Last checked 19 October 2026
Quick answer
A quarterly update is a summary your software builds from your digital records: totals for each income and expense category, for the tax year so far. HMRC says updates are summaries, not tax returns, and HMRC doesn’t receive your individual receipts or invoices. You send one for each business every 3 months, even if there was no income, and you don’t need to make tax or accounting adjustments first.
This is general information, not tax advice. Check GOV.UK or speak to an accountant about your situation. Why we say this.
“Four tax returns a year” is one of the most common myths about Making Tax Digital (MTD) for Income Tax. HMRC’s own guidance says otherwise. This guide explains what a quarterly update actually contains, how your software builds it and what happens after you press send. For the dates themselves, see our guide to MTD quarterly deadlines 2027 to 2028.
What a quarterly update is
HMRC’s Send quarterly updates guidance says that every 3 months, your compatible software adds together your digital records for each business you have. That creates totals for your self-employment and property income and expenses. HMRC calls these quarterly updates, and says they’re summaries, not tax returns.
It also says you don’t need to make any accounting or tax adjustments before sending a quarterly update. Those come at the end of the year, before your tax return. Our guide to your MTD tax return explains that part.
What’s in an update, and what isn’t
HMRC says your quarterly updates include totals for each income and expense category you used when creating your digital records. MTD uses the same categories as Self Assessment.
What isn’t sent: HMRC says it won’t receive details of individual receipts or invoices in your quarterly updates. You keep those in your records.
If your turnover from a self-employment is under £90,000, HMRC’s Create digital records guidance says you can choose simpler categorisation, where as a sole trader you only record whether each transaction is income or an expense. Our guide to spreadsheets and bridging software covers what each record needs.
Each update covers the tax year so far
This trips people up. HMRC says each quarterly update covers from the start of the tax year, 6 April, to the end of the update period. So your third update, using standard periods, covers 6 April to 5 January, not only October to January.
| Update | Standard period covered | Deadline |
|---|---|---|
| First | 6 April to 5 July | 7 August |
| Second | 6 April to 5 October | 7 November |
| Third | 6 April to 5 January | 7 February |
| Fourth | 6 April to 5 April | 7 May (the following tax year) |
Source: Send quarterly updates (GOV.UK). If your accounting period runs from 1 April to 31 March, HMRC says you should use calendar update periods instead; the deadlines are the same.
HMRC says this running total means you can correct your records if you need to, and the correction is then included in your next update. You don’t resend old updates during the year.
One update per business
HMRC says you send quarterly updates for each self-employment and property business you have. HMRC’s records guidance gives the example of someone who is an electrician and a driving instructor: they’d keep separate digital records and send separate updates for each.
For landlords, HMRC says all your UK properties count as one UK property business, so they go in one update.
Nothing to report?
HMRC says that if you haven’t received any income or had any expenses during an update period, you must still send your quarterly update to tell HMRC.
When you can send
HMRC says you can send a quarterly update any time after the end of the update period, up to and including the deadline day.
You can also send it up to 10 days before the end of the period if you don’t expect to record any more transactions. HMRC’s example is going on holiday, knowing you won’t be working or receiving income for the rest of the period.
Sending more often
HMRC says you can choose to send updates more often, and that most compatible software lets you send one on any day. Each one still covers from 6 April. Its example: instead of one update for 6 April to 5 July, you could send three, covering 6 April to 5 May, 6 April to 5 June and 6 April to 5 July. Some people do this to see how a big sale or purchase affects their estimated tax.
How sending works
HMRC says your software provider should have guidance on how to send an update, and that HMRC can’t give advice about specific software, because each product works differently. In general terms:
- Your software adds up your digital records for the period.
- You check the totals. HMRC says it’s your responsibility to make sure your digital records are accurate before you send.
- You send the update from your software.
Afterwards, HMRC says the recent activity in your HMRC online account will show “You sent a quarterly update”.
Your tax estimate
After you send an update, HMRC says you can get an estimate of your tax bill for your self-employment and property income for the tax year to date, in both your software and your HMRC online account. HMRC includes other information it already has, such as a student loan plan type.
HMRC says the estimate will be less accurate if you have other income you haven’t told it about yet, or if your accounting period doesn’t match the tax year. Some software lets you add other income, such as savings interest, during the year to improve the estimate. It’s an estimate, not a bill; your bill still comes from your tax return. Our guide to how much tax to set aside explains how the bill is built.
If you’re late
HMRC says that after the 2026 to 2027 tax year, if you don’t send a quarterly update by the deadline, you get a late submission penalty point, and at 4 points, a £200 penalty. If you start on 6 April 2027, that applies from your first update. Our guide to MTD penalties from April 2027 explains how points build up and how to remove them.
Changes after the fourth update
HMRC says you may need to resend your fourth quarterly update if you need to change your digital records after sending it, for example to correct an error. If needed, you resend it before making any tax adjustments for your tax return.
Frequently asked questions
Is a quarterly update a tax return?
No. HMRC says quarterly updates are summaries, not tax returns. You still submit one tax return a year.
Does HMRC see every receipt?
No. HMRC says it won’t receive details of individual receipts or invoices in your quarterly updates.
Do I have to send an update if I earned nothing?
Yes. HMRC says you must still send your quarterly update to tell HMRC.
Can I send updates monthly?
Yes, if your software allows it. HMRC says you can send updates more often, as long as they cover the full update period.
Sources
All checked on 19 October 2026.
- Send quarterly updates (GOV.UK, updated 16 October 2026)
- Create digital records (GOV.UK)
- Penalties for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax (GOV.UK)
Where to check
What changed. : . 19 October 2026: First published.
