Frequently Asked
Questions

Once registered, navigate to the Maintain page and click "Connect to HMRC Gateway." You'll be redirected to HMRC's own login page where you authorise File MTD ITSA to file on your behalf. The whole process takes about 5–10 minutes. We never store your HMRC Gateway password — only an encrypted access token.

HMRC requires four quarterly updates per tax year. For the 2026/27 tax year: Q1 by 7 August 2026, Q2 by 7 November 2026, Q3 by 7 February 2027, and Q4 by 7 May 2027. File MTD ITSA sends you an email reminder 7 days before each deadline.

Yes. File MTD ITSA supports multiple UK property businesses and self-employment businesses under one account. Each source gets its own Q1–Q4 quarterly submission schedule. You can add additional business sources from the Maintain page.

The HMRC Calculations page shows a running estimate of your tax liability based on income and expenses submitted so far. It breaks down estimated income tax, Class 2 NI, Class 4 NI, and the finance cost credit (Section 24 mortgage interest relief). These are indicative figures — the final amount is confirmed by HMRC after your year-end declaration.

The Annual Adjustments page lets you enter capital allowances (Annual Investment Allowance, Writing Down Allowance, Balancing Allowance), loss relief, property income allowance (up to £1,000), rent-a-room relief (up to £7,500), and furnished holiday lettings adjustments.

DIY (£69/yr) gives you the full platform to self-file. Assisted (£199/yr) adds a qualified accountant who reviews your submissions and answers tax questions. Done For You (£399/yr) is fully managed — you upload documents and our accountants handle everything from categorisation through to filing.

None whatsoever. You pay the annual or monthly subscription price and that covers everything — HMRC connection, all features, email support, and all platform updates. No per-submission charges, no add-on fees.

Yes — UK VAT at 20% applies. The prices shown on our pricing pages are inclusive of VAT. There are no additional hidden charges.

Yes, cancel at any time from your Account Settings. You retain access until the end of your paid subscription period. Subscriptions will not auto-renew after you cancel.

Firm pricing is per client per year, with volume discounts as you add more clients. Pricing ranges from £69/client/yr for 1–10 clients down to £47/client/yr for 151–200 clients. See our Accountant Pricing page for the full tier table and interactive calculator.

Yes. All data is encrypted in transit using 256-bit SSL and encrypted at rest. Our servers are UK-hosted and we are registered with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) and fully GDPR compliant. We never share your data with third parties.

Never. We use HMRC's OAuth 2.0 system — you log in directly on HMRC's own website and authorise File MTD ITSA to submit on your behalf. We only store the access token HMRC provides, which is valid for 18 months and can be revoked from your HMRC account at any time.

Your data is stored exclusively on UK-based servers. We never transfer data outside the UK and do not use any overseas hosting or cloud infrastructure for customer data.

No. All payments are processed by Stripe, which is PCI DSS Level 1 certified. Your card details are handled entirely by Stripe's secure system and never pass through or are stored on File MTD ITSA's servers.

The separate Furnished Holiday Lettings (FHL) regime was abolished from 6 April 2025. FHL income is now treated as ordinary property income for MTD purposes. The same qualifying income thresholds and quarterly filing rules apply as for any UK rental income.

HMRC operates a points-based penalty system for MTD. Each missed quarterly deadline adds one penalty point. Once you accumulate 4 points, you receive an automatic £200 fine. Further missed submissions mean further fines. File MTD ITSA's deadline reminders and one-click filing are designed to prevent this entirely.

The figures shown on the HMRC Calculations page are indicative estimates based on the current year's data you've entered. They are not official HMRC assessments. Your final tax liability is confirmed by HMRC after you submit your year-end final declaration.

Accountancy firms get a dedicated firm portal — completely separate from the client-facing system. From the firm dashboard you can view all your clients' submission statuses, upcoming deadlines, and HMRC connection statuses. You can also support clients with their quarterly filings and annual adjustments.

Each of your clients needs their own File MTD ITSA account (billed to you at firm volume pricing). You then link their account to your firm using a link code. New clients can be invited directly from the firm portal, or existing clients can share their link code for you to add them.

All clients linked to a firm account are on the volume firm pricing tier. Individual plan features are the same regardless of tier — the difference is only the price per client based on total client count.

No. Your firm billing and account management is entirely separate and invisible to your clients. They see only their own portal with your firm's branding. Your pricing, tier, and payment details remain completely private.

Yes. Clients can be unlinked from your firm and manage their own subscription independently. Their data and submission history transfers with them. Your client count (and therefore your billing tier) adjusts automatically.