MTD Quarterly Updates Explained —
What to Submit, and When

If you are now required to use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax, the biggest practical change is the introduction of quarterly updates — four submissions per year instead of one annual Self Assessment return. For many people, this is the part of MTD that feels most unfamiliar.

This guide explains exactly what a quarterly update is, what information it contains, when each one is due, and, importantly — what to do if you make a mistake.

What Exactly Is a Quarterly Update?

A quarterly update is a summary of your business income and expenses for a 3-month period, submitted digitally to HMRC through your MTD-compatible software. It covers each of your qualifying businesses or property income sources separately.

Think of it as a running total — each quarterly update reports the totals for that quarter (or, depending on your software, the cumulative year-to-date total). Your software handles the calculation; you review the categorised totals and confirm.

Your 2026–27 Quarterly Timeline

What Information Goes In a Quarterly Update

For each business or property income source, your quarterly update includes category totals for income and expenses. You do not submit individual transactions or receipts — your software aggregates these into categories.

If you have both self-employment income and rental property income, you submit a separate income statement for each — both within the same quarterly update submission.

How the Submission Actually Works

1. Keep digital records throughout the quarter

   Every invoice, receipt, bank transaction, and expense should be recorded in your MTD software as it happens — not all at once at the end of the quarter. Most software connects to your bank account and categorises transactions automatically, with you reviewing and confirming categorisation.
2. Review the quarter-end summary

   A few days after the quarter ends (e.g. after 5 July for Q1), your software generates a summary showing total income and expenses by category for the period. Review this summary for accuracy — check for any miscategorised transactions or missing entries.
3. Make corrections if needed

   If you spot an error, a transaction in the wrong category, a missing receipt, a duplicate entry — correct it within your software before submitting. This is your opportunity to fix issues before they go to HMRC.
4. Submit through your software

   Once you are satisfied the summary is accurate, click submit within your software. The submission goes directly to HMRC via their API — there is no separate HMRC portal step. You will receive an on-screen confirmation and usually a confirmation email.
5. Continue to the next quarter

   Once submitted, simply continue recording transactions for the next quarter. There is no "closing" process — your records continue seamlessly into the next reporting period.

What If You Make a Mistake?

Mistakes in quarterly updates are not as serious as people fear. Quarterly updates are running estimates, not final figures — there is built-in flexibility to correct errors.

• Caught it before submitting? Simply correct the entry in your software before clicking submit. No issue at all.
• Caught it after submitting, but before the next quarter? Most MTD software allows you to amend a previously submitted quarterly update. Check your software's specific process — most have a straightforward "amend" function.
• Caught it much later, after several quarters? Correct it in your next quarterly update, or, if it's close to year-end — resolve it in your Final Declaration. The Final Declaration is where your year's figures are confirmed as final, so any quarterly discrepancies get reconciled there.
• A significant error affecting your tax position? If the error is large enough to materially change your tax liability, mention it to your accountant if you have one. Significant discrepancies discovered late may need to be flagged to HMRC directly.

What If I Have No Income or Expenses in a Quarter?

You must still submit a quarterly update — even if it is a nil return (zero income and zero expenses). This commonly applies to:

• Seasonal businesses with quiet periods (e.g. holiday let owners outside peak season)
• New businesses that have registered but not yet started trading
• Businesses temporarily paused due to illness or other circumstances

Submitting a nil return through your software takes seconds. Failing to submit anything at all, even when the figure is zero — counts as a missed deadline once the soft landing ends, and can result in a penalty point.

If You Have Multiple Income Sources

If you have more than one self-employment business, or self-employment plus rental property, each source is reported separately within the same quarterly update submission — not as separate submissions on separate dates. All your income sources share the same quarterly deadlines.

Example: A driving instructor who also rents out a flat submits one quarterly update at each deadline (the first was due 7 August 2026), containing two income statements, one for the driving instruction business and one for the rental property — both covering the same 6 April to 5 July period.

Frequently Asked Questions