Making Tax Digital deadlines:
every date, 2026 to 2028

Making Tax Digital for Income Tax replaces one deadline a year with five. Instead of a single return each January, sole traders and landlords in the service send a quarterly update four times a year and then submit their tax return through compatible software. The service is arriving in three steps, so the dates that apply to you depend on when you join.

This hub lists every deadline from the start of the service to the arrival of the third group in April 2028. The timeline above shows how far away each one is today. Each date has its own page with what is due, the period it covers, who it applies to, the penalty position and what to do if it has passed. Every rule comes from GOV.UK or the regulations.

“The dates your update period covers depends on if you use standard or calendar update periods, but the deadline to send your update is the same.”

The same four dates every year

The quarterly deadlines do not move. They are set in the Income Tax (Digital Obligations) Regulations 2026 as 7 August, 7 November and 7 February in the tax year, and 7 May in the year after.

Each update covers the tax year to date, not just the last three months. GOV.UK explains that this means you can correct your records without resending earlier updates: the next update carries the corrected totals. Your software builds each update from your digital records, and you check it before sending.

You choose standard or calendar update periods for each tax year, and once you have sent the first update of a year you cannot change for that year. You can send an update any time from the end of its period to the deadline, or up to 10 days before the period ends if you do not expect any more transactions in it. If you had no income or expenses in a period, you still send the update.

The tax return closes each year

After the four updates comes the tax return, due by 31 January after the tax year ends. GOV.UK now calls this submitting your tax return; earlier material called it the final declaration. It is where adjustments, reliefs and other income are added to the year's business figures and the tax is worked out. You need to have sent the year's quarterly updates first.

The year before you join is different. You file that year's return as you normally do. For the first group, that means the 2025 to 2026 return, due on 31 January 2027, is an ordinary Self Assessment return, and their first return through Making Tax Digital software is for 2026 to 2027, due on 31 January 2028.

Payment dates do not change. GOV.UK says Making Tax Digital will not change the way you pay tax or the dates that payments are due. Payments on account are due on 31 January and 31 July, and the balancing payment on 31 January.

Who joins, and when

Qualifying income is your self-employment and property turnover added together, before expenses and allowances. Employment income, partnership profit shares, dividends and pensions do not count, and joint owners count their share of property income. The threshold is "more than", so exactly £30,000 or £20,000 is outside it. The pages on April 2027 and April 2028 cover each group.

Deadlines a year under Making Tax Digital for Income Tax

• Self Assessment before Making Tax Digital1 return
• Under Making Tax Digital4 updates and 1 return

Penalties, year by year

The penalties change with the tax year, not with the date you joined. This is the part most likely to be misread.

2025 to 2026 return (due 31 January 2027). The current Self Assessment penalties apply to everyone, including people who started Making Tax Digital in April 2026: £100 if the return is late, rising after 3, 6 and 12 months, and 5% of unpaid tax at 30 days, 6 months and 12 months.

2026 to 2027 quarterly updates. HMRC will not apply penalty points for late quarterly updates during the 2026 to 2027 tax year. The updates are still required, and you need to send them before you can submit your tax return.

2026 to 2027 tax return (due 31 January 2028). A late return gets a penalty point. Late payment penalties are new: nothing for 15 days, then 3% of the tax owed at day 15 and again at day 30, then 10% a year from day 31, with a longer first-year allowance.

From 2027 to 2028. Each missed quarterly update or tax return deadline earns one penalty point. At 4 points there is a £200 penalty, and £200 for each further missed deadline. Points below the threshold expire after 24 months. GOV.UK describes no penalty-free first year for people who join in April 2027.

What to do now

If you started in April 2026 and have sent your updates: the next deadline is on the timeline above. Keep records up to date monthly, and remember the 2025 to 2026 return on 31 January 2027 is filed the old way.

If HMRC has just signed you up: catch up your digital records from 6 April 2026, then send any overdue update as soon as you can, starting with the earliest. The 7 November 2026 page walks through it. There are no penalty points for late quarterly updates in 2026 to 2027.

If your turnover was over £30,000 in 2025 to 2026: you join on 6 April 2027. File the 2025 to 2026 return by 31 January 2027, choose software, sign up, and start records on 6 April. Your first update, due 7 August 2027, is the first deadline with penalty points.

If your turnover is between £20,000 and £30,000: the 2026 to 2027 year, running now, decides whether you join in April 2028. Keep good records this year, and consider volunteering early.

If you are not sure: the MTD requirement checker works it out from your income. The HMRC software directory lists recognised products and what they cover. The quarterly planner shows how much to put aside each quarter, and the late filing penalty calculator shows what a late return would cost under the current rules.

Five mistakes the deadlines invite

Reading a deadline as a quarter. The 7 November update is not "July to October". It carries the whole year to date, from 6 April (or 1 April) to the end of the period. Send figures for three months only and HMRC receives a year-to-date total that is too low.

Treating the next update as a catch-up. Updates are cumulative, so it is tempting to skip a missed one and let the next carry everything. GOV.UK does not say that works. Each period is its own obligation, and HMRC's guidance is to send an overdue update as soon as possible. In 2026 to 2027 that costs nothing; from 2027 to 2028 the missed deadline has already earned a point.

Switching update periods mid-year. You choose standard or calendar periods per tax year, and the choice is fixed once the first update of the year is sent. Decide before the August update, not after.

Assuming the old return has gone. The 2025 to 2026 return, due 31 January 2027, is filed the usual way and under the current penalties, even for people who started Making Tax Digital in April 2026.

Assuming a penalty-free first year. The no-points easement is for the 2026 to 2027 tax year. GOV.UK does not describe one for people who join in April 2027 or April 2028. Late payment is different: in your first year of the new penalties, GOV.UK gives you 30 days rather than 15 to pay in full or set up a payment plan before penalties start, so that allowance does carry over to each new group.

Where to check your own dates

Your HMRC online account shows your obligations: the quarterly updates HMRC expects for each of your businesses, with their periods and deadlines, and any that are overdue. Your Making Tax Digital software reads the same obligations from HMRC, so the periods it offers you to send should match. If they do not, check which update periods you chose for the year, and whether HMRC holds the right start date for each business.

The glossary explains the quarterly update, penalty points, digital records and the final declaration. For an overview of the whole programme, read the guide to Making Tax Digital deadlines from 2026 to 2028 and standard versus calendar quarters.