Are you in Making Tax Digital? Your next quarterly update is due by 7 November 2026. It covers 6 April to 5 October 2026.
Is it a big job? No. It's a summary of your income and expenses. There's no tax to pay with it, and no penalty points for a late update this tax year.
On this page · 7 sections
First — does this actually apply to you?
Making Tax Digital for Income Tax went live on 6 April 2026. It's not coming; it's here. But it only applies to you right now if all of the following are true:
- You're a sole trader or a landlord (or both).
- Your gross self-employment and property income — turnover, before you take off a single expense — was over £50,000. HMRC tests this against your 2024/25 return.
Two things about that threshold catch people out. It's measured on gross income, not profit — so a landlord taking £55,000 in rent with £30,000 of mortgage interest and costs is in, despite a £25,000 profit. And self-employment and property income are added together, per person: £30,000 freelancing plus £25,000 of rent is £55,000, and you're in.
If you were under £50,000, you're not in yet — the threshold falls to £30,000 in April 2027 and £20,000 in April 2028. Our plain-English guide to Making Tax Digital walks through the whole timetable.
What's due on 7 November
One quarterly update, covering the tax year so far. Which dates it spans depends on which periods you're using:
- Standard quarterly periods (the default) — 6 April to 5 October 2026.
- Calendar quarterly periods (if you elected them in your software, which suits month-end bookkeeping) — 1 April to 30 September 2026.
For the rest of the year, the deadlines are 7 February 2027 and 7 May 2027. Then a final declaration pulls the year together — and that, along with paying your bill, is still due by 31 January, exactly as it always was.
What's actually in an update
Less than most people fear. An update is a set of totals for each income and expense category — not a tax return, not a calculation, and not a document you have to agonise over.
Importantly, HMRC does not receive your individual records. In its own words, HMRC "will not receive details of individual digital records, such as a receipt or invoice." You're sending summary figures, not opening your books.
Three things nearly everyone gets wrong
The popular coverage of MTD is unreliable on all three of these, and each one is reassuring once you know it.
1. You don't pay tax quarterly
This is the big one. Quarterly updates carry no payment whatsoever. They're summaries, not tax returns. Your tax is still calculated once, after the year ends, and paid by 31 January. Nothing about when you pay has changed.
2. Updates are cumulative, not four separate quarters
Each update covers the tax year from the start up to the end of that period — not just the previous three months. HMRC puts it plainly: each update "will cover from the start of the tax year to the end of the update period, not just the previous three months."
That has a genuinely useful consequence: a mistake in your first quarter is simply corrected by the next update. There's no amendment process to wrestle with. If your August figures were rough, November quietly puts them right.
3. A nil quarter still needs an update
If you had no income and no expenses in the period, you still have to send an update to tell HMRC that. Silence isn't an option — this is the one that catches out landlords between tenancies and traders with a quiet season.
What if you miss it?
Here's the genuinely good news, and it's straight from HMRC: "There are no penalties for missing a quarterly update deadline for the 2026 to 2027 tax year."
This first year is a soft landing. If you missed 7 August, you haven't been fined, and because updates are cumulative you can put it right by simply filing the November one. If you're behind, you are not in the trouble you might think you're in.
- Late payment penalties apply now. They're separate from update deadlines and they're real: 3% of the tax owed at day 15, another 3% at day 30, then 10% a year accruing daily from day 31. Nothing in the first 15 days.
- The grace period ends. From 2027/28, late submissions start earning penalty points — 4 points and you get a £200 penalty, then £200 for every further miss.
So the honest read on this year is: use it to get your habits right, because next year the same slip costs money.
What to do between now and 7 November
- 1. Check you're actually signed up — not just notified. This is the single most common gap.
- 2. Get your records up to date to 5 October (or 30 September on calendar quarters). Digital records, in compatible software.
- 3. Send the update by 7 November — including a nil one if the period was quiet.
- 4. Diarise 7 February and 7 May, and keep 31 January in view for the final declaration and your payment.
Common questions
When is the next MTD deadline? 7 November 2026, covering 6 April to 5 October (or 1 April to 30 September on calendar quarters). After that, 7 February and 7 May.
Do I pay tax with the update? No. It's a summary, not a return. Tax is still worked out once a year and paid by 31 January.
What if I miss 7 November? No penalty for the 2026/27 year — but late payment penalties still apply, and points start in 2027/28.
I had no income this quarter. Do I still file? Yes — a nil update is required.
Does HMRC see my receipts? No. Category totals only.
Five filings a year instead of one
That's what MTD really means. We do all five — four quarterly updates and your year-end return — from £25 a month, first month free.
Practising accountant since 2015 · Certified Xero Advisor · BSc, University of Salford. This guide is general information, not personal tax advice. Figures and dates are for the 2026/27 tax year and can change at each Budget — always confirm the current position on GOV.UK or ask us to check your situation.