MTD Second Quarterly Update: What Changes by 7 November

The MTD second quarterly update is due by 7 November 2026 for anyone who joined Making Tax Digital for Income Tax in April 2026. It is not a report on the last three months: it is your running total from the start of the tax year, so it also exposes anything that was wrong or missing in your first update. Sort that out first, and the submission itself takes minutes.

Key takeaways

• The second update covers 6 April to 5 October on standard periods, or 1 April to 30 September on calendar periods.
• Updates are cumulative, so a first-quarter error is corrected in your records and flows through this update.
• HMRC is not applying penalty points to late 2026/27 quarterly updates, but you still have to send them.
• An update is not a payment. Self Assessment payment dates are unchanged.

What "cumulative" means for your second update

A cumulative update shows the year-to-date figure in each income and expense category. It does not add this quarter on top of a figure HMRC already holds; it replaces the picture with a fresh total. According to GOV.UK's quarterly updates guidance, each update shows totals for the tax year so far.

This is what makes update two different in practice. Your first update was mostly a test of whether you could get data out of the software. The second is the first time you can see whether your record keeping held up, because a late invoice, a duplicated bank line or a wrongly coded cost from the summer now sits inside a bigger number, where it is harder to spot by eye.

Standard and calendar periods side by side

You chose between these before your first update and cannot change it later in the same tax year, so check which one your software is using before you pull any reports. The difference matters if you run a monthly bank reconciliation: a standard period ends on the 5th, part-way through a statement.

Worked example: the correction that flows through

Illustrative example. "Rowan" is an invented self-employed gardener using standard periods. This is the position when preparing the second update.

Rowan does not resend the first update. The records are corrected, and the second update simply shows the right totals. But Rowan does keep a short note of the two changes, because anyone comparing the two updates will otherwise see £13,600 of new income turn into a £14,050 jump and wonder why.

A pre-submission checklist for update two

1. Confirm your period type and the end date your software is showing.
2. Reconcile your bank feed to the statement at the period end date, not the month end if you are on standard periods.
3. Compare each category with the first update. A category that has fallen needs an explanation.
4. Look for what the first quarter missed: cash sales, invoices raised late, costs paid from a personal card.
5. Clear any uncategorised transactions rather than leaving them for year end.
6. Repeat for each income source. A sole trade and a rental property each have their own update.
7. Note any corrections, send the update and save the confirmation.

For the basics of getting data ready, see our first quarterly update checklist, and for a larger error read correcting quarterly update errors.

If you missed the first update

Do not assume that the cumulative second update quietly replaces it. Each update is its own obligation, and your software should show which ones are still open. Clear the older one first, then send the second. The sooner you do this the better, because all four updates need to be in before you finish your tax return for the year. If your software will not let you, contact its support team or your agent rather than leaving it.

Where penalties stand after the Budget

GOV.UK's Making Tax Digital for Income Tax guidance confirms there are no penalty points for late quarterly updates in 2026/27. After that, each missed update deadline gives one point, and four points bring a £200 penalty. Late tax returns attract points throughout, so the soft landing does not cover your year-end filing.

The ICAEW's report of the October 2026 Budget says the same easement is being given to those joining from April 2027 for their first year, but not extended to April 2026 joiners, whose missed updates can earn points from 2027/28. Their first update of that year is due by 7 August 2027. Check HMRC's latest guidance as this feeds through, and read our penalty points guide for how the system works.

Common mistakes

• Entering only the latest quarter. If your software asks for figures, it wants the year to date. Spreadsheet users with bridging software are most exposed here.
• Resending update one to fix a small error. Corrections normally go through your records and into the next update.
• Treating the estimate as a bill. It moves with each update and leaves out things such as year-end adjustments.
• Forgetting your 2025/26 return. Your MTD updates are for 2026/27. The 2025/26 Self Assessment return is still separately due online by 31 January 2027.
• Thinking no penalty means no duty. The soft landing removes the point, not the requirement.

Want someone to check the numbers before they go? Our MTD compliance service starts from £49 a month. Contact us if you are behind on an update, or see our pricing.