What is Making Tax Digital?
If you're a sole trader or landlord with a gross income of more than £50,000 from self-employment and/or property, you'll no longer file just one Self Assessment return a year.
Instead, from April 2026, you'll need to keep digital records and send updates to HMRC every three months — plus a final year-end Tax Return.
5 submissions a year instead of 1
Four quarterly updates plus a final year-end Tax Return, using software that's compatible with HMRC systems.
This is part of the Government's 'Making Tax Digital' (MTD) scheme. While it's designed to spread the workload, it also brings new admin, new deadlines — and ultimately penalties if you miss them.
What are the deadlines for Making Tax Digital?
With MTD updates being more frequent than with Self-Assessment — and the penalties if you miss these — it's a good idea to set reminders for each Quarterly Update deadline, as well as for your Tax Return and tax payment.
Here are the key MTD deadlines for the tax year starting 6 April 2026. In places they overlap with the Self-Assessment deadline for the previous 2025/26 tax year (highlighted in red):
6 April 2026
Start keeping digital records
Begin using compatible software to keep digital records of your income and expenses.
7 August 2026
1st Quarterly Update deadline
Send your Quarterly Update for the period 6 April to 5 July 2026.
7 November 2026
2nd Quarterly Update deadline
Send your Quarterly Update for the period 6 April to 5 October 2026.
31 January 2027
Self-Assessment Tax Return (2025/26)
Deadline to submit a Self-Assessment Tax Return in the usual way for the previous 2025/26 tax year.
7 February 2027
3rd Quarterly Update deadline
Send your Quarterly Update for the period 6 April 2026 to 5 January 2027.
7 May 2027
4th Quarterly Update deadline
Send your Quarterly Update for the period 6 April 2026 to 5 April 2027.
7 August 2027
1st Quarterly Update deadline (2027/28)
Send your Quarterly Update for the period 6 April to 5 July 2027. Eligible people with gross income £30,000+ begin using MTD.
Income £30,000+ threshold begins
7 November 2027
2nd Quarterly Update deadline (2027/28)
Send your Quarterly Update for the period 6 April to 5 October 2027.
31 January 2028
MTD Tax Return & payment deadline (2026/27)
Deadline to submit your MTD Tax Return and pay your income tax for 2026/27.
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