Making Tax Digital deadlines: the full 2026-27 calendar

The first-ever MTD ITSA quarterly deadline, 7 August 2026, has just passed. If you filed it, your next deadline is 7 November 2026. If you missed it, you are not alone and 2026-27 is a penalty-free soft-landing year for quarterly updates - see below for what actually happens next.

Not sure these deadlines apply to you?

Run the Making Tax Digital Checker to confirm your qualifying income, your mandation date, and your personal quarterly deadlines in under a minute.

Open the Making Tax Digital Checker

Who's mandated, and when

Mandation is based on your combined gross self-employment and UK property income (turnover, not profit) in a reference tax year.

Qualifying income over	Reference tax year	Mandated from
£50,000	2024-25	6 April 2026
£30,000	2025-26	6 April 2027
£20,000	2026-27	6 April 2028

HMRC reviews your Self Assessment return each year and checks your qualifying income against the relevant threshold. Full detail: Making Tax Digital Checker.

The 2026-27 quarterly deadline calendar

Your software defaults to the standard tax-year-aligned quarters below. You can instead elect calendar quarters before your first update of the year - both options land on the same four submission dates.

Standard quarters (default)

Quarter	Period covered	Submission deadline
Quarter 1	6 April 2026 - 5 July 2026	7 August 2026
Quarter 2	6 July 2026 - 5 October 2026	7 November 2026
Quarter 3	6 October 2026 - 5 January 2027	7 February 2027
Quarter 4	6 January 2027 - 5 April 2027	7 May 2027

Calendar-quarter election

Quarter	Period covered	Submission deadline
Quarter 1	1 April 2026 - 30 June 2026	7 August 2026
Quarter 2	1 July 2026 - 30 September 2026	7 November 2026
Quarter 3	1 October 2026 - 31 December 2026	7 February 2027
Quarter 4	1 January 2027 - 31 March 2027	7 May 2027

You must select calendar quarters for each income source in your software before sending your first quarterly update of the tax year - you cannot switch mid-year.

Missed or wrong figures in an earlier quarter? Updates are cumulative

Quarterly updates are not a one-shot submission you are stuck with. If you need to correct an earlier period - a missed invoice, a miscategorised expense - HMRC lets you include that correction in your next quarterly update rather than reopening the original one. In practice, many sole traders and landlords use the fourth quarterly update of the year to sweep up anything outstanding before moving on to the final declaration.

What happens if you miss a deadline

2026-27: soft landing, no penalty points

HMRC is not issuing penalty points for late quarterly updates during the 2026-27 tax year - the first year of MTD ITSA. You still need to catch up before you file, but a late quarterly update on its own will not add a point or trigger a fine this year.

From 2027-28: the points-based system applies

One penalty point per missed submission deadline (quarterly update or final declaration). Reach 4 points and HMRC charges a £200 penalty, then a further £200 for every additional missed deadline after that. Points expire after a period of consistent on-time filing.

Late payment penalties are separate - and they still apply now

The quarterly-update soft landing does not cover paying your tax late. Late-payment penalties and interest continue to apply on the normal schedule, and penalties for a late Self Assessment return (for years still filed that way) are unaffected too.

Final declaration and payment deadlines

After your four quarterly updates, you submit a final declaration to confirm your tax position for the year - this replaces the SA100 Self Assessment return for income sources covered by MTD. For the 2026-27 tax year, the final declaration is due 31 January 2028, the same 31 January deadline that applied under the old Self Assessment system.

MTD does not change how or when you pay. Your balancing payment is still due 31 January, and Payments on Account remain due 31 July and 31 January. See our Self Assessment 2025-26 guide for the payment mechanics if you are still filing under the old system for an earlier year.

How to register for Making Tax Digital

Confirm you're in scope. Use the Making Tax Digital Checker to check your qualifying income against the current threshold.
Have your Self Assessment details ready. You must already be registered for Self Assessment and have submitted a return within the last 2 years - sign-up uses the same Government Gateway user ID and password.
Choose MTD-compatible software before you sign up, since you will confirm your accounting method and business details as part of the process.
Sign up on gov.uk. Start at gov.uk/guidance/sign-up-for-making-tax-digital-for-income-tax and follow the "Sign up now" link through to HMRC's online service.
Start keeping digital records from the date you sign up, so your first quarterly update has a clean set of figures behind it.

Landlords: the same deadlines, one update per property business

There is no separate landlord timetable - the quarterly dates and the £50,000 / £30,000 / £20,000 thresholds above apply equally to rental income. The practical difference is that each property business you run needs its own quarterly update on the same deadlines: for most landlords that means one UK property business update, and a separate one if you also have an overseas property business. Rental income is combined with any self-employment income when HMRC checks your qualifying-income threshold.

Frequently asked questions

When is the next Making Tax Digital deadline?

The first-ever MTD ITSA quarterly deadline was 7 August 2026 (covering 6 April - 5 July, or 1 April - 30 June for calendar-quarter filers). The next deadline is 7 November 2026, covering the second quarter. After that, 7 February 2027 and 7 May 2027 complete the 2026-27 cycle.

What happens if I miss a Making Tax Digital quarterly deadline?

For the 2026-27 tax year, HMRC is not issuing penalty points for late quarterly updates - this is the first-year soft landing. From the 2027-28 tax year, a points-based system applies: one point per missed deadline, and reaching 4 points triggers a £200 penalty, with a further £200 for each additional missed deadline after that. Late-payment penalties are separate and still apply even during the 2026-27 soft landing.

Can I correct a quarterly update I already submitted?

Yes. HMRC treats quarterly updates as cumulative, so if you need to fix an earlier period you can include the correction in your next quarterly update rather than resubmitting the original one. Many people also use the fourth quarterly update to catch up on anything missed before their final declaration.

When is the final declaration due for 2026-27?

31 January 2028 - the same 31 January following the tax year end that applied to the old Self Assessment deadline. The final declaration replaces the SA100 for income sources in MTD. Payment deadlines are unchanged: your balancing payment is due 31 January, and Payments on Account remain due 31 July and 31 January.

Do landlords have the same Making Tax Digital deadlines as sole traders?

Yes. The quarterly submission dates and the £50,000 / £30,000 / £20,000 mandation thresholds are identical for sole traders and landlords. The difference is that landlords with more than one property business (for example UK property plus a separate overseas property business) send a separate quarterly update for each one, on the same deadlines.

How do I register for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax?

Sign up at gov.uk using the same Government Gateway user ID and password you use for Self Assessment. You must already be registered for Self Assessment and have submitted a return in the last 2 years. Once signed up, choose MTD-compatible software before your first quarterly update is due.

Sources

Learn More

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