Quick answer: If you are a sole trader or landlord whose qualifying income was over £50,000 in 2024/25, you have been in Making Tax Digital for Income Tax since 6 April 2026. You keep digital records in compatible software and send HMRC a summary of your income and expenses every quarter, by 7 August, 7 November, 7 February and 7 May. Each update is cumulative, covering the tax year to date. You do not pay tax quarterly, and HMRC is not giving penalty points for late quarterly updates in 2026/27. The next deadline is 7 November 2026, for the period 6 April to 5 October 2026.
Making Tax Digital (MTD) for Income Tax applies to sole traders and landlords registered for Self Assessment. Whether you are in depends on your qualifying income: your total income from self-employment and property in a tax year, before you take off any expenses. That means turnover and rent received, not profit.
HMRC writes to people it expects to be in scope, but if no letter arrives it is still your responsibility to check. Partnerships are not in yet; HMRC will set out their timeline later.
The deadlines are the same whichever update periods you use:
| Standard period (tax year to date) | Calendar period | Deadline |
|---|---|---|
| 6 April to 5 July 2026 | 1 April to 30 June 2026 | 7 August 2026 |
| 6 April to 5 October 2026 | 1 April to 30 September 2026 | 7 November 2026 |
| 6 April 2026 to 5 January 2027 | 1 April to 31 December 2026 | 7 February 2027 |
| 6 April 2026 to 5 April 2027 | 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027 | 7 May 2027 |
Calendar update periods suit businesses whose accounts run from 1 April to 31 March. You have to choose them in your software before sending your first update for the year, and you cannot switch once an update has been sent.
A quarterly update is a summary, not a tax return. Your software adds up your digital records and sends HMRC totals of income and expenses by category, separately for each income source, such as each self-employment and your UK property income.
Each update covers the tax year to date, not just the last three months. If you spot a miscoded expense from May while preparing the November update, you correct it in your records and the next update picks it up. There is no need to resend earlier updates.
After the fourth update, you submit your tax return through your MTD software by 31 January after the end of the tax year, so 31 January 2028 for 2026/27. This is where you add other income, such as employment income, dividends or savings interest, and make any final adjustments and claims. You still file your 2025/26 return the usual way by 31 January 2027. Our guide to Self Assessment tax return deadlines covers that return.
Send it now. There is no penalty point for it this year, but you cannot file your tax return until your quarterly updates are in, and catching up on four quarters in January is much harder than keeping pace. Use the time before 7 November to get your records up to date and make sure your bank feeds and categories are right.
You need software that HMRC lists as compatible with MTD for Income Tax. Most mainstream packages, including Xero, QuickBooks, Sage and FreeAgent, offer MTD for Income Tax support. If you keep records in spreadsheets, bridging software can send the updates for you. If you are VAT-registered as well, see our guide to Making Tax Digital for VAT.
No. Quarterly updates are summaries of income and expenses. Tax is still paid on 31 January and 31 July, as under Self Assessment.
7 November 2026. It covers 6 April to 5 October 2026 on standard periods, or 1 April to 30 September 2026 on calendar periods.
Your total income from self-employment and property before expenses. A sole trader with £40,000 of sales and £15,000 of rent has qualifying income of £55,000, even if their profit is much lower.
No penalty points apply to late quarterly updates in 2026/27. From 2027/28, each late update earns a point, and 4 points means a £200 penalty.
Check your figures. If your qualifying income was over £30,000 in 2025/26, you join on 6 April 2027. If it is over £20,000 in 2026/27, you join on 6 April 2028.
We keep sole trader and landlord records up to date in Xero or QuickBooks and send every quarterly update on time, so the year-end return is a formality.
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