What is a cumulative quarterly update?
A cumulative quarterly update reports your income and expenses for the whole tax year so far, not for the quarter on its own. Each quarterly update covers the period from 6 April to the end of the update period.[1] The second update therefore includes everything in the first.
Making Tax Digital for Income Tax asks sole traders and landlords to send four of these updates a year, then a tax return. This article explains the periods, the dates and how to total figures kept in a spreadsheet.
The four standard update periods
Your software uses standard update periods unless you choose otherwise. Every period starts on 6 April.[2] The periods end on a fixed date and each has a deadline:
- 6 April to 5 July: send by 7 August
- 6 April to 5 October: send by 7 November
- 6 April to 5 January: send by 7 February
- 6 April to 5 April: send by 7 May, in the following tax year
A worked example
These figures are made up. A sole trader has sales of £4,000 in the first quarter and £5,000 in the second. The first update shows £4,000. The second update, to 5 October, shows £9,000, which is £4,000 plus £5,000. A later update never shows only the latest quarter.
What an update contains
An update holds totals for each income and expense category you used in your digital records.[3] It is a summary, not a list of invoices. Keep your records, because they back up the totals.
Calendar update periods
A business can choose calendar update periods in place of the standard ones. Make the choice before the first update. You cannot change your update periods for the rest of the tax year after you send a quarterly update.[4]
Correcting a figure
Include a correction in your next update. The fourth update is different. You may need to resend your fourth quarterly update if you need to make any changes to your digital records.[5] After the fourth update, you submit your tax return, due by 31 January following the end of the tax year.[6]
Who sends quarterly updates
The rule depends on your qualifying income: over £50,000, from 6 April 2026; over £30,000, from 6 April 2027; over £20,000, from 6 April 2028.[7] The first of those dates has passed. Check which tax year's income decides your start date in HMRC's guidance on when you need to use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax.
Getting the cumulative figure from the Self Employed workbook
The Self Employed workbook has a VitalTax sheet. It shows four quarters of your accounting year, built from the monthly tabs. Each quarter stands alone. The sheet does not accumulate them.
To get a cumulative figure, add the quarters to date. For the second update, add quarter 1 and quarter 2 for each line. For the third, add quarters 1 to 3. For the fourth, use the annual column.
Before you copy a figure, check that the sheet's quarters match the update period in your software. The sheet's quarters are three accounting months. The standard periods end on the 5th of a month, so the two can differ by a few days of transactions.
The workbook prepares figures. It does not send anything to HMRC and does not produce an HMRC update. The Taxi Driver workbook has a VitalTax sheet that shows turnover, other income and allowable expenses by quarter, and it works the same way.
Where to send the update
Send updates with software that HMRC accepts for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax. DIY Accounting Submit files VAT returns from a spreadsheet and company filings today. It does not file Income Tax updates for customers today.
Article generated by Claude Code for DIY Accounting, November 2026. All information sourced from GOV.UK and HMRC guidance linked inline.
Tax reference: Making Tax Digital for Income Tax quarterly updates – Source: GOV.UK: Send quarterly updates using Making Tax Digital for Income Tax; GOV.UK: Find out if and when you need to use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax; GOV.UK: Submit your tax return using Making Tax Digital for Income Tax
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