What are the MTD-ITSA quarterly deadlines for 2026/27?

Under the standard quarterly periods (6 April to 5 July, 6 July to 5 October, 6 October to 5 January, 6 January to 5 April), the deadlines for 2026/27 are 7 August 2026 (Q1), 7 November 2026 (Q2), 7 February 2027 (Q3) and 7 May 2027 (Q4). Each quarterly update is due by the 7th day of the second month after the quarter ends. The final declaration (replacing the old end-of-period statement plus crystallisation) is due by 31 January 2028.

Can I elect to align quarters to calendar months?

Yes. The election under regulation 7 of the MTD-ITSA Regulations allows quarter ends to be aligned to the calendar quarter rather than the standard tax-year-based quarter. Under the calendar-month election, the quarters are 1 April to 30 June, 1 July to 30 September, 1 October to 31 December, and 1 January to 31 March, with deadlines on the 7th day of the second month after each quarter end. The election is made in the software, applies for the whole tax year, and is most useful for landlords whose accounting cycle naturally aligns to calendar months.

What are the penalties for late quarterly submissions?

MTD-ITSA uses a points-based late submission penalty system, not a fixed per-submission penalty. Each late quarterly update earns one point. When the points threshold of four is reached (covering one missed quarter in each of the four standard submission types for a single business, the threshold may differ for taxpayers with multiple sources), a £200 financial penalty applies and continues for each further late submission until the points are reset by 24 months of compliant filing or by all outstanding returns being submitted. Late payment of any tax due triggers a separate late payment penalty regime, with interest also accruing daily on outstanding amounts.

What information goes in each quarterly update?

A cumulative summary of property income and allowable expenses for the tax year to date, broken down by HMRC's standard category schema (rent received, finance costs, repairs and maintenance, insurance, professional fees, agent fees, and similar). The update is a categorised summary, not a full set of accounts. Each quarter's submission shows the cumulative position to the end of that quarter, so Q2 includes Q1 plus Q2, and so on. Capital expenditure, capital allowances and the Section 24 finance cost restriction are dealt with at year-end via the final declaration, not in the quarterly updates.

What is the final declaration and when is it due?

The final declaration is the year-end submission that pulls together all sources of income, applies tax adjustments (Section 24 restriction, capital allowances, reliefs), and confirms the final tax position for the year. For 2026/27 the final declaration is due by 31 January 2028. It is the MTD-ITSA equivalent of the Self Assessment return, filed through MTD-compatible software. The 31 January payment deadline for any balancing tax due is unchanged. Payments on account remain due by 31 January and 31 July as under the existing Self Assessment system.

Are there exemptions from MTD-ITSA?

A small number of statutory exemptions and application-based exemptions exist. Statutory exemptions include trustees of certain trusts, personal representatives of deceased estates, and non-UK resident entertainers and sportspeople. Application-based exemptions cover landlords whose religious beliefs preclude digital filing, those unable to use electronic communications by reason of age, disability, location or another reason, and those for whom digital filing is not reasonably practical. The application is to HMRC and is not granted casually. Limited companies are outside MTD-ITSA but not because of an exemption: they file under corporation tax instead.

Does the 2027 income tax rate change affect MTD?

Not the mechanics, only the rates applied at year-end. From 6 April 2027 the property income tax rates change to 22% basic, 42% higher and 47% additional rate (the 2027 change announced in the Autumn Budget). MTD-compatible software needs to be updated to apply the new rates in the final declaration for 2027/28 and later years. Quarterly updates themselves are not affected: they are summaries of income and expense, not tax calculations. Detail in our 2027 income tax rates guide .

What if I am voluntarily registered before my threshold is reached?

Voluntary entry into MTD-ITSA is available, principally for landlords already comfortable with cloud accounting who want the cleaner year-end. The voluntary route uses the same quarterly deadlines and points-based penalty system as the mandatory route. Voluntary registration can be reversed if circumstances change. For most landlords below the mandatory threshold, the administrative overhead of MTD outweighs the modest benefit; voluntary entry makes sense only where the bookkeeping practice is already digital and the year-end smoothing is genuinely valued.

