How often will sole traders need to submit updates under MTD?

Understanding what “updates” mean under MTD

Making Tax Digital (MTD) is the UK government’s programme to modernise tax administration by moving more record-keeping and reporting into digital systems. When people ask, “How often will sole traders need to submit updates under MTD?”, they’re usually referring to the cadence of reporting that HMRC expects once MTD for Income Tax Self Assessment (often shortened to MTD for ITSA) applies to them.

Under the traditional Self Assessment approach, many sole traders are used to keeping records during the year (sometimes in a spreadsheet or even on paper) and then pulling everything together to file one annual tax return by the deadline. MTD shifts that model. Instead of one big annual reporting moment, there are multiple touchpoints across the year. These touchpoints are generally described as:

1) quarterly updates (sometimes called quarterly submissions),
2) an end of period statement (EOPS) for each business, and
3) a final declaration that brings together all income and reliefs for the tax year.

If you’re a sole trader, it’s the quarterly updates that tend to drive the “how often” question, because they occur multiple times a year. But it’s important to understand that the quarterly update is not the same thing as “your tax bill is calculated quarterly” or “you must pay tax quarterly.” The update is a reporting requirement designed to keep your digital records and your HMRC view of your year-to-date position current. Payment schedules are a different matter (and may still be driven by the existing rules around payments on account, balancing payments, and so on, depending on your circumstances).

The headline answer: quarterly updates, plus year-end submissions

In practical terms, most sole traders who fall within MTD for Income Tax will need to send updates to HMRC four times per tax year, because quarterly updates are the core recurring requirement. On top of those four, there are additional year-end steps to complete the reporting cycle. So, while “quarterly” is the simple headline, the full picture is:

Four quarterly updates each tax year (for each relevant business),
plus an End of Period Statement after the tax year ends (for each relevant business),
plus a Final Declaration for the individual’s overall tax position for the year.

That structure matters because a sole trader may have more than one source of business income to report, and because the year-end steps are when you finalise adjustments and declare everything that sits outside the quarterly process.

What counts as a “quarter” for MTD purposes?

When people hear “quarterly,” they naturally think of standard calendar quarters (Jan–Mar, Apr–Jun, etc.). For MTD for Income Tax, the quarterly periods relate to the UK tax year rather than the calendar year. The UK tax year runs from 6 April to 5 April. So the four quarterly periods are aligned to that tax-year framework.

In a typical pattern, the quarterly periods divide the tax year into four chunks. While the exact cut-off dates and submission deadlines can be provided by your software and HMRC guidance, the key takeaway is that the updates are tied to the tax year and happen at regular intervals across it.

That has a practical implication for sole traders: your business rhythm might be seasonal, your cash flow might spike in summer or at Christmas, but your reporting rhythm under MTD is consistent. You’ll be expected to submit an update each quarter, even if it’s a quiet period, because the obligation is about keeping the digital record and reporting cycle moving.

How many updates will a sole trader submit each year?

For many sole traders, the total number of submissions in a year will be more than four. A simple way to think about it is:

Minimum for a single business: 4 quarterly updates + 1 end of period statement + 1 final declaration = 6 submissions per tax year.

However, the total can increase depending on your situation. For example:

More than one business: If you operate two distinct sole-trader businesses (for example, a plumbing business and a separate online retail business), you may need to submit quarterly updates and an EOPS for each business. That can double the quarterly updates to eight, plus two EOPS, plus one final declaration.

Property income: If you also have income from UK property, the reporting cycle for property can add its own quarterly updates and an EOPS, on top of your trading business submissions.

The “final declaration” is typically one per individual, because it’s the overall year-end wrap-up for your personal tax position. But the quarterly and EOPS steps can multiply with the number of reportable sources.

Are quarterly updates the same as quarterly accounts?

It’s helpful to separate the idea of “quarterly updates” from the idea of “quarterly accounts.” Many sole traders already do quarterly bookkeeping for their own management purposes, but MTD quarterly updates are not necessarily a full set of accounts and not necessarily the same as what you would produce for a lender or investor. They are updates drawn from your digital records, summarising income and expenses for the period.

That said, because the updates are generated from your bookkeeping data, the quality of your record-keeping becomes more important. If your bookkeeping is messy or delayed until the last minute, quarterly submissions can feel stressful. If you’re already keeping tidy records each month, quarterly updates can feel like a light administrative step rather than a major production.

Do sole traders have to submit updates even if they have no income in a quarter?

