MTD for Income Tax: your full quarterly update timeline

We've had a lot of questions about the first MTD quarterly update deadline on 7 August 2026, but that's just the start. If you're in scope for MTD for Income Tax, there's a repeating cycle of dates you'll need to keep on top of throughout the year. Here's the full picture.

Your MTD for Income Tax timeline (for income over £50,000)

• 6 April 2026 — Start date for keeping digital records
• 7 August 2026 — 1st quarterly update (covers 6 Apr–5 Jul)
• 7 November 2026 — 2nd quarterly update (covers 6 Jul–5 Oct)
• 31 January 2027 — Self Assessment tax return for 2025/26 (submitted the usual way)
• 7 February 2027 — 3rd quarterly update (covers 6 Oct–5 Jan)
• 7 May 2027 — 4th quarterly update (covers 6 Jan–5 Apr)
• 7 August 2027 — 1st quarterly update for 2027/28 tax year begins
• 31 January 2028 — First tax return submitted straight from MTD software (for 2026/27)

A few things worth flagging:

• Quarterly updates ≠ your tax return. They run on their own separate schedule. You'll still do a normal Self Assessment return by 31 January for a while yet it's only from the 2026/27 tax year (due January 2028) that your return gets submitted directly from your MTD software.
• Each source of income needs its own updates. If you have both self-employment and rental income, you're sending an update for each.
• After you submit an update, you'll see an estimated tax bill in your software or HMRC online account. This is useful for keeping an eye on what you might owe, well before January.

Save this post or bookmark the official HMRC dates page so you've always got the next deadline to hand.

Which deadline are you prepping for right now? Let us know below 👇