The Making Tax Digital deadline depends on your qualifying income. Sole traders and landlords with more than £50,000 in 2024/25 had to start on 6 April 2026. Those over £30,000 in 2025/26 start on 6 April 2027, and those over £20,000 in 2026/27 start on 6 April 2028. Once you are in, quarterly updates are due on 7 August, 7 November, 7 February and 7 May, and the tax return is still due by 31 January. The next quarterly deadline is 7 November 2026.
The start dates by income
The test is qualifying income: gross self-employment and property income before expenses, not profit. HMRC uses a tax return two years before the start date, so the year you are in now decides when you join.
| Qualifying income over | Measured in tax year | Must use MTD from |
|---|---|---|
| £50,000 | 2024/25 | 6 April 2026 (now live) |
| £30,000 | 2025/26 | 6 April 2027 |
| £20,000 | 2026/27 (and each later year) | 6 April 2028 (for later years, 6 April two years after the year measured) |
These thresholds are now in law. Regulation 27 of the Income Tax (Digital Obligations) Regulations 2026 (SI 2026/336) sets the qualifying amount at £50,000 for 2024/25, £30,000 for 2025/26, and £20,000 for 2026/27 and every year after. These regulations replaced the 2021 MTD regulations from 1 April 2026. If you are searching for news of another "Making Tax Digital delay", there is none: the dates and thresholds are in legislation, and no further postponement has been announced.
For the April 2027 wave, the deciding figure is your 2025/26 return, which is due online by 31 January 2027. HMRC reviews returns and writes to people who are over the threshold. Its guidance is clear that if no letter arrives, it is still your responsibility to check and sign up. Partnerships are not yet in scope. HMRC has said it will set out their timeline later.
Quarterly update deadlines
Once you are in MTD, your software sends HMRC a quarterly update for each self-employment and property business. The deadlines are the same whether you use standard periods (aligned to the 6 April tax year) or calendar periods (1 April to 31 March):
| Standard update period | Calendar update period | Deadline |
|---|---|---|
| 6 April to 5 July | 1 April to 30 June | 7 August |
| 6 April to 5 October | 1 April to 30 September | 7 November |
| 6 April to 5 January | 1 April to 31 December | 7 February |
| 6 April to 5 April | 1 April to 31 March | 7 May (following tax year) |
Three practical points follow from the HMRC guidance on quarterly updates:
- Updates are cumulative. Each one covers the period from the start of the tax year to the end of the quarter, so a mistake in one quarter is corrected in the next. You do not resubmit the earlier update;
- Nil quarters still count. If there was no income or expense in the period, you still have to send the update;
- No tax adjustments in-year. Updates are category totals, not tax computations. Accounting and tax adjustments come at the year end.
You can choose calendar periods only before you send your first update for the year, and you cannot switch once an update has gone in. For the 2026/27 year, the 7 August deadline has passed, and the update to 5 October is due by 7 November 2026.
The year-end return deadline
MTD does not move the annual deadline. The tax return for the year, now submitted through compatible software, is still due by 31 January after the end of the tax year, and the balancing payment is due on the same date. The first MTD year, 2026/27, therefore has a return deadline of 31 January 2028. Payments on account under the existing rules continue as before; see our guide to payments on account.
Before the first MTD year, you still file a normal Self Assessment return. Someone who joined on 6 April 2026 must still file the 2025/26 return by 31 January 2027, and the old penalty regime applies to that return.
Penalties for missing an MTD deadline
MTD brings in the points-based penalty system:
- 2026/27 easement. HMRC will not give penalty points for late quarterly updates in the 2026/27 tax year. The updates still have to be sent before the return can be submitted, and points still apply to a late return;
- From 2027/28. Each missed quarterly update or return deadline earns one point, and only one point per deadline even if you run several businesses. At 4 points you are charged a £200 penalty, and a further £200 for each later miss. Volunteers have a 2-point threshold;
- Clearing points. Below the threshold, each point expires 24 months after the missed deadline. At the threshold, all points are removed only after 12 months of on-time submissions and once any outstanding updates and returns from the previous 24 months are filed;
- Late payment. For 2026/27 tax, the penalty is 3% of the tax owed at day 15 and another 3% at day 30, then 10% a year charged daily from day 31. In your first year under the new penalties, no penalty is charged if you pay or agree a payment plan within 30 days.
HMRC's penalty guidance also says that from April 2027 the new penalties will apply to everyone who files a personal Self Assessment return, whether or not they are in MTD.
MTD for VAT: no deadline left to meet
Some searches for "making tax digital deadlines" are really about VAT. MTD for VAT already applies to all VAT-registered businesses, including those below the registration threshold, since it was extended to smaller businesses from April 2022. VAT returns must be filed through compatible software, with digital links between records. There is no future start date to wait for. If you are VAT-registered and still filing outside MTD, you need an exemption or a fix now.
What to do before your date
- Work out your 2025/26 qualifying income now. If gross trading and rental income together is over £30,000, plan to start on 6 April 2027;
- Choose software and test it. Ideally run a quarter in parallel before the year you are mandated;
- Check exemptions early. Some people are exempt, including those who are digitally excluded, but some exemptions must be applied for and are not automatic;
- Diarise four dates, not one. The 7th of August, November, February and May come round quickly, and the 2026/27 easement does not carry on into 2027/28.
Landlords have some specific issues of their own, such as jointly owned property and recording finance costs, which we cover in MTD for landlords. For the wider picture for traders, see MTD for sole traders.
Acumon's Making Tax Digital service handles sign-up, software set-up, quarterly updates and the year-end return. Our Self Assessment team can tell you which side of the £30,000 line your 2025/26 figures fall on before HMRC's letter does.