This is a common concern for seasonal businesses, start-ups, and people who trade alongside employment. If you have a quarter where nothing much happens—no invoices raised, no sales, or perhaps only a small expense—you may still be required to submit the quarterly update because the obligation is linked to being within MTD and having a continuing business, not to whether that quarter is “busy.”

In practice, the update would reflect the activity that occurred in that period, even if that activity is minimal. Submitting regularly is part of staying compliant and ensuring your HMRC position isn’t left stale until the year-end. The best way to reduce pain here is to keep your bookkeeping current so that “no activity” quarters really are easy to submit.

Submission deadlines and the rhythm of compliance

The phrase “how often” isn’t only about how many submissions exist; it’s also about how frequently you need to engage with your bookkeeping and compliance process. Under a quarterly update model, you will likely want a regular workflow that ensures you can submit accurately and on time.

In practical terms, many sole traders will do something like this each quarter:

1) keep invoices and receipts organised (ideally digitally),
2) reconcile bank transactions in their accounting software,

3) review expense categories for accuracy, and
4) submit the quarterly update from their MTD-compatible software.

Even if you outsource bookkeeping to an accountant or bookkeeper, you’ll still need to provide information in a timely way, because quarterly reporting compresses the timeline. Instead of one annual scramble, you’re spreading the administrative load across the year.

How MTD updates differ from the annual tax return you’re used to

It can be tempting to think of quarterly updates as replacing the annual Self Assessment tax return entirely. In reality, MTD reshapes the structure rather than eliminating year-end responsibility. The year-end steps are still significant, because they are where the numbers are finalised, accounting adjustments are made, and your overall tax position is declared.

Quarterly updates are based on your business records, but they may not include every adjustment that accountants typically apply at year-end. For example, you may choose to record certain adjustments only once you have the full picture for the year. The end of period statement is where you confirm that your business figures for the year are complete and correct, and it’s where year-end adjustments can be made in line with the rules.

The final declaration is where you pull together everything else that affects your tax position—employment income, pensions, savings interest, dividends, reliefs, allowances, student loan considerations, and so on—depending on your circumstances. In other words, quarterly updates keep the engine running, but the year-end steps are still the destination.

What if you start trading mid-year?

If you become self-employed partway through a tax year, it’s natural to wonder whether you’ll still have to submit four quarterly updates. Under a quarterly system tied to the tax year, the answer depends on how the rules apply to your start date and when you are brought into MTD. The broader point is that MTD doesn’t care whether your business is “new” in the sense of your personal experience; it cares about your reporting obligations once you are in scope.

From a practical standpoint, a mid-year start typically means you will have fewer transactions in the first year, and you may be dealing with setup tasks: opening a business bank account, choosing software, defining categories, and getting a consistent invoicing process. The best approach is to get your digital record-keeping right from the beginning so that quarterly updates are straightforward when they are required.

What if you stop trading during the year?

If you cease trading, you’ll want to ensure that your final reporting obligations are completed correctly. The quarterly model means you may have already submitted updates for earlier parts of the year, and you may need to submit an update that covers the final period of activity, plus complete the year-end steps that apply.

Ceasing a business can also involve specific considerations such as final invoices, bad debt, stock or equipment disposal, and other adjustments. While quarterly updates help keep HMRC informed throughout the year, the year-end statements are still crucial to finalise your position properly.

How MTD “updates” apply if you have both self-employment and employment

Many sole traders have a mix of income streams: a part-time job plus freelance work, or a main business plus a PAYE role. The quarterly updates relate to your self-employment (and other sources that fall within MTD reporting, such as property income). Your employment income is usually handled through PAYE, but it still needs to be included in your overall year-end position.

This is where the distinction between quarterly updates and the final declaration becomes important. Quarterly updates keep your business income and expenses up to date. The final declaration brings together your whole income picture for the year. If you’re used to doing one Self Assessment return that includes everything, the MTD world is more like “business reporting throughout the year, plus a year-end consolidation.”

How many updates if you have property income as well?

Some sole traders also receive rental income from property. Under MTD for Income Tax, property income can be part of the digital reporting obligations, which can increase how often you submit updates.

In a simple scenario where you have one sole-trader business and one property income source, you might be submitting:

4 quarterly updates for the business,
4 quarterly updates for property,

1 EOPS for the business,
1 EOPS for property,
and 1 final declaration.

That’s potentially 11 submissions across the year, depending on how the reporting requirements apply to your circumstances. For many people, that sounds like a lot, but remember that if your bookkeeping is well-organised, each quarterly update can be a relatively lightweight process.

