Making Tax Digital quarterly updates are due by 7 August, 7 November, 7 February and 7 May each year — the same four deadlines whether you use the standard tax-year periods (6 April to 5 July, 5 October, 5 January, 5 April) or elect calendar periods in your software. For the first MTD year, 2026/27, the first update covers 6 April to 5 July 2026 and is due by 7 August 2026.
- Four updates a year per income source, due 7 Aug / 7 Nov / 7 Feb / 7 May.
- Updates are cumulative: each covers from the start of the tax year, so errors fix themselves in the next update.
- The first-ever MTD deadline is 7 August 2026 for the April 2026 wave.
- A calendar election (1 Apr–30 Jun periods etc.) changes the periods, not the deadlines — choose it in your software before the first update.
- Quarterly updates are summaries of digital records, not four tax returns — the tax is settled after year end as normal.
What are the MTD quarterly deadlines for 2026/27?
The first mandated year runs 6 April 2026 to 5 April 2027 and has these four update deadlines — shown live in the tool above, which also exports them straight to your calendar:
| Update | Standard period (cumulative) | Deadline |
|---|---|---|
| Q1 | 6 April 2026 – 5 July 2026 | 7 August 2026 |
| Q2 | 6 April 2026 – 5 October 2026 | 7 November 2026 |
| Q3 | 6 April 2026 – 5 January 2027 | 7 February 2027 |
| Q4 | 6 April 2026 – 5 April 2027 | 7 May 2027 |
What does "cumulative" mean for my updates?
Each quarterly update covers from the start of the tax year to the end of that quarter — not just the three months since the last one. Gov.uk puts it directly: "Each time you send a quarterly update it will cover from the start of the tax year to the end of the update period." In practice that's good news: if you missed a transaction in Q1, the corrected total simply flows through your Q2 update — there's no need to resubmit Q1.
Standard or calendar periods — which should I pick?
The standard periods follow the tax year (6 April starts). If your bookkeeping runs on calendar months, you can elect calendar update periods (1 April – 30 June, 30 September, 31 December, 31 March) in your MTD software before your first update — the deadlines stay exactly the same, so the election is purely about which period-end is easier to reconcile. Most people whose accounts run April-to-April keep the standard periods.
Frequently asked questions
When is the first Making Tax Digital deadline?
7 August 2026 — the Q1 update for the 2026/27 tax year, covering 6 April to 5 July 2026 (or 1 April to 30 June 2026 under the calendar election).
Are quarterly updates four tax returns a year?
No. They're summary totals of your digital records sent from your software. Your tax is still worked out after year end, when you finalise with a final declaration in place of the old Self Assessment return.
What if I have both a trade and a rental property?
You send quarterly updates for each income source — so a sole trade plus a property business means two updates per quarter, both due by the same deadline dates.
Do the deadlines change under the calendar election?
No — only the period-end dates change (30 June, 30 September, 31 December, 31 March). The submission deadlines are 7 August, 7 November, 7 February and 7 May either way.
How does the .ics calendar export work?
The button above generates a standard iCalendar file with all four deadlines (plus a 7-day-before reminder) entirely in your browser. Open it with Google Calendar, Outlook or Apple Calendar to add the dates.
Source: Use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax — send quarterly updates (gov.uk), verified 12 June 2026. Guidance for information only — not regulated tax advice.