The first-ever MTD ITSA deadline
7 August 2026.
The very first Making Tax Digital quarterly deadline for UK sole traders earning over £50,000. If you’re in scope, this is your first-ever HMRC quarterly submission — and the shape of everything you’ll do four times a year, forever.
Deadline: 23:59 UK time, Friday 7 August 2026. Covers income and expenses for the tax quarter running 6 April – 5 July 2026.
Am I in scope?
You’re in if your 2024/25 qualifying income was over £50,000.
Qualifying income = gross
It’s the gross total of self-employment turnover plus property income — not your profit after expenses. A plumber turning over £60,000 with £15,000 in van, tools and materials still has qualifying income of £60,000. In scope.
The threshold is measured against your last completed tax year — the year that ended 5 April 2026 for the 7 August 2026 deadline.
Phase-in schedule
- 2026/27: in scope if 2024/25 qualifying income > £50,000
- 2027/28: in scope if 2025/26 qualifying income > £30,000
- 2028/29: in scope if 2026/27 qualifying income > £20,000
What’s in the submission
Not a tax return. Just a quarterly income + expenses summary.
Income for the quarter
Total money invoiced (accruals basis) or received (cash basis), broken down against HMRC's Self Employment Business categories.
Expenses for the quarter
Categorised: fuel, materials, tools, phone, insurance, van, rent, and so on — against HMRC's own list of allowable heads.
Filed via MTD-compatible software
Not via HMRC's website. The submission must come from software connected to HMRC's API — that's the whole point of Making Tax Digital.
You still file a Final Declaration on 31 January — that ties the year together with any adjustments and personal allowances. Quarterly updates are running totals, not the full return.
What happens if you miss it
Points-based, not per-miss fines.
The points system
Every missed quarterly update = 1 point. Reach 4 points and you get a £200 penalty. After that, £200 for every subsequent miss until points expire (24 months of clean filing).
So one missed quarter, on its own, is not a £200 penalty — it’s a warning shot. But four in a row, or four across a couple of years, triggers the fine.
The “soft landing”
HMRC has said the first year is a soft-landing period — some leniency on penalties for people who are registered and are filing but occasionally slip.
It does notcover people who ignore MTD entirely. If you’re in scope and don’t submit at all, the soft landing doesn’t save you.
Get ready for 7 August
Track your MTD deadlines in the app.
Honest Invoices tracks every HMRC deadline that applies to you — MTD quarters, Payments on Account, CIS filings — on one dashboard calendar. £15/month locked. 14-day free trial, no card up front.