What if my income drops below the threshold mid-year?

The threshold test is applied based on the qualifying tax year (the previous tax year's qualifying income, looking back). If qualifying income drops below the threshold in a later tax year (and remains below for the requisite period), the landlord can exit MTD. HMRC's rules on the exit process are still being refined as MTD beds in; the practical recommendation is to stay in MTD for the year qualifying income was above the threshold and seek formal confirmation of exit timing rather than assume it falls out automatically.

What records must I keep digitally?

Property income, allowable expenses, capital expenditure, and the supporting documentation (invoices, receipts, bank statements, mortgage statements, insurance documents) must be available in a form that links the entries in the quarterly update to the source records. The records do not all have to be in the MTD software itself, but they must be reconcilable. Paper receipts can be scanned and stored digitally; the originals do not have to be retained once a clean scan exists. The minimum retention period is five years and 10 months from the end of the tax year for business taxpayers, which includes landlords.

Is there a soft-landing period for penalties?

HMRC indicated for the original 2026 start that the first year of MTD-ITSA would attract a lighter-touch enforcement approach for points-based penalties, with the points clock effectively running during 2026/27 but the £200 financial penalty deferred where the failures were not deliberate. The exact terms of the soft-landing were updated in HMRC's published policy documents in late 2025 and early 2026. Landlords should not rely on indefinite leniency; the threshold for the £200 penalty firms up over time and is fully in force from 2027/28 onwards in HMRC's stated policy direction. Always file on time.

Making Tax Digital (MTD)

MTD Quarterly Deadlines 2026/27 for UK Landlords

21 May 2026 · Property Tax Partners Editorial Team · 8 min read

MTD for Income Tax went live on 6 April 2026 for sole-trader landlords with rental income above £50,000. The four standard quarterly deadlines for 2026/27 are 7 August 2026, 7 November 2026, 7 February 2027 and 7 May 2027. Late submissions accrue points; the £200 financial penalty kicks in at four points. The final declaration for 2026/27 is due by 31 January 2028.

MTD for Income Tax Self Assessment (MTD-ITSA) went live on 6 April 2026 for sole-trader landlords with rental income above £50,000. The threshold drops to £30,000 from 6 April 2027 and £20,000 from 6 April 2028. The regime requires quarterly digital updates plus an annual final declaration, with a points-based penalty system for late filing.

This guide covers the deadlines, penalty mechanics, scope, software requirements and how the regime interacts with the wider landlord tax framework. For the comprehensive MTD pillar see Making Tax Digital for landlords. For the new 2027 income tax rates that interact with MTD see 2027 property income tax rates.

The 2026/27 quarterly deadline calendar (standard quarters)

Quarter	Period covered	Submission deadline
Q1	6 April 2026 to 5 July 2026	7 August 2026
Q2	6 July 2026 to 5 October 2026	7 November 2026
Q3	6 October 2026 to 5 January 2027	7 February 2027
Q4	6 January 2027 to 5 April 2027	7 May 2027
Final declaration (2026/27)	Whole tax year	31 January 2028

The submission deadline is the 7th day of the second month after the quarter ends. The deadline is the same regardless of whether the quarter ends on a weekend or bank holiday: HMRC's MTD-ITSA system does not extend deadlines for non-working days.

Quarter alignment election

Under the MTD-ITSA Regulations, landlords can elect for quarter ends to align to calendar months rather than the standard tax-year-based quarters. The election is made within the software at the start of the tax year and applies for the whole year.

Quarter	Calendar-aligned period	Calendar-aligned deadline
Q1	1 April 2026 to 30 June 2026	7 August 2026
Q2	1 July 2026 to 30 September 2026	7 November 2026
Q3	1 October 2026 to 31 December 2026	7 February 2027
Q4	1 January 2027 to 31 March 2027	7 May 2027

Calendar-aligned quarters are mostly useful where the landlord's broader accounting (bank statements, agent statements, software defaults) is based on calendar months. The deadlines do not change between the two options because they are tied to the second month after the quarter end.

