MTD Quarterly Updates: What You Send and the 2026/27 Deadlines

Once you are signed up for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax, you send HMRC a quarterly update every three months. This guide covers what goes in an update, the deadlines for 2026/27, and what happens if you miss one.

Checked against HMRC’s guidance on GOV.UK on 06/10/2026.

What a quarterly update is

A quarterly update is a summary, not a tax return. Your software adds up your digital records into totals for each income and expense category, the same categories you already use on Self Assessment. HMRC does not see your individual invoices or receipts.

• You send one for each self-employment and property business you have.
• You do not need to make any accounting or tax adjustments first.
• Each update covers the period from the start of the tax year to the end of the quarter, not just the last three months. So if you spot a mistake from an earlier quarter, you correct your records and the next update puts it right.
• If you had no income and no expenses in a quarter, you still have to send the update.

Deadlines for the 2026/27 tax year

Most sole traders whose accounts run with the tax year use standard update periods:

If your accounts run from 1 April to 31 March, you can choose calendar update periods instead (quarters ending 30 June, 30 September, 31 December and 31 March). The deadlines stay the same. You have to choose calendar periods in your software before you send your first update, and you cannot change them for a tax year once an update has been sent.

Sending early

You can send an update any time between the end of the period and the deadline. You can also send it up to 10 days before the period ends if you know you will have nothing more to record, for example if you are going on holiday.

What if I miss a deadline?

Late updates earn penalty points, and once you reach the threshold there is a £200 penalty. The rules depend on the year:

• 2026/27 tax year: HMRC will not give penalty points for late quarterly updates. You still have to send all four before you can submit your tax return, and penalty points still apply to a late tax return.
• From 2027/28: each late update earns a point. Reach 4 points and you get a £200 penalty.
• If you joined voluntarily: late updates do not earn penalties, but late tax returns do. Reach 2 points and you get a £200 penalty.

The first year is a grace year for updates, not a year off. Getting into the habit now means 2027/28 holds no surprises.

After the fourth update

When the tax year ends you check whether any adjustments are needed. If you need to correct your records, you resend your fourth quarterly update before making any tax adjustments. You then add any other income, such as savings interest or a pension, and submit your tax return by 31 January after the end of the tax year, as you do now.

See your tax as you go

After each update you can see an estimate of your tax bill, in your software or your HMRC online account. It becomes more accurate if you also record other income, such as savings interest, during the year.

How Mint Books helps

Mint Books records your income and expenses as you work and shows your figures for each quarter alongside the year-to-date totals HMRC asks for, so the numbers are ready before each deadline. VAT returns go to HMRC from Mint Books today. For Income Tax, we are completing HMRC’s certification process. Your records are kept digitally and ready, and the Submit button appears in the app as soon as that is complete.

Not sure if you need to use Making Tax Digital yet? Read who needs Making Tax Digital for Income Tax, and when.

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Sources

• GOV.UK: Send quarterly updates
• GOV.UK: Choose the right software for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax

This guide is general information, not tax advice. If your situation is complicated, speak to an accountant.