Do you still file a Self Assessment return under MTD?

The short answer: Self Assessment is replaced, not added to

If you are signed up to Making Tax Digital for Income Tax (MTD for IT) — whether you chose to join or HMRC automatically enrolled you — you no longer submit a traditional Self Assessment tax return. Instead, the annual return is replaced by two things: quarterly updates sent through your MTD-compatible software, and a final declaration submitted after the tax year ends. The final declaration does the same job the Self Assessment return used to do, but it arrives through a different system and has a different deadline.

This is not an either/or choice you make each year. Once you are in MTD for IT, the old Self Assessment return is gone for the income it covers. Understanding exactly what replaces it, and what still sits outside MTD, is what the rest of this page explains.

What MTD for Income Tax actually replaces

Making Tax Digital for Income Tax became mandatory from 6 April 2026 for sole traders and landlords whose qualifying income exceeds £50,000. If your total gross income from self-employment and property combined was over that threshold in an earlier tax year, you are now required to operate under MTD for IT.

The regime replaces the Self Assessment return only for the income sources it covers — broadly, self-employment income and UK property income. It does so through a three-part cycle:

• Quarterly updates: Every three months you send a summary of your business income and expenses to HMRC through MTD-compatible software. These are not tax returns. They do not trigger a tax calculation you have to pay. They are digital records sent to keep HMRC informed in closer to real time.
• End-of-period statements (EOPS): Once a quarter's data is submitted, you (or your software) can submit an end-of-period statement for each income source. This finalises the figures for that source for the year and is where you claim any reliefs specific to that source, such as the property income allowance or overlap relief.
• The final declaration: This replaces the Self Assessment return. You submit it after 5 April each year and it brings together all your income — your MTD income sources plus anything else HMRC does not yet receive through the quarterly system. You confirm the figures are correct, add any remaining income or reliefs, and HMRC calculates your bill.

The final declaration for the 2025–26 tax year must be submitted by 31 January 2027, the same calendar deadline that applied to the old Self Assessment return.

The quarterly update deadlines you need to know right now

If you are already in MTD for IT, you are working through the first set of quarterly deadlines for the 2026–27 tax year. The quarters align with the tax year and have fixed filing windows.

As of today, 29 September 2026, the Quarter 2 deadline of 7 November 2026 is the next date coming up. If you have not yet submitted your Quarter 1 update, you should do so as soon as possible — late submissions can attract penalties once the soft-landing period ends.

What still requires a Self Assessment return alongside MTD

MTD for Income Tax only covers your self-employment and property income. It does not yet cover every income type that used to appear on a Self Assessment return. If you have income from other sources, you may still need to report it — but you do this through the final declaration, not a separate Self Assessment return.

Sources of income that sit outside the MTD quarterly system but are declared in the final declaration include:

• Dividends from limited companies (including your own)
• Interest from savings above your Personal Savings Allowance
• Capital gains from selling shares, property, or other assets
• Employment income where underpaid tax cannot be collected through PAYE
• Foreign income
• Income from a partnership (for most partners)

In practice this means the final declaration can be more detailed than the old Self Assessment return for some people, because it consolidates everything. You are not filing two separate returns — you are filing one final declaration that covers all of it.

One important exception: if HMRC has already collected the right amount of tax on a source through PAYE, and you have no other reason to be in Self Assessment or MTD, you do not need to declare it again. But for most sole traders using MTD, the final declaration is the place to pick up any non-MTD income and make sure the full picture is correct.

A worked example: what this looks like for a freelance consultant

Say you are a freelance IT consultant. In 2025–26 your gross self-employment income was £74,000, which is above the £50,000 MTD threshold, so you were mandated into MTD for IT from 6 April 2026.

During 2026–27, you track your income and expenses in your MTD-compatible bookkeeping software. Your quarterly figures look like this:

• Quarter 1 (6 Apr – 5 Jul 2026): Income £18,500, Expenses £2,200
• Quarter 2 (6 Jul – 5 Oct 2026): Income £21,000, Expenses £3,100

You submit Quarter 1's update by 7 August 2026 and you are preparing Quarter 2's update ahead of the 7 November 2026 deadline.

You also have £1,200 in savings interest from your bank account, which sits above your £500 Personal Savings Allowance (applicable from 6 April 2024 onwards for basic-rate taxpayers with income above the higher-rate threshold — check your specific allowance against your total income). That £700 taxable interest (£1,200 minus £500) does not go through any quarterly update. You add it when you complete the final declaration in, say, December 2027 or January 2028.

Your software calculates your estimated tax position throughout the year so you can budget. When you submit the final declaration by 31 January 2028, HMRC issues a formal tax calculation. Suppose your total taxable profit for the year is £67,000 after allowable expenses, plus the £700 interest. Your Income Tax bill is worked out against the 2026–27 rates and allowances. The payment on account and balancing payment system still applies: you would typically have made payments on account on 31 January 2027 and 31 July 2027, with any balancing payment due 31 January 2028 alongside the final declaration.

At no point in this process do you fill in a Self Assessment SA100 return. The quarterly updates, end-of-period statement, and final declaration have replaced it entirely for your business income — and the final declaration picks up the interest too.

If you were on Self Assessment before MTD: what changes and what stays the same

If you filed Self Assessment returns for years before 2025–26, the transition feels significant but the underlying obligations are similar. Here is a direct comparison:

The payment dates have not changed. What has changed is the frequency of reporting, the requirement to use software, and the penalty system. MTD for IT uses a points-based late-filing penalty model: you accumulate points for missed quarterly updates, and once you reach a threshold, a financial penalty is charged. This is different from the flat £100 penalty that used to apply immediately if you missed the 31 January deadline.

What if you are below the £50,000 threshold?

If your qualifying income is between £30,000 and £50,000, MTD for Income Tax does not apply to you yet. You continue to file Self Assessment returns in the normal way for now. HMRC has indicated that this group will be brought into MTD for IT from April 2027, though you should check for any updated announcements closer to that date.

If your income is below £30,000, no mandation date has been confirmed at the time of writing. You continue with Self Assessment.

If you voluntarily signed up to MTD for IT even though your income is below the threshold, the Self Assessment return is replaced for you in the same way as for mandated users.

Practical steps if you are not sure whether you are in MTD

HMRC has been automatically signing up some taxpayers who met the threshold and had not enrolled themselves. If you are unsure whether you are now in MTD for IT, the quickest check is your HMRC online account — your MTD for IT status will be shown there. If you have not received any correspondence from HMRC about MTD and your qualifying income was above £50,000 in 2024–25, contact HMRC or speak to an accountant promptly. Missing quarterly updates can trigger penalty points even if you were unaware you had been enrolled.

To file quarterly updates and the final declaration you must use software that is recognised by HMRC for MTD for IT. A list of compatible software products is maintained on GOV.UK. Spreadsheets can be used if they are connected to HMRC's systems via bridging software, but standalone spreadsheets submitted manually are not compliant.

If you use an accountant or bookkeeper, they can submit on your behalf through their own MTD-compatible agent software, but you still need to authorise them through your HMRC online account.

Next step: See how EasyTax handles Self Assessment.