Who is in scope

The mandatory scope tests qualifying gross income against a falling threshold:

From 6 April 2026: sole traders (including landlords) with qualifying gross income above £50,000
From 6 April 2027: threshold drops to £30,000
From 6 April 2028: threshold drops to £20,000

the MTD-for-ITSA threshold (£50,000 from 6 April 2026, £30,000 from 6 April 2027, £20,000 from 6 April 2028) sometimes quoted in older guidance was the original 2017 proposal, abandoned in late 2022 and replaced by the current £50,000 / £30,000 / £20,000 schedule.

Qualifying income is gross income from self-employment and property, combined. A landlord with £35,000 of property income and £20,000 of self-employment income has qualifying income of £55,000 and is in scope from 6 April 2026 even though neither source alone exceeds £50,000.

Out of scope:

Limited companies (companies file through the standard CT600 process; MTD for Corporation Tax is deferred indefinitely)
Sole traders and landlords with qualifying income below the prevailing threshold
Holders of certain statutory exemptions (some trustees, personal representatives, non-UK resident entertainers and sportspeople)
Landlords with successful application-based exemptions (digital exclusion on grounds of disability, age, location, religious belief, or where digital filing is not reasonably practical)

The points-based late submission penalty

MTD-ITSA introduced a points-based late submission penalty regime, replacing the old per-return £100 fixed penalty model. The mechanics:

Each late submission of a required return (each quarterly update or the final declaration) earns one point.
Points accumulate within a submission frequency. For MTD-ITSA quarterly updates, the points threshold is four (so four missed quarters trigger the financial penalty).
Reaching the threshold triggers a £200 financial penalty for the failure that put the taxpayer at the threshold and a further £200 for each subsequent late submission until the points are reset.
Points can be reset to zero in two ways: (a) by submitting all outstanding returns and then maintaining a 24-month period of compliant filing, or (b) by submitting all outstanding returns where the threshold has not been reached and the points are within their two-year lifetime.
Late payment of any tax due triggers a separate late payment penalty regime, with interest also accruing daily.

The points-based design is more forgiving for occasional one-off lapses (a single late submission is a single point, not a £100 penalty) but harsher for systematic failure to file (because the £200 cumulates on each subsequent late submission once the threshold is hit).

HMRC indicated a softer-touch first year for 2026/27, with the £200 financial penalty likely deferred where failures are not deliberate. The exact terms have been updated in HMRC policy documents through late 2025 and into 2026. The leniency is not indefinite and the regime is in full force from 2027/28 onwards.

What goes into a quarterly update

A quarterly update is a categorised summary of property income and allowable expenses to date in the tax year, not a full set of accounts. The submission shows:

Property rental income received (cumulative to the end of the quarter)
Allowable expenses by category (finance costs, repairs and maintenance, insurance, professional fees, agent fees, utilities where landlord-paid, etc.) (cumulative)
The category schema follows HMRC's MTD-ITSA standard categories, which map broadly to the SA105 expense boxes

Three things do not go in the quarterly update:

Capital items. Capital improvements, capital disposals and capital allowances are dealt with in the final declaration, not in the quarterly cycle.
Section 24 adjustments. The mortgage interest restriction (basic-rate credit for individual residential landlords) is applied at year-end in the final declaration, not in the quarterly summaries.
Reliefs and allowances. The personal allowance, the property income allowance, capital allowances, and other reliefs are applied in the final declaration.

The quarterly update is effectively a cash-or-accruals summary of trading activity in the period. The tax calculation comes later.

The final declaration

The final declaration is the year-end submission that replaces the old Self Assessment return for MTD-ITSA-in-scope taxpayers. For 2026/27 the final declaration is due by 31 January 2028 (the same date as the existing SA filing deadline).

The final declaration pulls together:

The four quarterly updates for each business source
Adjustments for capital expenditure and capital allowances
Section 24 mortgage interest restriction
Other income sources (employment, pensions, investments, capital gains)
Reliefs and allowances (personal allowance, marriage allowance, gift aid, pension contributions)
Final tax calculation

The final declaration is filed through the same MTD-compatible software used for the quarterly updates. Tax payment dates (31 January balancing payment, 31 January and 31 July payments on account) are unchanged.

