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Deadlines and penalties
MTD for Income Tax deadline checker: when each client starts, and the four dates a year
Enter a client's qualifying income for three tax years and get the date they come into MTD, this year's four quarterly deadlines, and the penalty points rule.
Two questions come up on every client call now: "Am I in this MTD thing?" and "When is the next one due?" The checker answers both from the client's qualifying income and today's date.
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MTD for Income Tax: start date and quarterly deadline checker
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When a client comes in
HMRC looks at qualifying income, which is the gross income from self-employment and property on the client's Self Assessment return, and the thresholds step down over three years:
- Over £50,000 in 2024 to 2025: in MTD from 6 April 2026.
- Over £30,000 in 2025 to 2026: in from 6 April 2027.
- Over £20,000 in 2026 to 2027: in from 6 April 2028.
The test is gross income, not profit, and it is the total across self-employment and property together. A landlord with £28,000 of rent and a £24,000 side business is over £50,000 and has been in since April 2026, whatever either activity made after costs. That is the case practices most often get wrong on a quick look.
Exemptions exist, for example for people who are digitally excluded, and have to be applied for. The checker assumes no exemption.
The four dates
Each MTD client sends four quarterly updates a year. The standard periods run from 6 April, and the deadlines are the 7th of the month after each period ends:
| Period | Covers | Due |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 April to 5 July | 7 August |
| 2 | 6 April to 5 October | 7 November |
| 3 | 6 April to 5 January | 7 February |
| 4 | 6 April to 5 April | 7 May |
A client whose accounts run 1 April to 31 March can elect calendar quarters instead (1 April to 30 June, and so on), with the same four deadlines. The checker shows either set.
Notice that each period starts on the same day. Updates are cumulative: the second one reports the year to 5 October, not the three months since July. A mistake in an earlier quarter is corrected in the next update, not by amending the old one, which takes some of the fear out of the process.
The final declaration and the tax itself still go in by 31 January after the tax year, as before.
Penalty points start after the first year
GOV.UK's penalties page says there are no penalties for missing a quarterly update deadline in the 2026 to 2027 tax year. The updates still have to be sent, because the tax return cannot be submitted without them. For tax years after 2026 to 2027, each quarterly update or tax return deadline missed earns one penalty point; at four points the client gets a £200 penalty, and another £200 for each deadline missed after that. A point below the threshold is removed 24 months after the missed deadline. So the first year is the practice run: a client who cannot hit four dates in 2026 to 2027 will be collecting points from the first quarter of 2027 to 2028.
Volunteers and the clients below the line
A client under every threshold can join MTD voluntarily, and some will want to, usually because their software does the quarterly update anyway and they like the discipline. The checker reports "not mandated yet" for them; the practice's decision is whether volunteering is worth two penalty points' worth of risk for a client who cannot keep records. Our view: volunteer the tidy ones, not the ones who need chasing.
Also watch the clients just under £30,000 on their 2025 to 2026 return. A good year in 2026 to 2027 pushes them over £20,000 for April 2028 whatever happens, so the question is only ever when, not whether.
What this means for the practice
Four deadlines a year per client, each needing the records before it, is the real change. Our guide to what accountants do each MTD quarter sets out the workload and the records request letter maker gives you the three letters to send before each one.
This is general information, not tax advice.
Short answers from this page
When are the Making Tax Digital quarterly updates due?
On 7 August, 7 November, 7 February and 7 May, a month and two days after each standard quarter ends. A client with more than £50,000 of qualifying income on their 2024 to 2025 return has been in MTD for Income Tax since 6 April 2026, so the first two deadlines of the 2026 to 2027 year are 7 August and 7 November 2026.
Source: GOV.UK Making Tax Digital for Income Tax guidance, checked 1 October 2026
Who has to use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax, and from when?
Sole traders and landlords with qualifying income over £50,000 from 6 April 2026, over £30,000 from 6 April 2027 and over £20,000 from 6 April 2028. Qualifying income is gross self-employment and property income added together, before expenses, taken from the return two years earlier.
Source: GOV.UK
Where this comes from: GOV.UK "Check if you're eligible for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax" "Send quarterly updates" and "Penalties for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax" (updated 30 March 2026), all read 2026-10-01.
AEO Lookup editorial team
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