HM Revenue & Customs has published the third edition of its ‘Ready, Steady, File!’ newsletter for participants in the Making Tax Digital (MTD) for Income Tax testing programme, dated 6 January 2026. The edition summarises testing progress, near‑term filing dates and guidance ahead of the April 2026 go‑live. ([gov.uk](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/edition-3-ready-steady-file))
HMRC reports more than 3,000 successful second‑quarter submissions and around 5,000 taxpayers enrolled in testing, with approximately 3,000 actively submitting quarterly updates. Sixty percent are represented by agents and 40 percent are unrepresented, spanning single and multiple self‑employment and property income cases. End‑of‑year scenarios will test all 18 income types. ([gov.uk](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/edition-3-ready-steady-file/edition-3-ready-steady-file))
Operational readiness has advanced. HMRC confirms completion of stress testing, resolution of common agent account errors through new guidance, working ‘main and supporting’ agent roles, and migration to the Enterprise Tax Management Platform to enable enhanced pre‑population and near real‑time tax visibility. Third‑party software has successfully submitted quarterly updates including estimated tax calculations. ([gov.uk](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/edition-3-ready-steady-file/edition-3-ready-steady-file))
The immediate timetable is tight. For those using standard update periods aligned to the tax year, the Quarter 3 update for 2025 to 2026 is due by 5 February 2026 during testing, moving to the seventh of the month from April 2026. Software and HMRC online services will reflect the revised seventh‑of‑month deadlines at mandation. ([gov.uk](https://www.gov.uk/guidance/use-making-tax-digital-for-income-tax/send-quarterly-updates))
Calendar quarter elections remain a frequent source of error. Where software supports it, taxpayers can elect update periods ending on the last day of the month, with deadlines on 7 August, 7 November, 7 February and 7 May. Elections must be made before the first update of the tax year and apply for the whole year. For 2026 to 2027 there is a five‑day gap (1–5 April) to be reported separately via a Business Source Adjustable Summary. ([gov.uk](https://www.gov.uk/guidance/use-making-tax-digital-for-income-tax/send-quarterly-updates))
HMRC reiterates that sole traders and landlords mandated from 6 April 2026 will be those with total qualifying income over £50,000 in 2024 to 2025. Agents are advised to sign up clients individually ahead of April to avoid congestion and to ensure their agent services account contains the necessary Self Assessment authorisations before using the sign‑up service. ([gov.uk](https://www.gov.uk/guidance/sign-up-your-business-for-making-tax-digital-for-income-tax))
Policy changes signposted in Autumn Budget 2025 mean no penalty points for late submission of the first four quarterly updates for customers joining MTD in April 2026, though quarterly updates must still be filed before the end‑of‑year return. The easement does not extend to the 2026 to 2027 tax return due by 31 January 2028, and late‑payment penalties will apply after 30 days in the first year of the new regime. Certain groups receive a one‑year deferral and customers under deputyship are permanently exempt, with further detail to be confirmed in the Finance Bill 2025 to 2026. ([gov.uk](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/edition-3-ready-steady-file/edition-3-ready-steady-file))
Testing continues through the fourth quarterly cycle and into end‑of‑year processes for 2024 to 2025 and 2025 to 2026, due by 31 January 2026 and 31 January 2027 respectively. HMRC indicates that feedback from support interactions is being used to refine guidance and prepare services for mandation from April 2026. ([gov.uk](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/edition-3-ready-steady-file/edition-3-ready-steady-file))
HMRC also reminds participants that the year‑to‑date estimated tax figure shown after each update is for budgeting only and is not a final liability. A short survey is open to capture user feedback on this calculation to inform further improvements ahead of rollout. ([gov.uk](https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/edition-3-ready-steady-file/edition-3-ready-steady-file))