MTD quarterly updates: what you send, when, and the penalties

PFBy Paul · Last checked against GOV.UK on 3 November 2026 · How we check facts

Quarterly updates sound scary. They're mostly your software adding up your records and you pressing send. Here's what HMRC actually asks for.

What a quarterly update is

Every three months your software totals your income and expenses for each business (each self-employment and property business is separate). HMRC calls these "summaries, not tax returns". It doesn't see individual receipts or invoices, just category totals, using the same categories as Self Assessment. You don't need to make accounting or tax adjustments first. Source: Send quarterly updates, GOV.UK.

Each update is year-to-date

Each update covers from 6 April to the end of the period. So if you spot a mistake in July's numbers, fix the records and it flows into the next update. You can't change your period type (standard or calendar) after the first update of the year.

Deadlines

7 August, 7 November, 7 February and 7 May. You can send any time after the period ends, or up to 10 days early if you won't record anything else. You must still send an update if you earned and spent nothing that quarter.

Penalties

• How points work: each missed deadline earns one point (only one per deadline, even if you have several businesses). At 4 points you get a £200 penalty, and another £200 for each deadline you miss after that.
• 2026 to 2027: no points for late quarterly updates for anyone. A late tax return still gets a point.
• Joined in April 2026: late quarterly updates start to count from 2027 to 2028. The first one is due 7 August 2027.
• Joining in April 2027: at Budget 2026 the government said there will be no points for late quarterly updates in 2027 to 2028 for this group. You still have to send them, and a late tax return still gets a point. Budget 2026 overview, paragraph 2.36. HMRC's penalties page hadn't been updated for this when we checked. What Budget 2026 changed.
• Volunteers: no penalties for late quarterly updates; 2 late-return points means £200 (GOV.UK).
• Paying late: once you're in MTD the late payment penalties change too. Nothing for the first 15 days (30 days in your first year), then a percentage of what you owe (3% at day 15 and 3% at day 30 for 2026 to 2027 tax; 4% and 4% for 2027 to 2028), then 10% a year on what's still owed from day 31. Interest runs from the first day either way.

More detail: Penalties for MTD for Income Tax, GOV.UK.

After each update

You can see an estimate of your tax bill so far in your software and your HMRC online account. It's more accurate if you add other income such as savings interest.

A simple routine that works

1. Weekly: snap receipts and match bank transactions (10 minutes).
2. End of each quarter: review totals and fix anything odd.
3. By the 7th: send the update. Put the four dates in your calendar now.

Not chosen software yet? Use the software chooser.

This page is general information, not tax advice. Read why. Page history: 3 November 2026, full check against GOV.UK.

Drafts are sometimes prepared with help from AI writing tools. Every fact is checked against the GOV.UK page it links to, and Paul reads and approves each page before it goes up. How we check facts.

Quotes and facts from GOV.UK: contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Quoted words are HMRC's or HM Treasury's, not ours.