TaxThreshold

Making Tax Digital deadlines

Four updates a year, then your tax return. The dates never move: 7 August, 7 November, 7 February, 7 May, then 31 January.

The bit most guides get wrong. These are not four separate quarters. Every update period starts on 6 April and runs to the end of that quarter — each one restates the whole year to date. HMRC lists them as 6 April to 5 July, 6 April to 5 October, 6 April to 5 January, and 6 April to 5 April.

If you start on 6 April 2026

That is anyone with qualifying income over £50,000 on their 2024/25 return.

  • Update 1: 6 April to 5 July (cumulative)
  • Update 2: 6 April to 5 October (cumulative)
  • Update 3: 6 April to 5 January (cumulative)
  • Update 4: 6 April to 5 April (cumulative)
  • Tax return / final declaration

If you start on 6 April 2027

That is anyone with qualifying income over £30,000 on their 2025/26 return.

  • Update 1: 6 April to 5 July (cumulative)
  • Update 2: 6 April to 5 October (cumulative)
  • Update 3: 6 April to 5 January (cumulative)
  • Update 4: 6 April to 5 April (cumulative)
  • Tax return / final declaration

If you start on 6 April 2028

That is anyone with qualifying income over £20,000 on their 2026/27 return.

  • Update 1: 6 April to 5 July (cumulative)
  • Update 2: 6 April to 5 October (cumulative)
  • Update 3: 6 April to 5 January (cumulative)
  • Update 4: 6 April to 5 April (cumulative)
  • Tax return / final declaration

Get reminded before each deadline

Four deadlines a year is four chances to forget one. We’ll email you before each, and nothing else.

We store your address and the date you agreed, nothing more. It is never sold or shared.

What happens if you miss one

HMRC is not applying penalty points for late quarterly updates during the 2026/27 tax year. That soft landing covers the first wave’s entire first year.

After that, each missed deadline earns a point, and reaching 4 points means a £200 penalty. If you signed up voluntarily before you were mandated, the threshold is lower — 2 points. That is the trade-off for going early, and it is worth knowing before you volunteer.

Your tax return does not go away

The quarterly updates are summaries, not returns. You still finish the year with a tax return — HMRC’s wording is that you must submit it “by 31 January following the end of the relevant tax year” — and you still file a normal Self Assessment return for the tax year before you join.

Check which of these applies to you, or see where each rule comes from.