If you are a sole trader or landlord in Wigan and the North West, this is the month HMRC starts signing remaining people up to Making Tax Digital for Income Tax. The next MTD quarterly update is due by 7 November 2026.
That date is not a new tax return, and it is not a new tax bill. It is a software summary of your self-employment and property income and expenses so far this tax year. HMRC is doing the sign-up in stages from September, using the records it already holds. If you have not signed up yourself, it is better to do it now so the details are right before November.
We set out the wider picture earlier in Making Tax Digital for Income Tax Self-Assessment. This piece is the practical bit: who is in this year, what 7 November actually covers, and how to keep the bookkeeping tight enough that the update takes minutes.
Who has to use MTD this tax year (and who joins in April 2027)
HMRC looks at qualifying income. That is your total turnover from self-employment and property before expenses, taken from the Self Assessment return you already filed. Wages, pensions and dividends do not count towards the threshold. A side hustle plus a rental can push you over even if neither looks large on its own.
You need to use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax if you are a sole trader or landlord registered for Self Assessment, you have self-employment or property income (or both), and your qualifying income is over the threshold for the relevant year:
- More than £50,000 on your 2024 to 2025 return: you should have been using it from 6 April 2026. You can still sign up if you have not.
- More than £30,000 on your 2025 to 2026 return: you will need to use it from 6 April 2027.
- More than £20,000 on your 2026 to 2027 return: you will need to use it from 6 April 2028.
HMRC says it is still your job to check, even if you never had a letter. Use the GOV.UK tool to find out if and when you need to use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax, and read how qualifying income is worked out. Some people are exempt, including those who are digitally excluded. If you think that is you, check the same GOV.UK guidance rather than assuming you can ignore the deadlines.
Landlords with more than one UK property still count as one UK property business. Foreign property is treated separately. Partnership profit as an individual partner does not count towards the threshold, and you do not send quarterly updates for that share; it still goes on the year-end tax return.
What a quarterly update actually is — and what it is not
A quarterly update is a set of totals. Compatible software adds up your digital records for each self-employment and each property business and sends those category totals to HMRC. HMRC does not receive each invoice or receipt.
It is not a tax return. You do not have to make accounting adjustments, claim capital allowances or add savings and dividends before you send it. Those belong on the year-end return. You do not pay your Income Tax bill when you click send. You still pay by 31 January after the tax year ends, as you do now.
Self Assessment vs quarterly updates is the bit that trips people up:
- Quarterly updates are short summaries, sent through software, every three months. They do not replace the return.
- Your 2025 to 2026 tax return is still due in the usual way by 31 January 2027. That year finished before MTD started.
- Your first Making Tax Digital tax return, for 2026 to 2027, is due by 31 January 2028. You send it from the same software, after you have sent the quarterly updates for the year.
You need a separate update for each sole trader business. All your UK properties go in one UK property update. If you had no income and no expenses in the period, you still send the update to tell HMRC that. After you send it, software or your HMRC online account can show an estimated tax figure for self-employment and property. Treat that as a steer, not a final bill, especially if you also have PAYE, savings or dividends.
Each update covers from the start of the tax year to the end of that period, not only the last three months. If you correct a record later, the next update picks it up. You do not have to resend the earlier one. Full detail is on GOV.UK: send quarterly updates.
The 7 November deadline, and why there are no penalty points this year
For people using Making Tax Digital from April 2026, the second quarterly update is due by 7 November 2026. The deadline is the same whether you use standard periods (aligned to the tax year) or calendar periods (aligned to month-ends):
- Standard: 6 April to 5 October 2026, due 7 November.
- Calendar: 1 April to 30 September 2026, due 7 November.
You can send the update any time from the end of the period until 7 November. You can send it up to ten days before the period ends if you are sure nothing else will go through. You do not have to wait for the day itself.
The later 2026 to 2027 quarterly deadlines, for the same cohort, are 7 February 2027 and 7 May 2027. Do not mix those up with 7 November.
