MTD Quarterly Updates Explained

A quarterly update is not a tax return. It is a snapshot of the totals from your digital records for the quarter (and cumulatively for the tax year). Your software builds it automatically from the income and expense entries you have already recorded. HMRC sees only the category totals, not your individual transactions.

You do not need to make accounting adjustments — capital allowances, private use, mortgage interest restrictions and similar items are handled at year end in your final declaration.

HMRC offers two types of update period. Both produce four updates per tax year and use the same deadlines:

• Standard update periods — aligned to the tax year (6 April to 5 April):
  • 6 April – 5 July → due 7 August
  • 6 April – 5 October cumulative → due 7 November
  • 6 April – 5 January cumulative → due 7 February
  • 6 April – 5 April cumulative → due 7 May
• Calendar update periods — end on the last day of each month, useful if your accounting period ends 31 March. Same HMRC due dates.

Each quarterly update covers from 6 April (the start of the tax year) up to the end of the current quarter — not just the latest 3 months in isolation. This means corrections you make to earlier figures are automatically reflected in the next update; you do not need to resubmit prior quarters.

1. You record income and expenses in MTD-compatible software throughout the quarter.
2. Your software categorises each entry against the HMRC income and expense categories.
3. At the end of the period, the software totals everything and previews the update.
4. You authorise the submission, and the software sends the data to HMRC via API.
5. HMRC returns an estimate of your year-to-date tax position in your software or HMRC online services.

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If you have more than one self-employment business, or you also receive UK property income, you must send a separate quarterly update for each source. Most software handles this automatically once you set up each business or property as a distinct income source.

HMRC’s late submission penalty system awards points for missed deadlines, with a £200 financial penalty triggered once the points threshold is reached. For people required to use MTD for Income Tax from 6 April 2026, no penalty points will be applied for late quarterly updates for the first 12 months (a soft-landing period). Late tax return penalties continue to apply throughout.

Our quarterly update service prepares, reviews and submits each update on your behalf, so you never miss a deadline and your figures are clean before they reach HMRC.

See our quarterly update service →