Why Your Quarter Type Matters

Under Making Tax Digital for Income Tax (MTD for IT), you can report on one of two sets of quarter dates, called quarter types. The good news: the quarterly update deadlines are the same for both. What changes is which dates each quarter covers, and so which quarter a transaction falls into.

This guide explains the two quarter types, how and when you choose, and the 2026-27 dates for each.

What Is a Quarter Type?

You file four quarterly updates per tax year. HMRC allows two possible sets of quarter dates.

Standard quarters (the default)

Standard quarters follow the tax year:

Calendar quarters

Calendar quarters follow calendar months:

Calendar quarters still relate to the tax year ending 5 April. Anything dated 1 to 5 April is dealt with in your annual figures for the right tax year.

Note: The deadlines are identical for both quarter types: 7 August, 7 November, 7 February and 7 May. Choosing calendar quarters does not give you an earlier or later deadline.

Why Does HMRC Offer Two Options?

The UK tax year runs from 6 April to 5 April, which doesn't line up with calendar months. Many businesses keep their books by calendar month - landlords who receive rent on the 1st, or anyone whose bank statements run to month end. Calendar quarters let them report in a way that matches their existing records.

Neither option changes the tax you pay. The difference is only which dates each quarter covers.

How and When You Choose

You choose your quarter type in your MTD software. Standard quarters apply unless you choose calendar quarters. You need to make the choice before you submit your first quarterly update for the tax year, and you can choose again for the next tax year.

In Affordable MTD, you pick standard or calendar quarters for each tax year in your settings, before your first submission for that year.

Warning: Once you have submitted a quarterly update for the tax year, you can't switch quarter type until the next tax year. Decide before your first Q1 submission.

The 2026-27 Dates Side by Side

Standard quarters (2026-27)

Calendar quarters (2026-27)

The final declaration for 2026-27 is due by 31 January 2028 whichever quarter type you use. For a complete list of dates, see MTD Quarterly Deadlines 2026-27: Every Date You Need to Know.

How to Check Your Quarter Type

1. Your MTD software

Your software shows the quarter type and the period dates for each update. If you use Affordable MTD, it's in your settings for the tax year.

2. Your HMRC online account

Log in to your HMRC online account to see your MTD obligations and the period dates for each quarterly update.

3. Ask whoever set you up

If an accountant set up your MTD software before you went DIY, ask which quarter type they chose. Accountants sometimes choose calendar quarters for clients whose bookkeeping runs to calendar months.

Common Situations

You never chose

If you didn't choose calendar quarters, you are on standard quarters.

You are a landlord with rental income only

If rent arrives on the 1st of each month, calendar quarters can make your records easier to match. Either type is fine. You can read more in Making Tax Digital for Landlords: A Complete Guide to Quarterly Reporting.

You have both self-employment and rental income

Each income source has its own quarterly update. Check the quarter type for each in your software before your first submission of the year. See also: Multiple Income Sources and MTD: Self-Employed and Landlord Together.

What Counts as Income for MTD Eligibility?

MTD applies from 6 April 2026 to sole traders and landlords whose qualifying income (self-employment plus UK and foreign property income, before expenses) was over £50,000 in 2024-25. The threshold falls to £30,000 in April 2027 and £20,000 in April 2028. See What Is Qualifying Income for MTD? A Plain-English Guide.

Does Your Quarter Type Affect What You Report?

It doesn't change the rules, only the dates. On the cash basis you report income received and expenses paid within each quarter's dates.

Most dates fall in the same-numbered quarter under both types. Dates near quarter boundaries are where they differ. A payment on 3 July falls in Q1 under standard quarters (6 April - 5 July) but in Q2 under calendar quarters (1 July - 30 September). A payment on 2 October is Q2 under standard quarters but Q3 under calendar quarters.

For income or expenses close to quarter boundaries, see Late Receipts and Missing Invoices: Which Quarter Does It Go In?.

Penalties for Filing Late

For 2026-27 there are no penalty points for late quarterly updates. From 2027-28, each missed deadline earns one point, and quarterly filers get a £200 penalty at 4 points. Because the deadlines are the same for both quarter types, your quarter type can't make you late. Read more in MTD Penalties Explained and Missed an MTD Deadline? Penalties and What to Do Next.

A Simple Checklist

  1. Decide whether standard or calendar quarters suit your records.
  2. Set the quarter type in your software before your first quarterly update of the tax year.
  3. Use your quarter's dates to decide which period each transaction belongs to.
  4. Put the deadlines (7 August, 7 November, 7 February, 7 May) in your calendar with reminders.
  5. Remember the final declaration is due by 31 January after the tax year ends.

Summary

Your MTD quarter type - standard (6 April to 5 July, and so on) or calendar (1 April to 30 June, and so on) - decides which dates each quarterly update covers. It doesn't change your deadlines: both types file by 7 August, 7 November, 7 February and 7 May. Standard quarters are the default. You can choose calendar quarters in your software before your first quarterly update of each tax year.

Not sure which quarter type is on your account?

Affordable MTD connects directly to HMRC and lets you choose standard or calendar quarters for each tax year. Free for 2026-27, then £19.99 a year.

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