Choosing quarterly periods: standard vs. alternative approaches

When people plan for MTD, they often ask whether they can choose different quarterly periods that better match their business cycle. The idea is appealing—why not align updates to a seasonal peak, or match a VAT quarter if you’re VAT registered? There are mechanisms that may allow for some flexibility in period alignment, but the key compliance point remains: you’ll still be submitting four updates per year, each covering an agreed three-month period, with deadlines tied to those periods.

For sole traders, the practical question isn’t just “Can I choose?” but “Will choosing reduce friction?” If you already do VAT returns quarterly, aligning your workflows can reduce administrative overhead. If you do monthly management accounts, the alignment may matter less because your records are always current.

The role of MTD-compatible software in how often you “feel” the updates

On paper, the frequency is quarterly. In reality, the frequency you experience can be more like monthly or even weekly, depending on how you use software. Good digital tools encourage ongoing bookkeeping rather than batch processing. That might sound like more work, but it can actually reduce stress, because each quarter’s update becomes an export of data you’ve already been maintaining.

For example, if you connect your business bank feed to your accounting software, transactions flow in automatically. You categorise expenses as they occur. You raise invoices in the system so sales are captured immediately. By the end of the quarter, you’re not “creating” records—you’re just reviewing and submitting them.

By contrast, if you leave everything until the final week of the quarter, you’re effectively compressing three months of bookkeeping into a short period. The update frequency hasn’t changed, but the workload intensity has.

What information is included in quarterly updates?

Quarterly updates are summaries based on your digital records. The categories reflect typical business income and expense headings. For a sole trader, that might include sales, cost of goods, travel, subsistence, marketing, professional fees, use of home, and similar headings. The idea is to keep HMRC updated with a running picture of your business performance during the year.

It’s worth remembering that the quarterly updates are not necessarily the final tax computation. They are updates. Your tax position may change after year-end adjustments and after the final declaration includes other income and reliefs.

End of Period Statement: the “year-end lock-in” for the business

After the fourth quarterly update, the tax year ends, but your obligations do not. The End of Period Statement (EOPS) is where you confirm that the business income and expenses you’ve reported across the year are complete and compliant with the tax rules. This is a key difference from a simple quarterly reporting regime, because the EOPS is where the business results are finalised for that year.

For many sole traders, the EOPS will be the moment when year-end adjustments are made. Depending on how you keep records and what accounting approach you use, that could include things like capital allowances on equipment, certain accruals or prepayments, or other adjustments that are clearer once the year is complete.

So, while quarterly updates keep the data flowing, the EOPS is where you “close the books” for the tax year from HMRC’s perspective for that business.

Final Declaration: bringing everything together

The final declaration is the broader year-end submission that replaces the role of the final Self Assessment return as the point where you declare your total taxable income and confirm everything for the year. This is where non-business items can be included, and where the overall position is finalised.

For sole traders, this is important because your taxable income may include more than your trading profit. Even within business activity, there may be reliefs or adjustments that sit outside the quarterly updates. The final declaration is also where you confirm that the information you’ve provided is complete and accurate for the year.

So, how often will you actually need to do something?

If you’re trying to plan your time, the best way to interpret “how often” is not merely “four times a year” but “regularly enough that quarterly submissions are easy.” Many sole traders will find that a monthly routine works well even though submissions are quarterly. A simple model might look like:

Weekly: upload receipts, raise invoices, chase unpaid invoices, keep notes on business mileage or project costs.
Monthly: reconcile bank transactions, review expense categories, check for missing receipts, set aside tax reserves.

Quarterly: review the quarter’s totals, sanity-check unusual figures, submit the update.
Year-end: complete business finalisation via EOPS, then final declaration for the full tax picture.

This approach spreads effort and reduces the risk of errors. It also helps cash flow planning, because you can see your year-to-date performance more clearly, rather than finding out at year-end that you’ve had a better (or worse) year than expected.

What happens if you miss an update?

The practical consequence of missing a quarterly update is that you fall out of compliance. While the details of penalties and points systems may evolve, the behavioural reality is simple: quarterly reporting creates more deadlines. More deadlines means more opportunities to miss one if your process isn’t robust.

