MTD means HMRC now wants a summary of your income and expenses every three months instead of once a year. That is only hard if the records don’t exist yet. Make them happen as you work — a photo of a receipt, a text to send an invoice — and the deadline becomes a non-event.
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From 6 April 2026, MTD for Income Tax applies to sole traders and landlords whose gross income is over £50,000. Gross means turnover — what you invoice, before materials, fuel and everything else comes out. That catches a lot of tradespeople whose actual profit is nowhere near £50k.
In scope now, from April 2026. This is turnover, not profit.
In scope from April 2027. One year to get the habit in place.
In scope from April 2028. By then it’s most of the trade.
Each update covers a three-month period and is due about five weeks after it ends. The dates are the same every year — 7 August, 7 November, 7 February and 7 May.
| Period covered | Update due |
|---|---|
| 6 April – 5 July 2026 | 7 August 2026 — next |
| 6 July – 5 October 2026 | 7 November 2026 |
| 6 October 2026 – 5 January 2027 | 7 February 2027 |
| 6 January – 5 April 2027 | 7 May 2027 |
This is the part that causes the most panic for no reason. A quarterly update is a running total of your income and your expenses, grouped into HMRC’s categories. You don’t calculate your tax bill, and you don’t claim reliefs — that still happens once a year in the Final Declaration, due 31 January as usual.
What has genuinely changed is the records. Digital records are required from day one. A photo of a receipt taken the day you bought it counts. A faded slip in the van door pocket doesn’t.
The bit almost nobody mentions: HMRC has confirmed a first-year easement — for 2026/27 there are no penalty points for a late quarterly update. You still have to submit, but getting it wrong while you’re learning doesn’t cost you. That makes right now the cheapest time there will ever be to get this right, rather than next January when it counts. (Late-payment penalties on tax you owe still apply throughout.)
You save one contact — Amy — and message her the way you message anyone. She turns what you send into a properly categorised record, so the quarterly figures already exist when the deadline arrives. Nothing to learn, and no bookkeeping evening.
Photograph it in the merchant’s car park. It’s read, categorised to an HMRC category and filed.
“Invoice Dave £2,400 bathroom” comes back as a finished PDF, and the income is recorded.
The totals are already there, already categorised. Your accountant gets a clean export.
Want the detail? Read the 7 August deadline guide or what MTD means for tradespeople.
For the 2026/27 tax year the quarterly update deadlines are 7 August 2026, 7 November 2026, 7 February 2027 and 7 May 2027. The dates are the same every year: 7 August, 7 November, 7 February and 7 May.
From 6 April 2026 you must use MTD for Income Tax if your gross income from self-employment and/or property is over £50,000. 'Gross' means turnover before any expenses — not profit. The threshold drops to £30,000 from April 2027 and £20,000 from April 2028, so most sole-trader tradespeople will be in scope within two years.
Turnover — your gross income before expenses. If you invoice more than £50,000 you are in scope even if your profit after materials and costs is a lot lower.
A summary, not a full tax return. Each quarterly update is a running total of your business income and your expenses grouped into HMRC's categories for the year so far, sent from MTD-compatible software. You don't work out your tax bill or claim reliefs at this stage — that still happens once a year in the Final Declaration, due by 31 January after the tax year ends.
For the 2026/27 tax year there are no penalty points for missing a quarterly update deadline — HMRC has confirmed a first-year easement. From 2027/28 a points-based system applies: a point per missed deadline and a £200 penalty once you reach four points. Important: the easement covers late quarterly updates only. Late-payment penalties on tax you owe still apply from day one.
You can keep paper for reference, but it no longer counts on its own. MTD requires digital records of your income and expenses in compatible software. A photo of a receipt taken the day you bought it is a digital record; a faded slip in the van door pocket is not.
No. TradesOffice keeps your income, expenses and mileage as clean, HMRC-categorised digital records as you work, so you or your accountant have everything ready when a quarterly update is due. The filing and the professional advice stay with your accountant.
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