# What do I need to report in MTD quarterly updates?

Last updated: 27 February 2026
Category: tax-deadlines

**Quick answer:** You report category totals of income and expenses — not individual transactions. Self-employment categories include turnover, cost of goods, wages, travel, and professional fees. Property categories include rent received, repairs, insurance, and mortgage interest.

## Detailed explanation

MTD quarterly updates require you to submit **category totals** of your income and expenses for each quarter. You do not need to send individual receipts or transaction-level detail to HMRC — your software calculates the totals from your digital records.

**Self-employment categories:**
- Turnover (total sales/income)
- Cost of goods sold
- Wages and staff costs
- Travel and vehicle costs
- Repairs and maintenance
- Insurance
- Professional and legal fees
- Office and administrative costs
- Advertising and marketing
- Interest on business loans
- Other allowable expenses

**Property income categories:**
- Rent received
- Repairs and maintenance
- Insurance
- Mortgage interest (allowable portion)
- Agent and management fees
- Ground rent and service charges
- Legal and professional fees
- Other property expenses

**Quarterly periods and deadlines:**
- Q1 (6 April – 5 July): Due **7 August**
- Q2 (6 July – 5 October): Due **7 November**
- Q3 (6 October – 5 January): Due **7 February**
- Q4 (6 January – 5 April): Due **7 May**

Your MTD-compatible software handles the categorisation and submission. You simply need to keep your records up to date.

Quarterly updates are **provisional estimates**. You can adjust them in your annual Final Declaration.

Source: HMRC MTD ITSA — Quarterly Update Requirements

## Real-world examples

### Freelance Consultant Q1 Submission

You earned £15,000 in consulting fees in Q1 and spent £800 on travel, £200 on software subscriptions, and £150 on professional insurance. Your software calculates these totals and submits them as category summaries to HMRC.

### Landlord With Two Properties

In Q2, you received £6,000 in rent across two properties, paid £800 in mortgage interest, £400 in insurance, and £1,200 for a plumbing repair. Your software combines these across properties and submits property income category totals.

### Mixed Self-Employment and Property

You have both a self-employed trade and rental income. Your quarterly update includes two sections: one for self-employment categories and one for property categories, each with their own income and expense totals.

## Common mistakes to avoid

- Thinking you need to submit every individual receipt or transaction — you submit category totals only.
- Not keeping digital records throughout the quarter and scrambling to reconstruct them at deadline.
- Confusing quarterly updates (provisional) with the Final Declaration (definitive) — you can adjust quarterly figures later.
- Forgetting to include all income sources in the correct category — check your software's categorisation is accurate.

## Frequently asked questions

### Do I submit individual receipts to HMRC?

No. You submit category totals. However, you must keep your underlying digital records (receipts, invoices, bank statements) in case HMRC requests them during an enquiry.

### What if I do not have exact figures at the deadline?

Quarterly updates are provisional estimates. Submit your best figures by the deadline and correct them in subsequent quarters or in the Final Declaration.

### Does my software categorise expenses automatically?

Most MTD-compatible software offers automatic categorisation based on transaction descriptions. You should review and correct these to ensure accuracy.

### What if I have no income or expenses in a quarter?

You must still submit a nil return for that quarter. Missing the submission deadline — even for a nil return — earns a penalty point.

## Practical tips

- Update your records weekly or fortnightly rather than leaving everything to the quarterly deadline.
- Use software with bank feed integration to automatically import transactions and reduce manual data entry.
- Review your software's automatic categorisation each month to catch errors early.
- Keep a simple folder system (physical or digital) for receipts, organised by quarter, so they are easy to reference.

## Related questions

- [What is Making Tax Digital (MTD)?](https://accounts-os.com/questions/what-is-making-tax-digital)
- [What is the MTD Final Declaration?](https://accounts-os.com/questions/what-is-mtd-final-declaration)
- [What software is compatible with Making Tax Digital?](https://accounts-os.com/questions/what-software-is-mtd-compatible)
- [What happens if I miss a Making Tax Digital deadline?](https://accounts-os.com/questions/what-happens-if-i-miss-mtd-deadline)