Quarterly updates are due on 7 August, 7 November, 7 February and 7 May. Each one is a summary of your income and expenses from 6 April to the end of the quarter, sent through your software, one for each income source. Your tax return is due by 31 January after the tax year ends, as now.
Deadlines for 2027–28
If you start Making Tax Digital in April 2027, these are your dates for your first year:
| What | Covers | Due by |
|---|---|---|
| Q1 update | 6 April to 5 July 2027 | 7 August 2027 |
| Q2 update | 6 April to 5 October 2027 | 7 November 2027 |
| Q3 update | 6 April 2027 to 5 January 2028 | 7 February 2028 |
| Q4 update | 6 April 2027 to 5 April 2028 | 7 May 2028 |
| Tax return for 2027–28 | The whole tax year | 31 January 2029 |
| Tax to pay for 2027–28 | Balance and first payment on account | 31 January 2029 |
Your last old-style return is still due. In your first Making Tax Digital year, you still send your previous year's Self Assessment return the usual way. If you start in April 2027, your 2026–27 return is due by 31 January 2028.
You can send an update as soon as the quarter ends. You don't have to wait for the deadline.
What a quarterly update contains
An update is a summary, not a bill. For each income source it gives your income and expenses for the tax year so far, grouped into HMRC's categories. Your software works the totals out from your records.
If your turnover or rent is under £90,000, you can send your expenses as one total instead of by category.
After each update, HMRC can show you an estimate of your tax for the year so far. It's a guide only. You don't pay anything when you send an update.
One update for each income source
You send a separate update for each of these:
- each self-employment (each trade has its own HMRC business ID)
- all your UK property, as one
- all your overseas property, as one
So a sole trader who also lets a flat sends two updates every quarter: eight a year.
Cumulative updates and corrections
Each update covers the tax year from 6 April to the end of the quarter, not just the latest three months. This makes mistakes easy to fix: correct your records, and the next update carries the right totals. You don't need to resend the earlier one.
Mistakes found after your fourth update can be put right before or when you do your tax return.
Standard or calendar quarters
Standard quarters follow the tax year: they end on 5 July, 5 October, 5 January and 5 April. If you'd rather work in calendar months, you can choose calendar quarters instead, ending on 30 June, 30 September, 31 December and 31 March. You choose in your software for each income source, before you send your first update of the tax year, and can't change it for that year once an update has gone.
The deadlines are the same either way: 7 August, 7 November, 7 February and 7 May.
If you miss a deadline
Send the update as soon as you can. Late updates can lead to penalty points, and enough points lead to a penalty. See our guide to Making Tax Digital penalties.
Sources
This guide explains HMRC's rules in general and isn't tax advice. Your own deadlines are the ones HMRC shows in your software or HMRC online account.
- Send quarterly updates (GOV.UK)
- Submit your tax return (GOV.UK)