HMRC Issues Guidance as Making Tax Digital Quarterly Deadline Nears

HM Revenue and Customs said on November 2, 2026 that sole traders and landlords earning more than £50,000 must send their second quarterly update under Making Tax Digital by Saturday, November 7, and published five corrections to common misunderstandings. The announcement on GOV.UK is the primary source.

The HMRC Making Tax Digital announcement is a guidance roundup, not a rule change. It sets out no new policy, publishes no sign-up figures and carries no data on how many taxpayers met the first deadline in August. Its only number on take-up is “thousands” of people who sent a first update.

For accountants the practical value is narrower. The five myths are the questions clients have put to HMRC since August, and they show where agents are likely to spend time this week. The HMRC Making Tax Digital rules for MTD for Income Tax have been mandatory since April 6, 2026, and the income threshold falls twice more.

What the HMRC Making Tax Digital release says

The release comes from HMRC’s press office and is attributed to Craig Ogilvie, HMRC’s Director of Making Tax Digital. It is the only source for the five myths, and Accountio has checked its content against HMRC’s published guidance on GOV.UK.

Quarterly updates must be sent through HMRC-recognised software, including bridging software for people who keep spreadsheets. Exemptions exist, including for people who are digitally excluded. The duties sit in the Income Tax (Digital Obligations) Regulations 2026.

The income test applies to qualifying income from self-employment and property. It is more than £50,000 from April 6, 2026, more than £30,000 from April 6, 2027 and more than £20,000 from April 6, 2028.

Each step brings in a far larger group than the last. Firms with clients near £30,000 or £20,000 have a year or more to prepare, but the client conversations start well before the April dates.

“Quarterly updates are not tax returns, no tax is due when they’re sent, and customers can keep their information up to date throughout the year.”

Craig Ogilvie, Director of Making Tax Digital, HMRC

The five myths HMRC wants clients to drop

The first myth is that a quarterly update is a tax return. HMRC says it is a short summary of self-employment and property income and expenses, sent through compatible software. No tax calculation is involved and no payment is due. A customer’s overall tax position is calculated only when they submit the return for 2026 to 2027.

The second is that customers must contact HMRC to check an update arrived. HMRC says anyone who completed the August update does not need to recheck. Submission history is visible in the HMRC online account or in the software, without a call or webchat.

The third is that only specialist accounting software will do. HMRC says options range from products built for sole traders and landlords to fuller accounting packages, and that some are free. Spreadsheets linked to MTD bridging software are also allowed.

The fourth concerns mistakes. Clients who spot an error in a previous update period do not need to resend it. They should correct the digital record as soon as possible, and the correction flows into the next quarterly update.

The fifth is that a Saturday deadline forces an early send. Customers can file before or on November 7, and HMRC urges them to send as soon as possible after the update period ends.

Software choices under HMRC Making Tax Digital

The third myth matters most for firms advising on tooling. HMRC does not require a particular product, only that it is recognised and can connect to HMRC’s systems.

That leaves three routes. A client can use sole-trader and landlord software, a full cloud accounting package, or a spreadsheet with a bridging layer. HMRC maintains a list of compatible products on GOV.UK, including free options, and its guidance on choosing the right software explains how to check one.

The choice for a practice is partly about cost and partly about who keeps the records. A client who sends quarterly updates themselves needs software they can use unaided. A client whose agent files for them can sit on whatever the firm already runs.

Firms handling many small clients may prefer to standardise. Accountio’s MTD for Income Tax template pack covers the client communications and record checklists that a mixed software estate tends to need.

HMRC’s release does not compare products, and Accountio has not been given vendor data on which routes clients are choosing. Xero, QuickBooks and FreeAgent did not supply comment for this article, and no figures on client sign-ups by software provider are available.

Penalties and the support HMRC is offering

The release does not mention penalties. HMRC’s published regime for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax uses penalty points for late quarterly updates rather than the flat fines of the older Self Assessment system. A financial penalty follows once a customer reaches the points threshold.

HMRC has also set a transition for the first year, 2026 to 2027, under which late quarterly updates do not attract points. Firms should confirm the current detail on GOV.UK before advising clients, because the release itself does not cover it. That relief does not remove the filing obligation, and the final return for the year is not covered by it.

On support, HMRC says the Self Assessment helpline will run on Saturday, November 7 from 9am to 3pm, for customers who need help sending an update. The Agent Dedicated Line will not be open that day. Agents can call the Self Assessment helpline on 0300 200 3310, and business-as-usual webchat runs from 8am to 4pm.

Outside that Saturday window, HMRC asks customers to call during the week when the full phone service is available. The department’s advice is to avoid leaving the update to the final day.

What firms should check this week

The release points to four checks. The first is which clients are inside the £50,000 test and have not yet sent a second update. The second is whether any client has started to resend a prior quarter after finding an error, which HMRC says is unnecessary.

The third is whether clients on spreadsheets have a working bridging connection. The fourth is which clients with income between £30,000 and £50,000 should begin keeping digital records before April 2027.

Firms that need a wider briefing can use Accountio’s guide to what accounting firms need to know about Making Tax Digital. It sets out the agent authorisation and client onboarding steps that sit behind each update.

The main weakness of the HMRC announcement as a source is that it tells accountants nothing about how well the system is performing. There are no counts of updates received, no error rates and no data on how many clients are signed up. Those figures, if HMRC publishes them, would show whether the 2027 expansion to the £30,000 band is on track.

The next dates are fixed. The second quarterly update is due on November 7, 2026, and the income threshold falls to £30,000 on April 6, 2027.