Making Tax Digital (MTD) for Income Tax means sending HMRC a short summary of your income and expenses every three months, using software that works with HMRC. This article shows you how to do it for free with My Tax Digital, using the figures from your tiney tax records export.
You need to do this from April 2026 if your gross income from self-employment and property was over £50,000 in the 2024/25 tax year. Gross means before expenses.
Before you start, have these to hand:
Your Government Gateway user ID and password (the ones for your Self Assessment account)
Your National Insurance number
Some people may be exempt from Making Tax Digital. You can find out if you're eligible for an exemption here.
Sign up for Making Tax Digital with HMRC
This is a one-off step, and it is separate from setting up the software.
Sign up on GOV.UK
Go to GOV.UK to sign up for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax and sign in with your Government Gateway login. Opt in for the current tax year.
Check it has gone through
Log in to your HMRC online account, choose Income Tax, and look for a Making Tax Digital for Income Tax section. If it is there, you are ready for the next step.
ℹ️ HMRC can take up to 72 hours to confirm your sign-up, so start early rather than close to the deadline.
Using your own accounting software
If you already use accounting software that's recognised by HMRC, or your bank includes it, you can file through that instead.
Some business bank accounts build this in for free. For example, Monzo and Starling include free HMRC-recognised tax filing, so if you have a business account with them, you can submit straight from there. FreeAgent is also free with NatWest, Royal Bank of Scotland and Mettle accounts.
Whatever you choose, check it's on HMRC's list of recognised software first. You'll still need to sign up with HMRC (in the next section), but you can then follow your software's own steps instead of the ones below. Your tiney tax records export is a handy way to check your figures and can be used to import data to accounting tools.
Using free software
As tiney's Making Tax Digital integration has not yet been approved, we're recommending a free alternative, My Tax Digital. You can find their help guide here.
Create your free account
Go to mytaxdigital.co.uk, register, then sign in.
Select 'Income Tax Self Assessment'
When the tool asks you what you'd like to use it for, select that you'd like to send a MTD self assessment to HMRC.
Add yourself
In the side menu, tap Add Business/Individual, choose Individual, and enter your first name, last name and National Insurance number. Tap Submit. Your National Insurance number links your account to your HMRC records, so check it is right.
Connect My Tax Digital to HMRC
This lets My Tax Digital send your update to HMRC for you. It is a one-off step that you renew once a year.
Start the authorisation
From the Self Assessment home screen, tap HMRC Authorisation, then Continue to HMRC.
Sign in with Government Gateway
Sign in with your Government Gateway user ID and password.
Export your tax records from tiney
Open your tax records
Open the Wallet page, tap the settings cog in the top right, then under Taxes tap Tax records.
Choose what to export
Choose your Tax year, then choose Quarter 1 (Apr to Jun) as the Period. Tap Export report.
Get your file
You will see a Success message, and we will email you a link to download your file. Open it on the device you are using for your submission, like a laptop. If the email does not arrive within a few minutes, check your spam folder.
Your file includes all the income you've earned through tiney and any expenses you've logged in the app, including the fees you've paid to tiney, in a tab set up in My Tax Digital's format. Always check the figures before you submit and make sure they are complete and accurate, including anything you earned or spent outside tiney. You are responsible for what you submit to HMRC, so if you are unsure, get advice from an accountant or tax adviser.
Send your update in My Tax Digital
Open your self-employment income
On the Self Assessment screen, tap Business Income, then Self Employment. The first time, you will be asked to choose a mode. Choose Bridging, the mode for people who keep their records elsewhere.
Open your obligation
Tap Obligations, then open the current one. This is your update for the quarter. Set the end date to the date your figures cover.
Import and submit
Tap Import figures and upload the file tiney emailed you. When it asks which sheet to use, choose the Making Tax Digital tab. Check the figures match, then tap Submit.
After you submit, the Income and Expenses tile shows your latest figures and the date you submitted. That is your quarter done.
Your deadlines
You make four updates a year, one after each quarter:
Quarter 1 (6 April to 5 July): due 7 August
Quarter 2: due 7 November
Quarter 3: due 7 February
Quarter 4: due 7 May
Your first update, for 6 April to 5 July 2026, is due by 7 August 2026.