Making Tax Digital (MTD) is a way for businesses to keep track of their taxes and submit their VAT returns to HMRC electronically in a compliant way. This may sound like a hassle, but trust us–it's quite straightforward once you get the hang of it.
In this article, we'll cover how to:
- Authorise QuickBooks Online to interact with HMRC
- Reauthorise the MTD connection
- Access your MTD settings
- Disconnect from MTD
- Troubleshoot connection issues
Before you start, make sure you have set up VAT and are using the correct VAT registration number–this is essential for accurate reporting under MTD.
Authorise QuickBooks Online to interact with HMRC

- In QuickBooks, go to Taxes.
- Select Set up MTD.
- Select Authorise now.
- Select Continue.
- In the window that opens, sign in with your MTD Government Gateway user ID and password. This will be in the confirmation email you receive from HMRC.
- Select Continue.
- Select Give permission.
- Once you're connected, select Continue and then Go to Taxes.
You'll see a badge appear on your taxes dashboard to indicate that MTD for VAT is enabled. Here's what it looks like:

That's it! You're ready to submit your first MTD VAT return directly to HMRC as soon as it's due.
We're here to help
If you have questions about MTD, or need help getting connected or fixing an error, let us know. Sign in to QuickBooks and start a discussion with a qualified QuickBooks Online expert in our community.
QuickBooks MTD software currently supports Standard, Cash and Flat Rate schemes. QuickBooks Bridging Software supports Standard and Cash schemes. Businesses whose home currency is not GBP are currently not supported for MTD.