That doesn’t mean you should panic; it means you should build a system. Even a very small business can set a recurring calendar reminder, keep a dedicated “tax admin” folder, and ensure receipts are captured consistently. If you work with an accountant, agree clear handover dates for your records each quarter.

Do quarterly updates mean you’ll pay tax four times a year?

This is one of the biggest misconceptions. “Quarterly updates” are about reporting, not necessarily about payment. Payment rules may remain linked to existing Self Assessment mechanisms, depending on your circumstances. It’s possible to imagine future reforms that move toward more frequent payments, but the existence of quarterly updates alone does not automatically mean quarterly tax payments for every sole trader.

From a planning perspective, though, quarterly reporting can help you budget for tax more effectively. Seeing regular updates may make it easier to estimate what you’re likely to owe and set aside money accordingly, rather than being surprised later.

How to reduce the burden of frequent updates

The compliance frequency is fixed in broad terms, but the burden is highly variable. Two sole traders can both submit four quarterly updates, and one will find it painless while the other finds it overwhelming. The difference usually comes down to systems and habits.

Here are practical ways to make quarterly updates feel lighter:

Use a dedicated business bank account. Mixing personal and business spending creates extra categorisation work and increases the risk of mistakes.

Capture receipts as you go. Take photos of receipts immediately and upload them to your bookkeeping system, rather than keeping paper in a bag for months.

Automate where possible. Bank feeds, invoice templates, and repeating transactions reduce manual entry.

Keep categories consistent. Changing how you categorise spending every quarter creates confusion and can make trends harder to track.

Do a quick monthly review. A 20–30 minute monthly check can prevent a stressful quarterly scramble.

How often will sole traders need to submit updates if they use an accountant?

Using an accountant doesn’t change the formal frequency of updates, but it can change who presses the buttons and how the workload is distributed. Some accountants will provide a bookkeeping service and handle quarterly submissions for you. Others will expect you to keep your records up to date in software and will step in mainly at year-end for the EOPS and final declaration.

Even with an accountant, you remain responsible for ensuring information is accurate and complete. The best relationships are proactive: you agree what you will do, what they will do, and when. Under a quarterly regime, that clarity matters more than ever, because waiting until January to think about last April’s transactions won’t be compatible with regular submissions.

Frequently overlooked situations that affect update frequency

While the basic rhythm is quarterly, there are scenarios where update frequency can feel different or become more complex:

Multiple trades: If you genuinely have more than one trade, reporting can multiply.

Side hustles: Even small additional streams of self-employed income can add complexity if they are treated as separate businesses.

Transition periods: Switching software mid-year, changing bookkeeping methods, or reorganising your business can create extra work around continuity of digital records.

Mixed income: Employment, dividends, and other income sources don’t necessarily create more quarterly updates, but they do make the year-end final declaration more involved.

Being aware of these factors early helps you plan. The frequency may be the same, but the effort per submission changes depending on how complicated your overall tax picture is.

What a sensible preparation plan looks like

If you’re a sole trader preparing for MTD, the best way to deal with more frequent submissions is to set up your system well before your first quarterly deadline. A preparation plan could include:

1) Choose MTD-compatible software. Pick something that suits your business size and complexity.

2) Set up bank feeds and invoicing. The aim is to capture income and expenses automatically where possible.

3) Create a simple admin routine. Decide when you’ll do bookkeeping and stick to it.

4) Clarify your business structure. Make sure you understand whether you have one trade or multiple, and whether property income is in play.

5) Get advice on tricky areas early. If you have unusual expenses, capital purchases, or other complexities, it’s better to address them before the year-end.

This doesn’t remove the quarterly requirements, but it makes them manageable.

Key takeaway: expect at least four updates per year, but plan for more touchpoints

So, how often will sole traders need to submit updates under MTD? For most sole traders within scope, the core requirement is four quarterly updates per tax year. But quarterly updates are only part of the story. You should also plan for year-end submissions that finalise the business results and your overall tax position.

If you have only one sole-trader business, you can think in terms of a baseline of six submissions each tax year: four quarterly updates plus an end of period statement and a final declaration. If you have additional reportable income sources such as property, or multiple trades, the number of submissions can rise.

The most practical way to handle the increased frequency is to move away from annual “batch” bookkeeping and toward a steady routine. When your records are kept up to date, quarterly updates stop being a disruptive event and become a natural checkpoint. Ultimately, MTD changes the cadence of compliance: fewer last-minute year-end scrambles, more regular reporting, and a stronger link between day-to-day bookkeeping and tax administration.