Your MTD update has been submitted. So, what happens next?
If you have sent your first Making Tax Digital quarterly update, you might be wondering whether there is anything else you need to do.
The good news is that there is no separate tax return to complete after each quarterly update.
Your update gives HMRC a summary of the income and expenses recorded in your digital accounts. Once it has been sent, you continue keeping your records up to date ready for the next one.
Here is what that looks like in practice.
Your quarterly update is not a tax return
This is an important distinction.
Your quarterly update contains totals from the income and expense records held in your MTD-compatible software. HMRC describes these updates as summaries rather than tax returns. You do not need to make all your year-end accounting or tax adjustments before sending one.
Think of it as keeping HMRC updated during the year rather than completing your final tax position four times.
Once your update has been submitted, your bookkeeping continues as normal.
You can see an estimated tax bill
After your quarterly update has been sent, you should be able to see an estimate of your tax bill through your software or HMRC online services.
This can give you a useful indication of where your tax position may be heading.
However, it is still an estimate.
Your final tax calculation can include information and adjustments that are not part of your quarterly updates, so the figure you see during the year should not be treated as your final tax bill.
Keep your bookkeeping up to date
After submitting an update, you move into the next quarterly period.
You continue recording your business income and expenses digitally as they happen.
If you notice that something in your records is wrong, HMRC expects you to correct your digital records as soon as possible.
This is where regular bookkeeping makes MTD much easier.
Rather than trying to reconstruct several months of business activity when another deadline approaches, your records are already being maintained throughout the year.
With Brease, this ongoing bookkeeping is part of the process.
Then comes your next quarterly update
For most sole traders using the standard quarterly periods, the MTD deadlines are:
7 August
First quarterly update
7 November
Second quarterly update
7 February
Third quarterly update
7 May
Fourth quarterly update
Your software uses the digital records you have been keeping to prepare the information needed for each update.
Then the cycle starts again.
What happens after the fourth update?
The fourth quarterly update does not replace your tax return.
Once all four updates have been submitted, HMRC will have details of the self-employment and property income and expenses you have reported during the year.
Your records can then be reviewed and any necessary accounting or tax adjustments made before your tax return is completed.
Your MTD software is then used to complete and submit your tax return.
So MTD changes how information is recorded and reported during the year, but there is still a year-end process to finalise your tax position.
What about your first year of MTD?
There is an important timing point for sole traders who entered MTD in April 2026.
You will still submit your 2025/26 Self Assessment tax return in the usual way by 31 January 2027.
At the same time, you will already be keeping digital records and submitting quarterly updates for the 2026/27 tax year.
Your first tax return completed through MTD software will be for 2026/27, due by 31 January 2028.
It can sound like two systems running at once, but only during that transition into MTD.
What does Brease do?
With Brease, MTD is part of your ongoing accounting rather than something you need to deal with separately every few months.
We help keep your bookkeeping current throughout the year and make sure your records are ready for your quarterly updates.
When year end arrives, we can deal with the adjustments needed before your tax return is completed.
You still know what is happening with your accounts, but you do not need to manage the MTD process alone.
Keep your accounting moving between updates
Submitting a quarterly update does not mean forgetting about your accounts until the next deadline.
Keeping your records current throughout the year makes each update easier and gives you a clearer view of your business as you go.
That is how Brease is designed to work.
Smart simple accounting, with support from real accountants.
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This guide is part of the Brease Guides collection, created to help sole traders understand bookkeeping, tax and Making Tax Digital without the jargon.
