Every MTD Deadline for 2026/27 in One Place

Your 2026/27 calendar

If you're in the first wave of MTD (gross income over £50,000), the 2026/27 tax year has already started. Below are every date you need, nothing else.

Quarterly submission deadlines

The tax year runs 6 April 2026 to 5 April 2027. It's split into four quarters:

After all four quarters are done, you file a final declaration by 31 January 2028. That's the one that calculates your actual tax bill.

Five submissions total across the year: four quarterly check-ins and one year-end wrap-up.

What you're actually submitting each quarter

This trips people up because they assume each quarterly update is like doing a full tax return. It's not.

A quarterly update is a summary of your income and expenses for that three-month period. Totals by category. How much came in, how much went out, broken down into types (sales income, travel costs, office supplies, etc).

You're not calculating tax. You're not claiming specific reliefs. It's just: "This is what happened financially in the last quarter."

If your records are up to date, this should take minutes. The software pulls the numbers together; you review and hit submit.

The final declaration is the bigger job. That's where you confirm everything for the whole year, make adjustments, and your tax bill gets calculated. It replaces the Self Assessment return you've been filing until now.

Payment dates

Quarterly updates do NOT trigger tax payments. They're informational only. Your money stays put.

Your actual tax bill is still settled on the usual Self Assessment payment schedule:

So the payment timeline hasn't changed. You're reporting more often, but you're paying at the same times as before.

Watch out for the January 2027 overlap

In January 2027, you might be juggling two things at once:

1. Your Self Assessment return for 2025/26 (due 31 January 2027, under the old system)
2. Your Q3 quarterly update for 2026/27 (due 7 February 2027, under MTD)

That's a one-off overlap because the old system and the new system briefly run alongside each other. After that first year, it's purely MTD.

Worth knowing so you don't accidentally forget one while sorting the other.

When do penalties apply?

HMRC has confirmed that penalty points will NOT be issued for late quarterly updates during your first year of mandation. For the first wave, that's the 2026/27 tax year.

So if you're a bit late with your Q1 or Q2 submission, you won't pick up penalty points. HMRC is giving everyone a year to get used to the new system.

But this grace period has limits:

• The final declaration deadline (31 January 2028) IS enforced from the start
• Late payment penalties still apply if you don't pay your tax on time
• From the 2027/28 tax year onwards, the full penalty system kicks in for quarterly updates too

After the grace period, the penalty points system works like this: one point per missed quarterly deadline. Hit four points within 24 months and it's a £200 fine. Each missed deadline after that is another £200 until you get back on track.

Details in our penalties guide.

Put these in your calendar

Copy these into whatever calendar you use:

• 7 August 2026 → Q1 update due (your first ever MTD submission)
• 7 November 2026 → Q2 update due
• 31 January 2027 → Self Assessment for 2025/26 due (old system, last time)
• 7 February 2027 → Q3 update due
• 7 May 2027 → Q4 update due
• 31 January 2028 → Final declaration due + tax payment

Set a reminder for one week before each date. That gives you time to sort things out without panicking on the day.

One last thing

The quarterly deadlines have about a month's grace after each quarter ends. Q1 ends on 5 July, but you don't need to submit until 7 August. That's deliberate. It gives you time to make sure your records are complete for the period before you file.

Use that buffer. Don't leave it until 6 August.

Not sure what a quarterly update involves? Read what you actually have to submit.