About this episode

This episode explains the essentials of Making Tax Digital quarterly updates for self-employed individuals and landlords.

Making Tax Digital quarterly updates are about to become a regular part of tax reporting for many self-employed people and landlords. The key is understanding what HMRC expects, what your software sends, and why these updates are not the same as a tax return. About this episode Making Tax Digital, or MTD, has been talked about for years. Now, for many people, the first quarterly update deadline is becoming a practical reality. In this episode, we explain what Making Tax Digital quarterly updates are, what information is sent to HMRC, why the updates are not tax returns, and how the deadlines work. We also cover nil submissions, tax estimates, calendar update periods, standard update periods, and what happens after the fourth quarterly update. This episode is especially useful if you are self-employed, a landlord, or have a mix of business and property income. It also matters if you want to avoid last-minute stress and build better digital record-keeping habits before the first deadline arrives. What you’ll learn in this episode What Making Tax Digital quarterly updates actually are Why quarterly updates are not tax returns What information your software sends to HMRC Why HMRC…

People in this episode

Host: I Hate Numbers

Topics covered

• Making Tax Digital
• tax reporting
• self-employed
• landlords
• digital record-keeping

Keywords

• Making Tax Digital
• quarterly updates
• HMRC
• tax returns
• digital records

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: HMRC, Making Tax Digital

More episodes of Simplifying Tax and Accounting from I Hate Numbers:

• Bookkeeping for Small Business: Your Numbers Tell a Story · July 19, 2026 · 8 min
• Winter Fuel Payment Tax Recovery: Who Has to Pay It Back? · July 5, 2026 · 6 min
• High Income Child Benefit Charge: Who Pays and How to Reduce It · June 28, 2026 · 8 min
• Numeracy Skills Decline: Why It Hurts Business Profit · June 21, 2026 · 6 min
• Late Registration for Self Employment: HMRC Penalties and Next Steps · June 14, 2026 · 12 min

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Simplifying Tax and Accounting from I Hate Numbers: podcast page.