Software requirements and digital records

MTD-ITSA requires:

MTD-compatible software capable of submitting through HMRC's MTD API. HMRC publishes a list of recognised software at gov.uk/guidance/find-software-thats-compatible-with-making-tax-digital-for-income-tax.
Digital records of income and expenses, stored within the software or in a system that links cleanly to the software via bridging software for spreadsheet users.
An audit trail of submissions, retained for at least five years and 10 months from the end of the tax year.

The major property-friendly options in active use as of May 2026 include Hammock, Landlord Studio, Sage, QuickBooks, Xero and FreeAgent. Specialist property products tend to have better tenant-and-property tracking; general accounting products have broader features but need more configuration for landlord use. Prices range from free for very small portfolios on certain plans to around £30 a month for full-featured products.

Jointly-owned property and partnerships

Each joint owner files their own MTD-ITSA returns if they individually exceed the threshold. The threshold is tested on the individual's share of the gross income. A 50/50 jointly owned property producing £80,000 gross gives each owner £40,000 of qualifying income, which is below the £50,000 threshold for 2026/27 but caught from April 2027 at the £30,000 threshold.

For property partnerships (formal partnerships, not just joint ownership), the partnership itself files an MTD-compatible partnership return, and each partner reports their share through their personal MTD-ITSA return where they are individually in scope. The detail on partnership-specific mechanics has lagged the sole-trader rules in HMRC guidance and is still being refined.

Interaction with the 2027 income tax rate change

The 2027 income tax rate change (separate 22/42/47% rates on property income from 6 April 2027) does not change the MTD-ITSA mechanics: quarterly updates remain categorised summaries of income and expense, and the final declaration applies the relevant tax rates at year-end. What it does change is the rates the software applies at the final declaration step for 2027/28 and later years.

Practically, this means MTD software needs to be updated to apply the right rates to property income from 6 April 2027 onwards. HMRC-recognised software providers manage this update centrally. Landlords using bridging software with bespoke spreadsheets need to ensure their own calculation reflects the new rates.

If you have missed a deadline

The right sequence after a missed deadline is:

File the late submission as soon as possible. Points accrue once, regardless of how late the submission is, but late submission can compound into late payment penalties if any tax becomes due at year-end.
Check the current points balance through the software or HMRC's online account. Knowing where you sit against the four-point threshold informs how careful subsequent submissions need to be.
If a financial penalty has been imposed, consider whether reasonable excuse applies. Genuine reasonable excuse (serious illness, bereavement, HMRC service failure documented at the time) can support an appeal.
Maintain compliant filing for 24 months to reset points to zero. Catching up on outstanding returns alone does not reset the clock if the threshold was crossed.

Practical pre-2026/27 setup checklist

For landlords entering MTD-ITSA for the first time at 6 April 2026 or 6 April 2027:

Select MTD-compatible software (from the HMRC-recognised list)
Set up bank feeds or imports to capture rental receipts and expenses automatically
Establish opening balances at the start of the tax year
Map expenses to HMRC's standard category schema
Test the first quarterly submission well before the 7 August deadline
Set up reminders for each quarterly deadline plus the final declaration
Decide whether to engage professional support for setup, ongoing bookkeeping, or just the year-end

The first MTD year is the one where landlords typically need the most support, because the system is new and the points-based penalty regime starts running from day one. After the first cycle is complete, most landlords find subsequent quarters straightforward.

