025 to 2026 tax year.

Read more information on the penalties that will apply (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/penalties-for-income-tax-self-assessment-volunteers) if you use the service.

If you choose to catch up later

You can send nil returns for earlier update periods that ended before you signed up. Once you create digital records, they’ll be added to the next quarterly update you send. If you create your digital records after the end of the tax year, you’ll need to resend your fourth quarterly update.

If you become digitally excluded

You may become digitally excluded if your circumstances change.

For Making Tax Digital for Income Tax, digitally excluded means it’s not reasonable for you to use compatible software to keep digital records or submit them to HMRC.

If you’ve signed up because you are required to use Making Tax Digital and think you’ve become digitally excluded, find out if you can get an exemption from Making Tax Digital for Income Tax (http:/www.gov.uk/guidance/find-out-if-you-can-get-an-exemption-from-making-tax-digital-for-income-tax).

If you’re volunteering to test Making Tax Digital for Income Tax

If you signed up for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax voluntarily and have then become digitally excluded, you should opt out using your HMRC online services account.

Information about how to do this is in the ‘Opting out during the testing phase’ section.