7 February 2027:
the quarterly update deadline explained

The third quarterly update of the first Making Tax Digital year is due by 7 February 2027. On its own it is no harder than the two before it: your software carries your figures on from 5 October to 5 January and you check and send. What makes it different is the calendar around it. It arrives a week after 31 January, the busiest date in the Self Assessment year, when the 2025 to 2026 return is due, the tax on it has to be paid, and for many people the first payment on account for 2026 to 2027 is due as well.

This page explains what the February update contains, how it fits with January's deadlines, and how to get both done without one crowding out the other.

“Each quarterly update covers from the start of the tax year to the end of the update period. They are automatically worked out by your software for you to check before you send them.”

What the February update covers

Like every quarterly update, the third one runs from the start of the tax year. By the time you send it, it holds nine months of income and expenses.

HMRC's manual describes it in exactly these terms: the second update contains all the information from periods 1 and 2, the third from periods 1, 2 and 3. If you corrected anything since November, the February update carries the corrected totals; there is no requirement to resubmit an earlier update.

The period ends over Christmas and New Year, which matters more than it sounds. Bank feeds and card statements that close on the 5th of the month, and invoices that clients pay in the new year, can leave the last week of the period half recorded. Check that everything up to 5 January (or 31 December) is in before you send. GOV.UK lets you send an update up to 10 days before its period ends if you do not expect any more transactions, but over the holidays it is usually safer to wait until the period has closed.

Why 31 January and 7 February are different deadlines

Two tax years overlap at the end of January.

The 2025 to 2026 Self Assessment return, for the year that ended on 5 April 2026, is due by 31 January 2027. That is the return you would have filed if Making Tax Digital did not exist. GOV.UK says you still submit a Self Assessment tax return as you normally do for the tax year before you start using the service, and that the current penalties apply to the 2025 to 2026 return even if you joined in April 2026. The page on 31 January 2027 covers it.

The third quarterly update for 2026 to 2027 is due by 7 February 2027. It belongs to the first Making Tax Digital year, whose tax return is not due until 31 January 2028.

So you will be dealing with two years at once in late January: finishing 2025 to 2026, and reporting nine months of 2026 to 2027. Keep the records separate in your head and in your software. Transactions dated on or after 6 April 2026 belong to the Making Tax Digital year; anything before belongs to the return you are about to file.

Paying tax at the end of January

Making Tax Digital does not change how or when you pay. GOV.UK states it will not change the way you pay tax or the dates that payments are due. On 31 January 2027 you pay:

• the balancing payment for 2025 to 2026, which is whatever you owe for that year after any payments on account already made; and
• the first payment on account for 2026 to 2027, if you have to make them. Each payment on account is half of the tax you owed for the previous year.

You do not have to make payments on account if your last Self Assessment bill was less than £1,000, or if you paid more than 80% of the tax you owed outside Self Assessment, for example through PAYE. The second payment on account for 2026 to 2027 is due by 31 July 2027, and the balancing payment for that year by 31 January 2028.

Months of figures each 2026-27 quarterly update carries

• 1st update, due 7 August 20263 months
• 2nd update, due 7 November 20266 months
• 3rd update, due 7 February 20279 months
• 4th update, due 7 May 202712 months

The quarterly figures help here. With nine months of 2026 to 2027 recorded, you can see roughly what the year's profit looks like before you pay the first instalment towards it. If your income has fallen sharply, you can ask HMRC to reduce your payments on account; if it has risen, the third update is an early warning of a larger balancing payment in January 2028. The quarterly planner turns year-to-date figures into a set-aside amount, and the sole trader tax calculator estimates the full-year bill.

A plan for January

The cleanest way through the overlap is to finish the older job first.

1. By mid January, finish the 2025 to 2026 return. It is the one with a penalty attached if it is late. Gather your 2025 to 2026 figures, file the return the usual way and note the balancing payment and payment on account it produces.
2. Pay by 31 January. If you cannot pay in full, contact HMRC about a payment plan before the deadline. Interest runs on tax paid late.
3. In the first week of February, close the quarter. Make sure every transaction up to 5 January is recorded and categorised, check the totals your software shows, and send the third update by 7 February.

If January is going to be impossible, nothing stops you sending the third update early in January as soon as the period has closed, which leaves the rest of the month for the return.

If you miss 7 February 2027

HMRC will not apply penalty points for late quarterly updates during the 2026 to 2027 tax year. The February update is no exception. The obligation does not go away, though: the regulations require an update for each quarterly update period, and you need to send your quarterly updates before you can submit your tax return. Send it as soon as you can.

The easement is for this tax year only. From 2027 to 2028, a late quarterly update earns a penalty point, and 4 points bring a £200 penalty. The equivalent update next year, due 7 February 2028, will count.

For landlords

The February update is often the one where a landlord's year starts to take shape. Rent arrears paid in a lump, a void period over winter, or a large repair can all land in the third quarter. Because the update is cumulative, the figure HMRC receives is the year to date, so a big repair in December simply shows up as a larger expense total than in November.

If you let a property jointly, GOV.UK lets you choose to send property income only in your quarterly updates and report your expenses at the end of the year, by resending your fourth update before you submit your tax return. If you take that route, the February update carries your share of the rent and nothing else. The guide to Making Tax Digital for landlords covers property businesses in more detail.

For sole traders and gig workers

For trades with a seasonal peak, such as retail, hospitality and delivery work over Christmas, the third quarter can be the largest of the year. Check that platform statements for December and early January are in your records in full: the earnings, the platform's fees and any tips, rather than only the amounts that reached your bank. Mileage for a busy December matters too, if you claim it.

Records to gather for the third quarter

The third quarter has more moving parts than the others, because so many businesses change pace over the holidays. Before sending, look for these:

• December card and bank statements in full. Statements that close mid-month can split December across two documents. Make sure both are in.
• Invoices paid in January for work done in December. If you record income when you are paid, a January payment belongs to the next quarter; if you record it when you invoice, it belongs to this one. Use the same rule all year.
• Seasonal stock and materials. Bulk purchases before Christmas are often the biggest expense of the year for retail and food businesses.
• Platform statements. Delivery and ride-hailing platforms often publish weekly statements; December can run to five of them.
• Cash takings. Markets, fairs and seasonal work bring more cash. Record it as it comes in, not from memory in February.

None of this changes because of Making Tax Digital; it is ordinary bookkeeping. What changes is that the figures go to HMRC every quarter, so a gap in December shows up in February rather than at the end of the year.

After 7 February

The fourth and final update of the year is due by 7 May 2027 and closes the year on 5 April. Before then, on 6 April 2027, Making Tax Digital starts for the next group, people with qualifying income over £30,000 on their 2025 to 2026 return. The full sequence is on the deadlines hub, and the November page covers catching up if you started late. The glossary explains payments on account and the balancing payment, and the late payment interest calculator shows what paying after 31 January would cost.