Standard or calendar quarters for Making Tax Digital: which should you choose?

Once you are in Making Tax Digital for Income Tax, you send HMRC four quarterly updates a year for each income source. By default those quarters follow the tax year, which runs from 6 April to 5 April. HMRC also lets you use calendar update periods, which run to the end of a calendar month instead.

Neither option changes your tax year or when your tax return is due. It only changes where each quarterly cut-off falls.

The two sets of update periods

Two things stand out. The deadlines are the same whichever you pick, so calendar periods give you a few extra days to prepare each update and nothing more. And every period starts at the beginning of the year.

That is because updates are cumulative. In HMRC’s words, each quarterly update “will cover from the start of the tax year to the end of the update period, not just the previous three months.” With standard periods your totals run from 6 April. With calendar periods they run from 1 April.

Who calendar periods suit

Calendar quarters are for businesses whose accounts run from 1 April to 31 March. HMRC asks software to offer them only in that case, because only those businesses benefit. If your accounts run to 31 March, calendar quarters also tend to suit month-by-month bookkeeping, as each quarter ends on a month end.

GOV.UK puts it simply: “If your accounting period covers 1 April to 31 March, you should consider using calendar update periods.”

If your accounts run to 5 April, standard quarters apply, and Quarterwise won’t offer calendar ones.

If your accounts are drawn up to some other date, such as 31 December, standard quarters apply too. An accountant can advise on how your accounting date affects your year-end figures.

Worked example: a landlord with monthly agent statements

Sarah lets a flat through a letting agent. Her accounts run from 1 April to 31 March, in step with her agent’s monthly statements. Rent of £950 comes in on the 15th of each month, and the agent takes a management fee of £95 at the end of each month. The agent sends a statement covering each calendar month: 1 to 30 April, 1 to 31 May, and so on. On 2 July the agent pays a plumber £180 for a repair, which shows on the July statement.

With calendar periods, Sarah’s first update covers 1 April to 30 June. That is exactly three statements: April, May and June. Her figures are:

• rent: 3 × £950 = £2,850
• agent fees: 3 × £95 = £285

The £180 repair falls after 30 June, so it goes into her second update, which covers 1 April to 30 September.

With standard periods, her first update covers 6 April to 5 July. The April, May and June statements still count, but she also has to open the July statement and pick out anything dated 1 to 5 July. The repair on 2 July is caught, so her expenses become £285 + £180 = £465. She would also need to check the April statement for anything dated 1 to 5 April, as those days fall before her standard period starts.

Both updates are due by 7 August. The figures are equally correct either way. The difference is that with calendar periods, Sarah never has to split a statement in two. For anyone whose records come in monthly blocks, that is the main reason to choose them.

When and how you make the choice

You choose your update periods in your software, separately for each income source. HMRC’s online services do not offer the choice. HMRC’s guidance says you need to select calendar update periods “for each source of income in your software before you send your first quarterly update.”

Timing matters here. “You cannot change the update periods you’re using for a tax year after you have sent a quarterly update.” So if your first update of the year goes on standard periods, you are on standard periods for the rest of that tax year.

The choice also carries forward. “Calendar update periods will continue to apply unless you decide to change back to standard update periods.” You do not need to reselect it every April. If you want to switch for a later year, make the change in your software before you send that year’s first update.

Your tax year itself does not move, and neither do your other dates. The tax return after the year ends is still due by 31 January, as set out in our MTD deadlines guide. The main GOV.UK guidance covers the wider rules.

Making the choice in Quarterwise

In Quarterwise you choose the update period for each business on the HMRC page once you have connected, and it goes to HMRC before your first update. After an update has been sent, the choice is locked for that tax year, as HMRC requires. Quarterwise offers calendar quarters when HMRC’s records show your accounts run from 1 April to 31 March. The Free plan covers one property or one self-employment business, with full filing of quarterly updates and the tax return.

This guide is general information, not tax advice.

Common questions

Last updated 6 October 2026. Quarterwise is software, not a tax adviser — if you’re unsure how the rules apply to you, check with HMRC or a qualified accountant.