Cumulative quarterly updates explained
Unlike Making Tax Digital for VAT (which is period-by-period), Income Tax quarterly updates are cumulative for the tax year.
Every update includes all figures from 6 April (or 1 April if you use calendar quarters) up to that quarter end. For standard quarters:
- Q1 (due 7 August): totals from 6 April to 5 July.
- Q2 (due 7 November): totals from 6 April to 5 October (including Q1).
- Q3 (due 7 February): totals from 6 April to 5 January.
- Q4 (due 7 May): totals from 6 April to 5 April (full year to date).
Correcting an earlier quarter
If you spot an error in an earlier quarter, do not resend that update. Correct your digital records and send the revised cumulative totals in the next update. Your software overwrites the previous figures with the new year-to-date amounts.
Not the same as VAT
A common mistake is treating Q2 as “July to September only”. Under MTD for Income Tax, Q2 reports everything from the tax year start through 5 October (standard quarters) — not just the latest three months.
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