Deferrals and exemptions from MTD

Who doesn’t need to join MTD (yet)?

Certain groups will either be fully exempt or have extra time before they need to move across to MTD.

Fully exempt

You won’t need to be in MTD for Income Tax if:

Someone else manages your affairs under a Power of Attorney
You’re a non-UK resident entertainer or sportsperson and don’t have any other income that MTD counts as “qualifying”
HMRC isn’t able to provide you with a digital service - see below under Digital exclusion

Not joining this Parliament (ie until a general election - the next one is due in 2029)

For the rest of this Parliament, these groups will be outside MTD:

Ministers of religion
Lloyd’s underwriters
People claiming the Married Couple’s Allowance (but not the Marriage Allowance)
People claiming the Blind Person’s Allowance

Deferral until 2027 for those who complete the residence form SA109

If you normally need to complete the SA109 form (for example, to report non-UK income or residence details), you won’t need to use MTD until April 2027.

It is currently unclear if the delay applies to those who need to complete SA109 in the year they're in MTD, or in the previous year.

Digital exclusion

If you're digitally excluded, you may either be automatically exempt or you may need to apply for an exemption.

Automatically exempt

You don’t need to apply if you fall into one of these groups — you are automatically exempt:

Trustees (including charitable trustees or trustees of non-registered pension schemes)
People without a National Insurance number (only for a tax year where you don’t have one by 31 January before it starts)
Personal representatives of someone who has died
Lloyd’s members, in relation to your underwriting business
Non-resident companies (this is a niche group - non-resident companies can be liable to income tax on UK non-trading income, such as property income)

If you’re automatically exempt, you cannot sign up for MTD for Income Tax.

Applying for an exemption

You can ask HMRC to exempt you if:

It’s not practical for you to use software — for example, because of your age, a disability, where you live, or another reason
You are a practising member of a religious society (or order) whose beliefs are not compatible with using computers or keeping digital records

When you apply, you’ll need to explain how your circumstances make MTD impractical for you. HMRC will then:

Confirm that you’re exempt (and explain what to do next), or
Refuse your application, with reasons and details on how to appeal

👉 If HMRC refuses, you’ll need to sign up for MTD for Income Tax.

👉 If your circumstances change (so you’re no longer eligible), you must tell HMRC within 3 months.

HMRC hasn’t opened the exemption process yet.

If you’re already exempt from MTD for VAT

If HMRC has already confirmed you’re exempt from MTD for VAT, you’ll need to contact them again once the Income Tax exemption process opens.
If your situation hasn’t changed, HMRC should confirm you’re exempt from MTD for Income Tax too.
If things have changed, you’ll need to reapply.
Iif your VAT exemption was because of insolvency, this does not apply to Income Tax — you’ll still need to use MTD.