MTD Quarterly Deadlines 2026-27: Every Date You Need to Know

The first Making Tax Digital for Income Tax quarterly update is due on 7 August 2026. From that date, sole traders and landlords with qualifying income over £50,000 must submit digital updates (see our full MTD explainer if you're new to this) to HMRC every quarter.

Here's the complete deadline schedule for the 2026-27 tax year, what you need to submit at each stage, and what happens if you miss one.

The 2026-27 deadline schedule

The tax year runs from 6 April 2026 to 5 April 2027. Each quarter has a submission deadline roughly one month after it ends.

What does "cumulative" actually mean?

This is the part that trips people up. MTD quarterly updates are cumulative from the start of the tax year. Each update replaces the previous one with updated year-to-date totals.

Here's a practical example. Say you're a sole trader with roughly even income throughout the year:

Q1 update (due 7 August): You report £15,000 income and £4,000 expenses for April to July.

Q2 update (due 7 November): You report £30,000 income and £8,000 expenses for April to October. This isn't just the Q2 figures - it's Q1 plus Q2 combined. Your Q2 submission replaces the Q1 figures entirely.

Q3 update (due 7 February): You report £45,000 income and £12,000 expenses for April to January. Again, this is the running total for the year so far.

Q4 update (due 7 May): You report £60,000 income and £16,000 expenses for the full year, April to April.

The advantage of cumulative updates is that you can correct earlier estimates as you go. If your Q1 expenses were slightly wrong, your Q2 submission automatically corrects them because it includes the updated year-to-date figures.

The soft landing for 2026-27

This doesn't mean you should ignore the quarterly deadlines. Getting into the habit from Q1 is much easier than scrambling to catch up later. And from 2027-28 onwards, the penalty system applies in full.

What happens if you miss a deadline (from 2027-28 onwards)?

From the second year, HMRC uses a points-based penalty system for late submissions:

Each late quarterly update = 1 penalty point. Points accumulate over time. For obligations that are quarterly (which MTD is), you reach the penalty threshold at 4 points.

At 4 points = £200 penalty. Once you hit the threshold, you receive a £200 fine. Every subsequent late submission also triggers a £200 penalty until you bring your compliance up to date.

Points expire after a period of consistent on-time filing. For quarterly obligations, you need 24 months of meeting every deadline to reset your points to zero.

Late payment has separate penalties. If you don't pay the tax you owe by the due date, interest accrues from day one. After 15 days late, a penalty of 2% of the outstanding amount applies. After 30 days, that increases. These are separate from the submission penalties.

Can I use calendar quarters instead?

Yes. HMRC allows you to choose between standard quarters (based on the tax year, starting 6 April) and calendar quarters (starting 1 April, 1 July, 1 October, 1 January). Most people will use standard quarters, but calendar quarters can be useful if your accounting period aligns with them.

The deadlines for calendar quarters are slightly different, but the principle is the same - you have roughly one month after each quarter ends to submit your update. Your MTD software will show you the specific dates for your chosen quarter structure.

How long does each submission take?

If your records are already in a spreadsheet, the actual submission process is quick. Export your data, upload it to your MTD bridging software, review the summary, and click submit. Most people report it taking five to fifteen minutes once they've done it once.

The time-consuming part is keeping your records up to date during the quarter. But if you're already tracking income and expenses as they happen (which HMRC expects you to do anyway), the quarterly submission is just a formality.

The key is not to leave your bookkeeping until the deadline. If you update your records monthly (or even weekly), each quarterly submission becomes a simple export and upload.

Deadlines at a glance

Save these dates for the 2026-27 tax year:

What should you do now?

With the first deadline less than five months away, now is the time to choose your software and do a test run. Don't wait until August when the pressure is on. Connect to HMRC through your software of choice, look at your obligations, and familiarise yourself with the submission process while there's still time.

If you're already keeping digital records, you're most of the way there. The quarterly submission itself is the easy part.

Last updated March 2026. Deadlines are based on HMRC's published schedule for the 2026-27 tax year. Always check GOV.UK for any changes.