Your first MTD quarterly update is due 5 August 2026 — here's exactly what to do

If you're in scope for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax in 2026–27, your first quarterly update covers the period 6 April to 5 July 2026. The submission deadline is 5 August 2026 — just over six weeks away from today.

This guide covers exactly what you need to submit, how to prepare if your records are behind, what happens if you miss the deadline, and how to submit through Regulas in a few clicks.

What does a quarterly update actually contain?

A quarterly update is a summary of your income and expenses for the period. You don't send receipts, invoices, or bank statements — just the category totals.

From 2026–27 onwards, quarterly updates are cumulative. Your Q1 submission contains figures from 6 April through 5 July only. Your Q2 submission (due 5 November) will contain cumulative figures from 6 April through 5 October. Your software handles this automatically — you don't need to add up prior quarters manually.

Income to include

Include all business income received during Q1 for each of your business sources:

• Sole trader income: All invoices paid and cash receipts during the period
• Property income (landlords): Rent received, service charges, any other property income
• Multiple businesses: If you have more than one source (e.g. sole trader freelancing + rental income), each is submitted separately

HMRC expense categories

Expenses are submitted in HMRC's standard categories — your software maps them as you record:

What if my records are behind?

MTD started on 6 April. If you haven't been keeping digital records consistently since then, you have six weeks to catch up before the deadline. Here's the most efficient approach:

1. Export your bank statements for 6 April – 5 July from your business bank account. This is your income source of truth for most sole traders.
2. Identify and categorise income: Which credits are business income? Which are transfers or personal? Go through the statement and tag business receipts.
3. Identify and categorise expenses: Which debits are allowable business expenses? Map them to the HMRC categories above.
4. Enter into your MTD software: Input totals per category. You don't need individual transactions at quarterly update stage — category totals are sufficient.
5. Submit: Once the Q1 period closes (after 5 July), submit your update through your MTD-compatible software.

What happens if you miss the 5 August deadline?

MTD uses a points-based penalty system. Each late quarterly update earns 1 penalty point. Once you accumulate 4 points, a £200 financial penalty applies for each subsequent late submission.

Late payment of the tax owed is a separate matter — payment penalties are not covered by the transitional relief and apply from day 16 after the payment due date.

Submitting with Regulas

If you're using Regulas for your MTD records, submitting your Q1 update takes a few minutes:

1. Open your dashboard — your Q1 income and expense totals are shown automatically once the period closes
2. Review the category summary — check the figures look correct against your records
3. Click Submit to HMRC — Regulas sends the update directly via HMRC's API
4. Receive your submission confirmation from HMRC — save or screenshot this for your records

After Q1: the rest of the year

Once your Q1 update is submitted, the remaining 2026–27 deadlines are:

Read our full guide to quarterly updates under MTD for more detail on calendar quarter alternatives and what the final declaration involves.