Blog · 6 November 2026

MTD quarterly update deadlines: the 7 August, 7 November, 7 February and 7 May cycle explained

Making Tax Digital for Income Tax runs on four dates a year: 7 August, 7 November, 7 February and 7 May. If you are already in MTD, the next one is very close — the second quarterly update of 2026/27 is due tomorrow, 7 November 2026, covering 6 April to 5 October 2026. If you join in the April 2027 wave, your first update is due 7 August 2027. The dates never move, whichever wave you are in, and they are the same whether you use standard tax-year quarters or calendar quarters. What changes is what each update covers — and what happens if you miss one.

The four dates, and what each update covers

A quarterly update is a summary of your income and expenses, worked out by your compatible software from your digital records. HMRC receives totals for each income and expense category — not your individual receipts — and each update is cumulative: it covers the tax year so far, from 6 April, not just the latest three months. So the second update shows six months of figures, the third shows nine, and the fourth shows the whole year. The deadlines are one month and two days after each period ends:

Because each update covers the year so far, a mistake in an earlier quarter is fixed by correcting the record — the corrected figure flows into your next update, and there is no need to resend the old one. And if you had no income or expenses in a period, HMRC still expects the update: send it with nil figures. If you do not expect any more transactions before the period ends, you can send the update up to 10 days early.

Calendar quarters: same deadlines, different period ends

If your accounts run from 1 April to 31 March, HMRC lets you use calendar quarters instead: 1 April to 30 June, 1 July to 30 September, 1 October to 31 December, and 1 January to 31 March. The deadlines stay exactly the same — 7 August, 7 November, 7 February and 7 May. You choose this in your software before you send your first update, and once you have sent an update you cannot change your periods for the rest of that tax year. Calendar quarters suit people whose bank statements and bookkeeping run to month ends; tax-year quarters suit everyone else. Neither choice changes the amount of tax you pay or when you pay it.

A quarterly update is not a tax return — and not a payment

This is the misunderstanding that causes the most worry. A quarterly update is a short summary, not a tax return, and nothing is payable on 7 August, 7 November, 7 February or 7 May. MTD does not change how you pay Income Tax or the dates you pay it: you still settle your tax on the usual Self Assessment dates — 31 January, plus payments on account if they apply to you. After the tax year ends, you send an end-of-period statement for each business and then your tax return — the final declaration — through your software by 31 January. Landlords can follow the whole annual cycle in MTD for landlords: quarterly updates, end-of-period statements and the final declaration.

The 2026/27 calendar in full

For sole traders and landlords already in MTD — qualifying income over £50,000 on the 2024/25 return, in from 6 April 2026 — the first mandatory year runs like this:

One date sits outside the MTD cycle and still matters: your 2025/26 Self Assessment return — the last one under the old system — is still due the usual way by 31 January 2027. If you join in the April 2027 wave (qualifying income over £30,000 in 2025/26), your first update covers 6 April to 5 July 2027 and is due 7 August 2027, and your first final declaration under MTD is due 31 January 2029. The April 2028 wave (over £20,000 in 2026/27) follows the same four dates from 7 August 2028. The full calendar for every wave is on the MTD deadline calendar, and if you are not sure which wave you are in, the Making Tax Digital checker works it out from your qualifying income — see MTD qualifying income: what counts and what doesn't for how that figure is worked out.

What happens if you miss one

For the 2026/27 tax year, HMRC is not applying penalty points for late quarterly updates — the first year is a soft landing, though the updates themselves are still required and must all be in before your final declaration. From 2027/28 onwards the points system applies: one point for each missed quarterly update or tax return deadline, £200 when you reach four points, and a further £200 for each deadline missed after that. The full system is explained in MTD penalty points explained, and you can test your own position on the penalty estimator. The practical consequence is that the April 2028 wave has no grace year at all: its first missed update earns a point straight away.

A simple routine for each quarter

1. Keep digital records current — record income and expenses as they happen, in compatible software or a spreadsheet with a digital link. See MTD-compatible software: spreadsheet and bridging software for how the two routes work.
2. Reconcile a few days before the 7th — check the quarter's totals in your software, and correct any earlier mistakes so they flow into this update.
3. Send the update from your software — it goes straight to HMRC; there is no separate portal to log into.
4. Diary all four dates now — 7 August, 7 November, 7 February, 7 May — plus 31 January for the final declaration. The same four dates repeat every year.

Four dates, four summaries, one tax return. Once the rhythm is in your diary, MTD's quarterly cycle is mostly a matter of keeping records current — the deadlines themselves are the easy part to remember.

Sources

• HMRC — Quarterly updates for Making Tax Digital (timeline for turnover above £50,000: 7 August 2026, 7 November 2026, 7 February 2027, 7 May 2027, final declaration 31 January 2028; updates are summaries of income and expenses)
• GOV.UK — Send quarterly updates for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax (standard and calendar periods, cumulative coverage, sending up to 10 days early, nil updates, no penalty points for late quarterly updates in 2026/27)
• GOV.UK — Find out if and when you need to use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax (waves and thresholds: over £50,000 → 6 April 2026; over £30,000 → 6 April 2027; over £20,000 → 6 April 2028)

Free information tool — not tax advice. Figures follow GOV.UK and HMRC guidance as checked on 6 November 2026. Confirm your own position with HMRC or an accountant.