436,000 sole traders have filed their first Making Tax Digital update

Making Tax Digital for Income Tax started on 6 April 2026 for sole traders and landlords with qualifying income over £50,000. HMRC says more than 436,000 of them have now successfully sent their first quarterly update, out of over 570,000 signed up to the service.

If you turn over more than £50,000 as a sole trader, this is you, and the first deadline has already gone.

What it means in practice

Digital records, and a summary of your income and expenses sent to HMRC every three months from compatible software. The quarterly update is a set of totals, not a tax return and not a payment.

The dates

• 7 August 2026 — first quarter, already passed
• 7 November 2026 — the next one
• 7 February 2027
• 7 May 2027

This year is the free go

HMRC has confirmed that no penalty points will be issued for late quarterly updates during the 2026 to 2027 tax year.

From April 2027 that changes, and so does who is in scope:

• Anyone with qualifying income over £30,000 joins.
• A missed quarterly deadline earns one penalty point.
• Four points, and there is a £200 fixed penalty.

So if you are in the £50,000-plus band, this is the year to find out what your software actually does before it costs you anything. If you are between £30,000 and £50,000, you have this year to watch someone else do it first.

Worth doing before November

• Check whether HMRC has signed you up automatically, rather than assuming you are outside it.
• If you are keeping records in a shoebox and a notes app, that is the thing to fix, not the filing.
• Whatever software you pick, put one quarter through it properly rather than leaving it to the 6th.