Your First Making Tax Digital Update Is Due 7 August 2026. Missing It Carries No Penalty This Year.

UK holiday let owners inside Making Tax Digital for Income Tax must send their first quarterly update by 7 August 2026 (HMRC, 23 July 2026). More than 864,000 sole traders and landlords are in scope. There are no penalty points for missing it this year. It is still a legal requirement, and your 2026 to 2027 tax return cannot be filed until the updates are in.

What changed

HMRC on 23 July 2026: “sole traders and landlords earning more than £50,000 from their self-employment and property must send their first Making Tax Digital for Income Tax quarterly update by 7 August 2026” (as of 26 July 2026).

Two possible first periods, one deadline. “The first quarterly update period runs from 6 April 2026 to 5 July 2026, for most customers. Some customers can instead use calendar update periods, the first of which runs from 1 April to 30 June. The update deadline for all customers is 7 August 2026.” The quarterly updates guidance carries both (as of 26 July 2026).

Who is actually in scope

Qualifying income is “your total income from self-employment and property. This is the amount before expenses (also known as turnover), based on the tax return you submitted in the previous tax year” (Work out your qualifying income, as of 26 July 2026). Turnover, not profit: platform service fees, cleaning and laundry come off after that test, not before it. One exception on a jointly owned let: only your share counts, and if you “only receive notice of your share of the income after expenses have been deducted, then we’ll assess that figure”.

The year tested is 2024 to 2025, not this one. Qualifying income over “£50,000 for the 2024 to 2025 tax year” means you use the service “from 6 April 2026” (eligibility guidance, as of 26 July 2026). Holiday lets are not carved out: the Furnished Holiday Let regime was abolished on 6 April 2025, and short-term holiday accommodation is now “taxed under usual residential landlord rules” (GOV.UK guidance for England, as of 26 July 2026).

What missing it actually costs

Not money. “HMRC will not apply penalty points for late quarterly updates during the 2026 to 2027 tax year”, and the penalties guidance says the same (both as of 26 July 2026). The relief is on the penalty, not on the duty.

It costs you a return, but not the one due next January. “You will need to send your quarterly updates before you are able to submit your tax return”, and you “must submit your tax return by 31 January following the end of the relevant tax year” (submit your tax return, as of 26 July 2026). These updates gate the 2026 to 2027 return, due 31 January 2028. The return due 31 January 2027 is untouched: you “will still need to submit a Self Assessment tax return as you normally do for the tax year before you start using Making Tax Digital for Income Tax”. Late returns and late payments are still penalised. From the following tax year each missed update is a penalty point, and four points is a £200 penalty.

What to do

• Check the 2024 to 2025 return, not this year’s takings. Add gross self-employment turnover to gross property income. Over £50,000 and you are in, letter or no letter: “if you do not receive a letter, it is still your responsibility to check”. Exemptions apply, including for the digitally excluded.
• Send it even if the property sat empty. “If you have not received any income or incurred any expenses during the last update period, you must still send your quarterly update to tell HMRC.”
• Diarise 7 November 2026. The second deadline, covering 6 April to 5 October, or 1 April to 30 September.

The real change is rhythm: cleaner invoices, laundry and consumables in digital records as you go, totalled to HMRC four times a year rather than reconstructed each January.

This is UK only and is general information, not tax advice. Your own position depends on your figures, so check it with an accountant or with HMRC. Every quotation above was checked against the live GOV.UK pages on 26 July 2026.