What are quarterly updates?
Four times a year you send HMRC a summary of what you have earned and spent. It is less dramatic than it sounds, and more demanding than it sounds — for different reasons.
What you are actually sending
A quarterly update is a summary of income and expenses from your self-employment and property businesses, submitted from your software. It is not a tax return. It is not a tax calculation. Nobody asks you to work anything out.
The demanding part is not the submission — it is that your records have to be current enough to produce one. Reconstructing a year of receipts each January stops being possible.
The deadlines
| Period covered | Deadline |
|---|---|
| 6 April to 5 July | 7 August |
| 6 April to 5 October | 7 November |
| 6 April to 5 January | 7 February |
| 6 April to 5 April | 7 May (following tax year) |
The periods are cumulative
Look again at the left column: every period starts on 6 April. The second update covers 6 April to 5 October — it includes the first quarter again, not just the three months since. Each update restates the year to date, which means a correction to an earlier quarter is picked up automatically in the next one.
Calendar quarters
If your accounting period runs 1 April to 31 March, you can choose calendar update periods instead (ending 30 June, 30 September, 31 December and 31 March). The deadlines are the same. You must choose before you send your first update, and you cannot change once an update for that tax year has been sent.
The year still ends the same way
Quarterly updates do not replace your tax return. At the end of the tax year you still declare any other income — employment, dividends, savings, pensions — and submit the return by 31 January, through your software.
Nor do they change when you pay. Updates are information, not payments; your Self Assessment payment dates are unaffected.
What happens if you are late
Late submission penalties are points based. You get a penalty point for each quarterly update or tax return deadline you miss. At 4 points you get a £200 penalty, and another £200 each time you miss a deadline after that.
There are no penalties for missing a quarterly update deadline for the 2026 to 2027 tax year. That is a deliberate easing while people find their feet, not a permanent position. Late payment penalties and interest are separate from the points system and are set out on the GOV.UK penalties page.
Penalty rules differ for people who sign up voluntarily before their start date. If you are thinking of starting early, read the GOV.UK guidance on that first.
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Common questions
What is a quarterly update?
A summary of your self-employment and property income and expenses, sent to HMRC from compatible software four times during the tax year. It is a summary, not a tax calculation and not a tax return.
When are the quarterly update deadlines?
For standard update periods the deadlines are 7 August, 7 November, 7 February and 7 May. The periods run from 6 April to 5 July, 6 April to 5 October, 6 April to 5 January, and 6 April to 5 April.
Do quarterly updates replace my tax return?
No. You still finish the tax year by declaring any other income and submitting your tax return by 31 January, through your software.
Do I pay tax four times a year now?
Quarterly updates are submissions of information, not payments. They do not change your Self Assessment payment dates.
Can I use calendar quarters instead?
Yes. If your accounting period runs 1 April to 31 March you can choose calendar update periods ending 30 June, 30 September, 31 December and 31 March. The deadlines are the same. You must choose before sending your first update for the tax year, and you cannot change once one has been sent.
What happens if I miss a quarterly update deadline?
Late submission penalties are points based. You get a penalty point for each quarterly update or tax return deadline you miss, and at 4 points you get a £200 penalty, with a further £200 for each later missed deadline. GOV.UK states there are no penalties for missing a quarterly update deadline for the 2026 to 2027 tax year.
Where this comes from
Everything on this page traces to GOV.UK. Last checked 2026-08-11. If GOV.UK says something different, GOV.UK is right and we are wrong — please tell us.
Checked against GOV.UK on 2026-08-11. See every source we used.