MTD quarterly update deadlines explained
Once Making Tax Digital for Income Tax applies to you, you send four quarterly updates and one final declaration each tax year, each on a fixed deadline. Here is how the standard and calendar-quarter periods work, and what each deadline actually requires.
Open the MTD Quarterly Deadline Generator calculatorA quarterly update is a running total of income and expenses for a three-month period, sent through MTD-compatible software. It is a summary, not a tax return, there is no tax calculation or payment attached to it. The tax itself is settled through the year-end final declaration, which replaces the old Self Assessment return.
The standard quarters
By default, quarters follow the tax year rather than the calendar year. Each period ends on the 5th of the month and each deadline falls on the 7th of the month after that, exactly one calendar month plus two days after the period ends:
| Period | Covers | Deadline |
|---|---|---|
| Quarter 1 | 04-06 to 07-05 | 08-07 |
| Quarter 2 | 04-06 to 10-05 | 11-07 |
| Quarter 3 | 04-06 to 01-05 | 02-07 |
| Quarter 4 | 04-06 to 04-05 | 05-07 |
The calendar-quarter election
You can elect instead to use calendar quarters, 1 January to 31 March and so on, which line up with how many people already track their business income month to month. The deadlines shift accordingly:
| Period | Covers | Deadline |
|---|---|---|
| Quarter 1 | 04-01 to 06-30 | 08-07 |
| Quarter 2 | 04-01 to 09-30 | 11-07 |
| Quarter 3 | 04-01 to 12-31 | 02-07 |
| Quarter 4 | 04-01 to 03-31 | 05-07 |
Whichever you choose applies to all your qualifying income sources for that tax year; you cannot mix standard quarters for one business and calendar quarters for another.
The final declaration
After the fourth quarterly update, you submit a final declaration confirming your income and any adjustments, allowances or reliefs, and this is what calculates the tax you owe. It falls on 01-31 in the calendar year that starts 2 years after the tax year begins, the same date Self Assessment returns have always been due.
Missing a deadline
Late quarterly updates accrue penalty points rather than an immediate fine, covered in full in the penalty points guide. There is also a transitional grace period for the first tax year of mandation, also covered there.
Next steps
Use the MTD Quarterly Deadline Generator to get every deadline for your specific mandation date, in either standard or calendar-quarter form, and download them as a calendar file.