Frequently asked questions

What are the MTD-ITSA quarterly deadlines for 2026/27?: Under the standard quarterly periods (6 April to 5 July, 6 July to 5 October, 6 October to 5 January, 6 January to 5 April), the deadlines for 2026/27 are 7 August 2026 (Q1), 7 November 2026 (Q2), 7 February 2027 (Q3) and 7 May 2027 (Q4). Each quarterly update is due by the 7th day of the second month after the quarter ends. The final declaration (replacing the old end-of-period statement plus crystallisation) is due by 31 January 2028.
Who has to file under MTD-ITSA from April 2026?: Sole-trader landlords with gross income above £50,000 from 6 April 2026, dropping to £30,000 from 6 April 2027 and £20,000 from 6 April 2028. The threshold is gross income (combined property and self-employment) for the qualifying tax year, not net profit. the MTD-for-ITSA threshold (£50,000 from 6 April 2026, £30,000 from 6 April 2027, £20,000 from 6 April 2028) sometimes still quoted in older guidance was the original proposal abandoned in late 2022. Limited companies are not in MTD-ITSA: companies file via the CT600. MTD for Corporation Tax has been deferred indefinitely.
Can I elect to align quarters to calendar months?: Yes. The election under regulation 7 of the MTD-ITSA Regulations allows quarter ends to be aligned to the calendar quarter rather than the standard tax-year-based quarter. Under the calendar-month election, the quarters are 1 April to 30 June, 1 July to 30 September, 1 October to 31 December, and 1 January to 31 March, with deadlines on the 7th day of the second month after each quarter end. The election is made in the software, applies for the whole tax year, and is most useful for landlords whose accounting cycle naturally aligns to calendar months.
What are the penalties for late quarterly submissions?: MTD-ITSA uses a points-based late submission penalty system, not a fixed per-submission penalty. Each late quarterly update earns one point. When the points threshold of four is reached (covering one missed quarter in each of the four standard submission types for a single business, the threshold may differ for taxpayers with multiple sources), a £200 financial penalty applies and continues for each further late submission until the points are reset by 24 months of compliant filing or by all outstanding returns being submitted. Late payment of any tax due triggers a separate late payment penalty regime, with interest also accruing daily on outstanding amounts.
What information goes in each quarterly update?: A cumulative summary of property income and allowable expenses for the tax year to date, broken down by HMRC's standard category schema (rent received, finance costs, repairs and maintenance, insurance, professional fees, agent fees, and similar). The update is a categorised summary, not a full set of accounts. Each quarter's submission shows the cumulative position to the end of that quarter, so Q2 includes Q1 plus Q2, and so on. Capital expenditure, capital allowances and the Section 24 finance cost restriction are dealt with at year-end via the final declaration, not in the quarterly updates.
What is the final declaration and when is it due?: The final declaration is the year-end submission that pulls together all sources of income, applies tax adjustments (Section 24 restriction, capital allowances, reliefs), and confirms the final tax position for the year. For 2026/27 the final declaration is due by 31 January 2028. It is the MTD-ITSA equivalent of the Self Assessment return, filed through MTD-compatible software. The 31 January payment deadline for any balancing tax due is unchanged. Payments on account remain due by 31 January and 31 July as under the existing Self Assessment system.
Does jointly-owned property change the filing position?: Each joint owner files their own MTD-ITSA returns if they individually exceed the income threshold. The threshold is tested on the individual's share of the gross rental income (so a 50/50 jointly owned property producing £80,000 gross gives each owner £40,000, below the £50,000 threshold for 2026/27 but caught from April 2027 at the £30,000 threshold). Both owners use the same set of property accounts but each files their own MTD updates and final declaration.
Are there exemptions from MTD-ITSA?: A small number of statutory exemptions and application-based exemptions exist. Statutory exemptions include trustees of certain trusts, personal representatives of deceased estates, and non-UK resident entertainers and sportspeople. Application-based exemptions cover landlords whose religious beliefs preclude digital filing, those unable to use electronic communications by reason of age, disability, location or another reason, and those for whom digital filing is not reasonably practical. The application is to HMRC and is not granted casually. Limited companies are outside MTD-ITSA but not because of an exemption: they file under corporation tax instead.
What MTD-compatible software is available?: HMRC publishes a list of MTD-recognised software at gov.uk. As of May 2026 the property-friendly options in active use include Sage, QuickBooks, Xero, FreeAgent, Hammock, Landlord Studio, and several specialist property-only products. Costs range from free (for very small portfolios on certain plans) to around £30 a month for full-featured products. The software must be capable of (a) keeping the digital records, (b) submitting the quarterly updates and the final declaration via HMRC's MTD API, and (c) producing an audit trail of submissions. Spreadsheet-based bookkeeping is permitted but requires bridging software to file.
Does the 2027 income tax rate change affect MTD?: Not the mechanics, only the rates applied at year-end. From 6 April 2027 the property income tax rates change to 22% basic, 42% higher and 47% additional rate (the 2027 change announced in the Autumn Budget). MTD-compatible software needs to be updated to apply the new rates in the final declaration for 2027/28 and later years. Quarterly updates themselves are not affected: they are summaries of income and expense, not tax calculations. Detail in our <a href="/blog/landlord-tax-essentials/2027-property-income-tax-rates-landlords-uk">2027 income tax rates guide</a>.
What if I am voluntarily registered before my threshold is reached?: Voluntary entry into MTD-ITSA is available, principally for landlords already comfortable with cloud accounting who want the cleaner year-end. The voluntary route uses the same quarterly deadlines and points-based penalty system as the mandatory route. Voluntary registration can be reversed if circumstances change. For most landlords below the mandatory threshold, the administrative overhead of MTD outweighs the modest benefit; voluntary entry makes sense only where the bookkeeping practice is already digital and the year-end smoothing is genuinely valued.
What if my income drops below the threshold mid-year?: The threshold test is applied based on the qualifying tax year (the previous tax year's qualifying income, looking back). If qualifying income drops below the threshold in a later tax year (and remains below for the requisite period), the landlord can exit MTD. HMRC's rules on the exit process are still being refined as MTD beds in; the practical recommendation is to stay in MTD for the year qualifying income was above the threshold and seek formal confirmation of exit timing rather than assume it falls out automatically.
What records must I keep digitally?: Property income, allowable expenses, capital expenditure, and the supporting documentation (invoices, receipts, bank statements, mortgage statements, insurance documents) must be available in a form that links the entries in the quarterly update to the source records. The records do not all have to be in the MTD software itself, but they must be reconcilable. Paper receipts can be scanned and stored digitally; the originals do not have to be retained once a clean scan exists. The minimum retention period is five years and 10 months from the end of the tax year for business taxpayers, which includes landlords.
Is there a soft-landing period for penalties?: HMRC indicated for the original 2026 start that the first year of MTD-ITSA would attract a lighter-touch enforcement approach for points-based penalties, with the points clock effectively running during 2026/27 but the £200 financial penalty deferred where the failures were not deliberate. The exact terms of the soft-landing were updated in HMRC's published policy documents in late 2025 and early 2026. Landlords should not rely on indefinite leniency; the threshold for the £200 penalty firms up over time and is fully in force from 2027/28 onwards in HMRC's stated policy direction. Always file on time.

