MTD quarterly updates: what actually goes in them (first deadline 7 August)

If you are in Making Tax Digital for Income Tax, your first quarterly update is due by 7 August 2026, covering 6 April to 5 July. Here is exactly what goes in it, what does not, and why it is less frightening and less optional than people think.

What a quarterly update actually is

It is a summary of your business income and expenses for the quarter, sent to HMRC through MTD-compatible software. Totals by category, not a tax return: no tax calculation, no adjustments, no accounting judgement calls. Think of it as showing HMRC your running totals four times a year.

What goes in

• Total income received in the quarter, by type (sales or rent)
• Expenses summarised under standard categories: costs of goods, wages, premises, travel, repairs and so on
• Cumulative figures: each update includes everything since 6 April, so an error in one quarter can simply be corrected in the next

What stays out

• Accounting adjustments, accruals and capital allowances: those happen once, in the final declaration by 31 January 2028
• Personal income like employment or dividends
• Payments: quarterly updates change nothing about when you pay tax

The part people get wrong

The updates must come from digital records kept in software, not from a spreadsheet typed up the night before. That is the real shift MTD demands: receipts and income recorded as you go. Get that habit (or hand it to us) and the quarterly deadline becomes a non-event that takes minutes.

Miss one?

Late submissions earn penalty points, and at four points the £200 fines start. HMRC has signalled a softer touch in this first year, but the final declaration keeps normal penalties, and points are a habit you do not want. If the 7 August deadline is news to you, act now.

Or make it a non-event

Every Strategic Ridge package includes MTD quarterly submissions done for you, from records we keep. See your fixed fee in 60 seconds or check whether MTD applies to you in our MTD guide. There is also the full 2026/27 deadlines calendar.