HMRC will not apply penalty points for late quarterly updates in 2026 to 2027. That is deliberate breathing space for the first year. It is not a free pass. You still have to keep digital records and send the updates before you can submit the 2026 to 2027 tax return. Penalty points do still apply if that tax return is late, and late payment of tax is a separate matter. From 2027 to 2028, a late quarterly update can earn a penalty point; four points mean a £200 penalty. Read HMRC’s own wording on penalties for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax.
If you missed the first update (due 7 August 2026), send it now, then get November in on time. No points this year does not mean “leave it until January”.
The Autumn Budget is on 28 October 2026. We will cover any tax changes that affect local businesses in a later piece. For MTD, 7 November is still the date that matters.
If you have not signed up yet: what HMRC is doing from September
From September 2026, HMRC is signing up anyone who needs to use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax for 2026 to 2027 and has not signed themselves up. It only does this where its records show qualifying income over £50,000 in 2024 to 2025. It is happening in stages over the coming months, not in one sweep.
If HMRC signs you up, you should get confirmation in your HMRC online account or by post. HMRC will use only the information it already holds. That may not include a trade you started, a property you sold, or a business that has stopped since your last return. You then need to:
- Sign in to HMRC online services with your Self Assessment details and open Making Tax Digital for Income Tax.
- Check and confirm the self-employment and property records (based on your 2024 to 2025 return). Add anything new. Tell HMRC if a source has ceased.
- Choose and authorise compatible software. HMRC does not supply it. There are free and paid options; use the GOV.UK pages on choosing software and check the product covers your income sources and your accounting period.
- Catch up on digital records from the start of the tax year and send any overdue quarterly update as soon as you can.
GOV.UK’s step-by-step is here: check what to do if HMRC has signed you up. If you have not been contacted, you can still sign up yourself (or ask your accountant to do it). Signing up yourself lets you put current details in from the start.
The sign-up service is due to be down for planned maintenance from 5pm on Friday 11 September 2026 to 1pm on Tuesday 15 September 2026. If you are doing it this month, do not leave it for that weekend.
If you think you should not be in MTD at all, contact HMRC Self Assessment. Do not ignore a letter hoping it will go away.
How to keep records tidy so the update takes minutes, not a weekend
The November update is only quick if the records are already in the software. HMRC’s rule of thumb is to create each digital record close to the date of the transaction. For every income or expense line you need the amount, the date, and the Self Assessment category.
A workable routine for most North West sole traders and landlords looks like this:
- Use HMRC-recognised software, or bridging software if you still live in spreadsheets. Bank feeds help, but you still have to categorise and check anything that does not come through in full.
- Photograph receipts the day they happen. Keep the original invoices, bank statements and contracts as well; digital records do not replace those. HMRC still expects you to keep records for at least five years after the 31 January filing deadline for that year.
- Do a short weekly tidy: unmatched bank lines, missing categories, personal spend sitting in the business account. That is bookkeeping in the North West sense, not a once-a-year shoebox.
- If you have two trades, keep two sets of records and send two updates. If you have several UK rentals, they still go in as one UK property business.
- Check you are on the right update periods before you send. You cannot switch standard and calendar for this tax year after the first update has gone.
- Look at the software totals before you send. You are responsible for what HMRC receives, even if a feed imported the numbers.
If you only signed up in September, you still need records from 6 April 2026 (or 1 April if you use calendar periods). Build those now, send any missed first update, then send November. That is the whole job. GOV.UK’s record-keeping guide is create digital records.
Talk to CMA before 7 November
If you are unsure whether you are in scope, HMRC has just signed you up, or the software and categories are a mess, we can take it from here. CMA Accountancy works with sole traders, landlords and small businesses across Wigan, Standish, Appley Bridge and the wider North West. We will check your qualifying income, get you signed up properly, and keep the quarterly updates moving so November is a click, not a crisis.
Call 01257 255521, email [email protected], or use our contact page. We are at 39 Skull House Lane, Appley Bridge, Wigan WN6 9DR. If you would rather see how we work first, start with our services.