MTD quarterly update 2: the 7 November 2026 checklist

If Making Tax Digital applied to you from April 2026, your second quarterly update is the next deadline. The standard quarter runs from 6 July to 5 October 2026 and the update must reach HMRC by 7 November 2026. If you elected calendar quarters, the period is 1 July to 30 September; the deadline is the same.

What HMRC actually receives

A quarterly update is not a mini tax return. It is a set of totals: income and expenses, grouped into HMRC's categories, for each property business or trade you have. Two things surprise people the first time:

• It is cumulative. The second update carries the totals from 6 April to 5 October, not just the last three months. Your software works this out; you do not add anything up yourself.
• There is no tax calculation to approve. HMRC shows an estimate afterwards, but nothing is finalised until the end-of-year declaration.

The 20-minute checklist

1. Bring your bank up to date. Import the statement (or sync the feed) to 5 October. Every rent receipt and every landlord expense should be in your records.
2. Categorise the strays. Anything still marked "uncategorised" needs a home: repairs, insurance, agent fees, and so on. Mortgage interest goes in its own box because of Section 24; it is not a general expense.
3. Check jointly owned property. If you own a rental with someone else, you report your share of the gross rent and expenses, not the whole amount. MTDFox applies your ownership percentage automatically.
4. Look at the year-to-date figures. Compare with what you expected. A rent that arrived late in July is fine; a rent that never arrived is worth a phone call.
5. Submit and keep the receipt. HMRC returns a submission ID. Your software stores it; that is your proof if anything is ever questioned.

If you miss it

Late quarterly updates earn penalty points, and four points trigger a £200 penalty. HMRC has said the first year of mandation is treated more gently; the detail is in our penalties guide. Missing a deadline is not the disaster people fear, but it is worth avoiding: the update takes minutes once the records are in order.

What comes after

Update 3 covers 6 October 2026 to 5 January 2027 and is due by 7 February 2027. Update 4 closes the year on 5 April and is due by 7 May 2027. The final declaration, where you confirm the whole year and add anything MTD does not cover, is due by 31 January 2028. Our deadlines guide has the full calendar, and the printable checklist is the same list as above in a form you can tick.