Calculated automatically from today's date — works for any Phase 1 taxpayer on the standard 6 April tax year.
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.
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The reassuring truth: Quarterly updates are far simpler than most people expect. They are not mini tax returns. No tax is calculated or paid. You are simply reporting running totals of income and expenses by category — your MTD software does almost all of the work.
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.
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The most important thing to understand: A quarterly update is not a tax return. It does not calculate your tax liability. It does not trigger a tax payment. It is purely an income and expense summary that feeds into your annual Final Declaration, where your tax position is actually calculated.
Your 2026–27 Quarterly Timeline
Q1 — 6 April to 5 July 2026
Submit by 7 August 2026
Your first ever MTD submission. Covers the first three months of the 2026–27 tax year. This deadline is the most important one — it is when MTD goes from "registered" to "actually working."
Q2 — 6 July to 5 October 2026
Submit by 7 November 2026
Covers the summer quarter. By now, your routine should be established — most software providers report the second submission is significantly easier than the first.
Q3 — 6 October 2026 to 5 January 2027
Submit by 7 February 2027
Covers the autumn/winter quarter — including the Christmas period for retail and gig economy businesses, which often shows seasonal variation.
Q4 — 6 January to 5 April 2027
Submit by 7 May 2027
The final quarterly update of the tax year. After this, you have until 31 January 2028 to submit your Final Declaration.
Final Declaration — Full Year 2026–27
Submit by 31 January 2028
This replaces the old Self Assessment return. You confirm your total income, claim any reliefs and allowances, and finalise your tax position. This is when tax is actually calculated and becomes due.
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Notice the pattern: Every quarterly deadline falls exactly one month and two days after the quarter ends — always the 7th of the month. The Final Declaration deadline is the familiar 31 January, the same date as the old Self Assessment deadline.
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.
For self-employment income
📥Total turnover / sales income
📥Cost of goods sold
📥Wages and staff costs
📥Premises costs (rent, utilities)
📥Travel and vehicle costs
📥Office and admin costs
📥Professional fees (accountant, legal)
📥Other allowable expenses
For UK property income
📥Total rent received
📥Other property income (e.g. parking)
📥Repairs and maintenance
📥Mortgage interest (residential finance cost)
📥Letting agent and management fees
📥Insurance costs
📥Council tax and utilities (if landlord pays)
📥Other allowable property expenses
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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Key reassurance: Because no tax is calculated or paid based on quarterly updates, a mistake in Q1 does not mean you have "paid the wrong tax." Your Final Declaration at year-end is what determines your actual tax bill — quarterly updates are working estimates that feed into that final calculation.
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 by 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
They should be as accurate as reasonably possible based on your records at the time, but HMRC recognises they are working estimates. Minor categorisation differences or estimates for outstanding invoices are acceptable — significant inaccuracies should be corrected as soon as identified, and your Final Declaration is where the year's figures are confirmed as final.
Yes. You can submit as soon as the quarter has ended and your records are complete — you do not need to wait until the deadline. Submitting early gives you more time to address any issues before the deadline passes.
During the 2026-27 soft landing, Phase 1 taxpayers will not receive penalty points for late quarterly updates. However, you should still submit as soon as possible — the soft landing is a one-year grace period, not a permanent exemption, and HMRC expects genuine engagement with the system, not indefinite delay.
Yes. If your accountant is authorised through HMRC's agent services, they can review and submit your quarterly updates on your behalf, provided you give them access to your MTD software records. Many people choose to maintain their own day-to-day records but have their accountant review and submit each quarter.
Generally no — quarterly updates are processed automatically and do not trigger a review unless figures are highly unusual or inconsistent. If HMRC has a query, they will typically contact you separately, often around the time of your Final Declaration when your overall figures are reconciled.
Get Your Personal MTD Calendar
Our free calculator generates a downloadable calendar file with all your quarterly deadlines, pre-loaded into your phone or computer calendar.