The short answer
If you're in Making Tax Digital for Income Tax, your second quarterly update is due by 7 November 2026. It covers your rental income and costs from 6 April to 5 October 2026, as running totals for the tax year so far, not just the last three months. You send totals by category through HMRC-recognised software. HMRC doesn't see your receipts.
Miss it this year and you won't get a penalty point: HMRC isn't giving points for late quarterly updates in 2026/27. That leniency ends on 6 April 2027, and it never covered late tax returns or late payments. 7 November is also a Saturday, so in practice your last working day is Friday 6 November.
Key facts
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Deadline: 7 November 2026 for the period 6 April to 5 October 2026 (or 1 April to 30 September if you chose calendar update periods). GOV.UK
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Running totals: each update covers the tax year from 6 April to the end of the period, so a fix to earlier records is picked up in the next update. GOV.UK
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Who's in now: landlords and sole traders whose qualifying income was over £50,000 on their 2024/25 return. GOV.UK
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Qualifying income is turnover: rent and self-employment income before expenses. Your share of a jointly owned property counts; wages, pensions and dividends don't. GOV.UK
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Penalties: no points for late quarterly updates in 2026/27. From 6 April 2027 each missed deadline is a point, and four points means a £200 penalty. Late returns and late payments are still penalised now. GOV.UK
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Who's next: over £30,000 from 6 April 2027 (based on your 2025/26 return) and over £20,000 from 6 April 2028. GOV.UK
Do I have to send the 7 November update?
You do if Making Tax Digital applied to you from 6 April 2026. That means your qualifying income on your 2024/25 Self Assessment return was over £50,000.
Qualifying income is the total of your property income and self-employment income before expenses. That catches landlords out: a portfolio collecting £52,000 a year in rent is in, even if the profit after mortgage interest and repairs is a fraction of that.
What counts:
- Rent from properties you own personally, before any costs.
- Your share of a jointly owned property. HMRC's example: a property earning £50,000 split equally between two siblings gives each of them £25,000 of qualifying income.
- Self-employment income, added to your rent.
What doesn't:
- Wages taxed through PAYE.
- State and private pensions.
- Dividends, including from your own company.
- Your share of a partnership's profit.
- Income from REITs and PAIFs.
Properties owned through a limited company are outside Making Tax Digital for Income Tax altogether.
If HMRC hasn't written to you, that doesn't mean you're out. GOV.UK says you must still check your qualifying income yourself, and from September 2026 HMRC has started signing up people who should be using the service but aren't.
What does the 7 November update cover?
It covers your whole tax year so far: 6 April to 5 October 2026. If you picked calendar update periods, it's 1 April to 30 September. The deadline is 7 November either way.
You send totals by category, using the same categories as Self Assessment. You don't send receipts or invoices, and you don't need to make accounting or tax adjustments before sending. Those come at the end of the year.
Because each update is a running total, it isn't a fresh three-month report. If you spotted a missing invoice from May, add it to your records and it goes into this update automatically. You don't need to resend the July one.
What a landlord's second update looks like
Sam lets four houses personally. Their 2024/25 rent was £55,200, so Making Tax Digital started for them on 6 April 2026. Their 7 November update, 6 April to 5 October 2026:
- Rent received: £27,600
- Repairs and maintenance: £1,840
- Rent, rates, insurance and ground rents: £1,260
- Legal, management and other professional fees: £2,480 (mostly the letting agent)
- Travel: £226.60 (412 business miles at the 55p mileage rate)
- Other allowable property expenses: £310
- Residential finance costs (mortgage interest): £6,300
That's £6,116.60 of costs and a profit of £21,483.40 before mortgage interest. Mortgage interest on homes goes in its own box because it isn't deducted from profit. It gives a 20% tax credit when your tax is worked out for the year.
Sam's July update showed roughly half of each figure. The November one includes July's numbers, plus everything since.
What if I miss it?
For 2026/27, nothing in points. HMRC says it won't give penalty points for late quarterly updates this tax year. You should still send it: the next update is a running total anyway, and HMRC uses your updates to show you an estimate of your tax bill.
What still applies:
- Late tax return penalties for the year-end return, due by 31 January 2028 for 2026/27.
- Late payment penalties and interest on any tax you owe.
From 6 April 2027, each missed quarterly deadline gives you one point. Four points brings a £200 fixed penalty.
The rest of the 2026/27 calendar
- 7 November 2026: update for 6 April to 5 October.
- 7 February 2027: update for 6 April to 5 January.
- 7 May 2027: update for the full year, 6 April to 5 April.
- 31 January 2028: final tax return for 2026/27, plus any tax to pay.
Self Assessment hasn't gone away either. Your 2025/26 return is still due by 31 January 2027 in the usual way.
Not in yet? Check your 2025/26 figures now
The next group joins on 6 April 2027: anyone with qualifying income over £30,000 on their 2025/26 return. That's the return most landlords file in the next three months.
Joint owners should look closely. A couple letting two flats for £1,700 a month each take £40,800 a year in rent. Split 50/50, that's £20,400 each, so neither is in from 2027. Owned 75/25, one of them has £30,600 and is in. The threshold drops to £20,000 in April 2028, when both would be in.
A checklist before 7 November
- Check you're in. Add up your 2024/25 rent and self-employment income before expenses. Over £50,000 means you should already be sending updates.
- Get your records up to 5 October. Every rent payment and every cost from 6 April, with dates.
- Find anything missing from July. Add it now: the running total puts it right in this update.
- Keep mortgage interest separate. It goes in residential finance costs, not your expenses.
- Send through your recognised software, or check your accountant has what they need well before Friday 6 November.
FAQs
I sent my first update in August. Do I need to resend it? No. Correct your records and the November update will include the change.
Do I need to send receipts to HMRC? No. You send category totals. Keep the receipts in your digital records.
I own a property jointly with my partner. What do I include? Your share of the income and costs. Only your share counts towards your qualifying income.
My properties are in a limited company. Does this apply? No. Making Tax Digital for Income Tax covers individuals who let property and sole traders, not companies.
Is there a penalty if I'm late this time? No penalty point for a late quarterly update in 2026/27. Late returns and late payments are still penalised.
HMRC hasn't contacted me. Am I safe? Not necessarily. You're expected to check your own qualifying income, and HMRC has been signing people up since September 2026.
How AskPortfoliq helps
The hard part of a quarterly update isn't the form. It's having every rent payment and cost in by the end of the period. In AskPortfoliq, rent and costs you've already recorded become your running totals for each period, split into HMRC's categories, with mortgage interest kept separate.
Ask AskPortfoliq on WhatsApp, Telegram or the web: "What do I send HMRC for the quarter to 5 October?" You get the totals and the due date. Follow up with "just Oak Street?" or "and the next quarter?". Not sure if you're in? Ask "Does MTD apply to me?" and it checks your rent records against the thresholds, counting only your share of a jointly owned property once you set it on the property.
AskPortfoliq doesn't send updates to HMRC yet. Your accountant pack includes a quarterly CSV with HMRC's field names, ready for whichever recognised software you or your accountant use.
This guide explains HMRC's published rules as of October 2026. It is not tax advice; if your situation is unusual, check with your accountant.
Sources
- GOV.UK: Send quarterly updates using Making Tax Digital for Income Tax
- GOV.UK: Check if you're eligible for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax
- GOV.UK: Work out your qualifying income for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax
- GOV.UK: 436,000 sole traders and landlords make their tax digital (12 August 2026)
- GOV.UK: Income Tax when you rent out a property