Missed the 7 August MTD deadline? What happens next

If 7 August 2026 has passed and you haven’t filed your first Making Tax Digital (MTD) quarterly update, this is the most forgiving deadline you will ever miss.

Is there a penalty for missing the 7 August deadline?

For the 2026-27 tax year, HMRC is not issuing penalty points for late quarterly updates (HMRC’s penalty guidance (opens in a new tab) sets this out). So a missed 7 August means no fine, no penalty point, and no phone call. File your update as soon as you can and you’re completely square.

What to actually do now

• File the update: it covers 6 April to 5 July 2026, and takes minutes once your figures are digital.
• Note the next date: your Quarter 2 update is due 7 November 2026. The deadlines page has all four.
• Set up reminders so the next one reaches you before it matters, not after.

Not signed up for MTD at all yet?

Signing up is a separate step from picking software, and it’s the one people miss. From September 2026, HMRC will begin signing up people who should be using MTD but haven’t done it themselves, in stages, with a letter to each (announced 12 August 2026 (opens in a new tab)). HMRC’s advice in that announcement is to sign up yourself rather than wait, so your details are right from the start and you pick software in your own time. If the letter has already landed, here’s what it means.

Catching up in September? One date to plan around

HMRC has scheduled downtime for the MTD service from 5pm on Friday 11 September until 1pm on Tuesday 15 September 2026 (listed on HMRC’s service availability page (opens in a new tab)). File before Friday afternoon or after Tuesday lunchtime that week. There are no penalty points for late 2026-27 updates either side of it.

Which MTD deadline still carries penalties?

The soft landing only covers quarterly updates, and only for 2026-27: that is all four of this year’s updates, the last of them due 7 May 2027, and points start with the 2027-28 updates (HMRC’s 12 August 2026 announcement (opens in a new tab) puts points-based penalties from 6 April 2027 onwards). And a late year-end final declaration (first due 31 January 2028) earns a penalty point, with interest running on unpaid tax from the first day. MTD penalties explains the points system.

Make sure there’s never a next time: put the four dates in your calendar, or let us email you 7 days before each one. No account, no software sign-up.