What is an MTD quarterly update? What you send and when
An MTD quarterly update is a set of income and expense totals, by category, for the tax year so far, sent to HMRC from your software every three months. It is not a tax return and it is not a tax bill: you still submit one tax return a year and pay tax on the usual Self Assessment dates.
What a quarterly update contains
Your software adds up your digital records into a total for each income and expense category, using the same categories as Self Assessment. The update sends those totals, with the start and end dates of the period.
HMRC does not receive your receipts or invoices. You keep those yourself. You also do not need to make accounting or tax adjustments before sending an update.
You send a separate update for each income source: each self-employment business, your UK property business and any foreign property business.
Example: a landlord's first update might show total rent of £4,500, property repairs and maintenance of £380, and legal, management and other professional fees of £540. That is the whole update. The category lists are in our HMRC expense categories guide.
Totals for the tax year so far
Each update covers the whole tax year to date, from 6 April, or from 1 April if you use calendar update periods. Your second update covers 6 April to 5 October, not just July to October.
Example: if rent was £4,500 in the first quarter and another £4,500 in the second, the second update shows £9,000 of total rent.
If nothing happened in a period, you must still send an update.
Is it a tax return? Do you pay tax quarterly?
No to both. A quarterly update is a summary, not a tax return. After the year ends you make any adjustments, add your other income, reliefs and allowances, and submit your tax return through your software by 31 January.
GOV.UK says Making Tax Digital will not change the way you pay tax or the dates payments are due. You will not get four tax bills a year.
So you pay any balance by 31 January after the end of the tax year. If you make payments on account, they are still due by 31 January and 31 July. You do not need them if last year's bill was under £1,000, or if more than 80% of your tax was collected another way, such as through your tax code.
Deadlines for 2026 to 2027
With standard update periods, the deadlines are:
- 6 April to 5 July 2026: by 7 August 2026
- 6 April to 5 October 2026: by 7 November 2026
- 6 April 2026 to 5 January 2027: by 7 February 2027
- 6 April 2026 to 5 April 2027: by 7 May 2027
Your tax return for 2026 to 2027 is then due by 31 January 2028.
You can send an update any time after the period ends, up to and including the deadline day. You can also send it up to 10 days before the period ends if you do not expect any more transactions. You can send updates more often if you like, as long as each one covers the period from the start of the tax year.
Standard or calendar update periods
Standard periods follow the tax year and are used unless you choose otherwise. Calendar periods run from 1 April to 30 June, 30 September, 31 December and 31 March. GOV.UK says you should use them if your accounting period runs from 1 April to 31 March.
The deadlines are the same either way: 7 August, 7 November, 7 February and 7 May. You must choose calendar periods in your software before your first update, and you cannot change your update periods for the rest of that tax year once you have sent an update. More on quarterly update deadlines.
Correcting a mistake
Fix the error in your digital records. Because each update holds year-to-date totals, the correction is carried into your next update automatically.
If you find a mistake after your fourth update, you can either correct the record and resend the fourth update, or adjust the category total in your software and make the same change in your digital records. If you resend, do it before you make any tax adjustments for the year. Joint landlords who left expenses out during the year add them in one of the same two ways: see MTD for jointly owned property.
What you see after sending
Your HMRC online account shows that you sent a quarterly update. You can also see an estimate of your tax bill on your self-employment and property income for the year so far, in your software and in your HMRC account.
The estimate includes some information HMRC already holds, such as a student loan plan, and HMRC adds PAYE employment income. It will be less accurate if HMRC does not know about all your income, or if your accounting period does not match the tax year. You can add other income, such as savings interest, in your software to improve it.
Late updates and penalties
For 2026 to 2027 there are no penalty points for late quarterly updates. You still have to send every update before you can submit your tax return, and a late tax return still earns a point.
From 2027 to 2028, each missed update deadline earns one point. At 4 points you get a £200 penalty, and another £200 for each further missed deadline. Points below the threshold expire 24 months after the missed deadline. People who join voluntarily do not get penalties for late quarterly updates. Full details are in our MTD penalties guide.
Keeping the records with Snapfile
Snapfile lets you send receipts, invoices and bills to a WhatsApp number. It records each one, sorts it into the Self Assessment expense categories, tracks which tax year and quarter it belongs to, sends deadline reminders and exports a CSV. It does not send quarterly updates or anything else to HMRC, so you still need software from HMRC's software finder for that. It is free during early access.
Common questions
Do you have to pay tax quarterly with MTD?
No. GOV.UK says Making Tax Digital does not change the way you pay tax or the payment dates. You pay by 31 January, plus payments on account by 31 January and 31 July if you make them.
What information is submitted in an MTD quarterly update?
Totals for each income and expense category for the tax year so far, plus the period dates. No receipts or invoices are sent.
Is an MTD quarterly update the same as a tax return?
No. It is a summary. You still submit a tax return through your software by 31 January after the end of the tax year.
What if I make a mistake in a quarterly update?
Correct your digital records and the fix goes through in your next update, because updates are cumulative. If you spot it after the fourth update, either resend the fourth update or adjust the category total in your software before you submit your tax return.
Are there penalties for late MTD quarterly updates?
Not for 2026 to 2027. From 2027 to 2028, each late update earns a point, and 4 points brings a £200 penalty.
Sources: GOV.UK: Use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax: Send quarterly updates; GOV.UK: Use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax: Using it for the first time; GOV.UK: Use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax: Submit your tax return; GOV.UK: Making Tax Digital for Income Tax: Quarterly update direction; GOV.UK: Understand your Self Assessment tax bill: payments on account; GOV.UK: Penalties for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax; GOV.UK campaign: How Making Tax Digital works; GOV.UK campaign: Quarterly updates. This is general information, not tax advice; check GOV.UK or an accountant for your situation.
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