What a quarterly update is
A quarterly update is a summary of your digital records (totals for each income and expense category) sent to HMRC from your MTD software. You send four a year for each business or property income source.
Periods and deadlines
You can use standard quarters, which follow the tax year, or calendar quarters, which follow calendar months. You choose in your software. The deadlines are the same either way.
Your software starts on standard quarters. If you want calendar quarters, choose them in your software before you send your first update: you can't change them later in the same tax year.
| Update | Standard period | Calendar period | Deadline |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 April to 5 July | 1 April to 30 June | 7 August |
| 2 | 6 April to 5 October | 1 April to 30 September | 7 November |
| 3 | 6 April to 5 January | 1 April to 31 December | 7 February |
| 4 | 6 April to 5 April | 1 April to 31 March | 7 May |
Your tax return for the year is then due by 31 January after the tax year ends. You'll need to have sent your quarterly updates before you can submit it.
Why each update is cumulative
Look at the periods above: every update starts on 6 April (or 1 April). Each one covers the tax year so far, not just the latest three months. That's helpful: if you forgot an invoice in quarter 1, you simply include it and your quarter 2 figures put it right. There's no separate correction to file.
Your turnover is £5,210 in April–July and £1,575.50 in July–October. Update 1 says £5,210. Update 2 says £6,785.50, the year so far.
What's in an update
Totals for each category you use, for example "Turnover", "Car, van and travel expenses" or, for landlords, "Property repairs and maintenance". MTD uses the same categories as the Self Assessment pages. HMRC doesn't receive your individual receipts or invoices.
If your turnover is under £90,000
HMRC allows simpler categories: a sole trader with turnover under £90,000 only needs to record whether each transaction is income or an expense, and send totals. Landlords with residential property still need to separate out finance costs (such as mortgage interest).
If you're late
There are no penalty points for late quarterly updates in the 2026–27 tax year. A late tax return earns a point from the start, including the 2026–27 return due 31 January 2028. From 2027–28 every missed quarterly update earns a point too; at 4 points there's a £200 penalty, and another £200 for each further miss. See MTD penalties.
Pick a day each month to record everything, and you'll find each update takes minutes. Our deadline calendar will email you 14 and 3 days before each one.
This guide explains HMRC's published rules without the jargon. It's information, not tax advice, and it was accurate when we checked it on 19 October 2026. For your own situation, check your HMRC online account or speak to an accountant.