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MTD Quarterly Deadlines 2026/27 for UK Landlords

The 2026/27 quarterly deadline calendar (standard quarters)

Quarter alignment election

Who is in scope

The points-based late submission penalty

What goes into a quarterly update

The final declaration

Software requirements and digital records

Jointly-owned property and partnerships

Interaction with the 2027 income tax rate change

If you have missed a deadline

Practical pre-2026/27 setup checklist

Frequently asked questions

Need help with your property tax?

MTD ITSA vs Current Self Assessment: The Side-by-Side Comparison for Landlords

MTD ITSA: The Policy History From 2015 to 2028 (and Why the £10,000 Threshold Was Abandoned)

MTD ITSA Voluntary Pilot 2025/26: Should Landlords Opt In Early?

The 2026/27 quarterly deadline calendar (standard quarters)

Quarter alignment election

Who is in scope

The points-based late submission penalty

What goes into a quarterly update

The final declaration

Software requirements and digital records

Jointly-owned property and partnerships

Interaction with the 2027 income tax rate change

If you have missed a deadline

Practical pre-2026/27 setup checklist

Frequently asked questions

Need help with your property tax?

Related articles

MTD ITSA vs Current Self Assessment: The Side-by-Side Comparison for Landlords

MTD ITSA: The Policy History From 2015 to 2028 (and Why the £10,000 Threshold Was Abandoned)

MTD ITSA Voluntary Pilot 2025/26: Should Landlords Opt In Early?