Missed the 7 February MTD update? What happens now

Short answer

If you joined MTD for Income Tax in April 2026, a late 7 February 2027 update costs you nothing: HMRC gives no penalties for missed quarterly update deadlines in the 2026 to 2027 tax year. You still have to send it, and every quarterly update has to be in before you can submit the tax return. From 7 February 2028 the same miss is a penalty point.

What 7 February covers

The third update of the tax year: income and expenses from 6 April 2026 to 5 January 2027, as running totals for the year so far. With calendar periods it is 1 April to 31 December. 7 February 2027 is a Sunday; GOV.UK gives the date without moving it, so treat the Friday before as the day (GOV.UK). It lands one week after the 31 January Self Assessment deadline, which is why it gets missed.

Missed it in 2027: what HMRC says

"There are no penalties for missing a quarterly update deadline for the 2026 to 2027 tax year" (GOV.UK).
The update is still owed. HMRC: you must send quarterly updates before you can submit your tax return. Skipping the third and sending only the fourth is not a way out.
A period with no income or expenses still needs an update (GOV.UK).
Late tax returns get points even this year. The return for 2026 to 2027 is due 31 January 2028.

What to do: bring the records up to 5 January, check the totals, send the update through your software the same day. Mistakes found later go into the next update, because each one covers the year so far.

Worked example: Sam sends on 19 February

Sam is a sole trader in MTD since 6 April 2026. He spends the last week of January on his 2025 to 2026 return and the £5,000 due on 31 January, and forgets 7 February. On 19 February he catches up:

Category (SA103F)	6 April 2026 to 5 January 2027
Turnover	£38,400
Cost of goods	£4,100
Travel	£1,350
Phone, internet, office	£980
Accountancy and bank charges	£820
Total expenses	£7,250

He sends these totals on 19 February 2027, 12 days late: no point, no penalty. In April he finds a £300 phone bill from December he had missed. It goes into the fourth update (to 5 April, due 7 May 2027); the third is not resent.

The same story one year later is different. Late on 7 February 2028: 1 point. Late again on 7 May, 7 August and 7 November 2028: 4 points and a £200 penalty (GOV.UK).

How points go away again

From the 2027 to 2028 tax year, each missed quarterly update or return deadline is one point; at 4 points you pay £200. To remove all your points, HMRC asks for both (GOV.UK):

every quarterly update and tax return on time for 12 months, and
every outstanding update and return for the previous 24 months sent.

So a forgotten update keeps counting against you until it is in. Sending late is always better than not sending.

Joining in April 2027?

Your first 7 February is 7 February 2028 (6 April 2027 to 5 January 2028), and it counts from the start: the first year easement is for 2026 to 2027 only. Put all four dates in your calendar now: the UK tax deadlines calendar sends a reminder 7 days and 1 day before. Volunteers are different: no penalties for late quarterly updates while volunteering, but late returns still get points.

Never again: close the month, not the quarter

The update is a by-product of books kept up to date. Octobooks keeps the books of UK sole traders and landlords and sorts every entry into the categories of the self-employment pages (SA103F) and the UK property pages (SA105), so the totals above are there at any time. Its Making Tax Digital for Income Tax connection is built and runs end to end against HMRC's test service (the sandbox). Octobooks is not on HMRC's list of compatible software yet; we are working towards recognition. Until it is listed, send your updates and your return through a product that is on the list.

Sources

Updated 2026-11-05. General information, not tax advice for your own case.