How Many MTD Filings Will You Actually Need to Submit?

Tax Queen

Tax Expert @ Pie

3 min read

Your MTD for Income Tax filing count depends on how many qualifying income sources you have, each self-employment and each property business needs its own quarterly updates, not on your VAT status. One business means 5 filings a year. Three means 13*. This guide shows you how to work out your own number, what it'll cost you in software, and what happens if you miss a deadline.*

What Counts as an MTD Filing

Under MTD for Income Tax, a "filing" is either a quarterly update (a summary of income and expenses for a three-month period) or the Final Declaration that closes out your tax year, replacing what used to be your Self Assessment return.

For the full deadline calendar, our MTD ITSA deadlines and requirements guide lays out every date.

The mechanic that catches most people out: HMRC doesn't treat your income as one lump sum. It treats each self-employment and each property business as a separate business, and each one needs its own quarterly updates. Filed through the same piece of software, but counted separately.

The Base Case: One Business

If you have a single sole trade, or a single property business, your annual obligation is:

4 quarterly updates
1 Final Declaration

That's 5 filings a year, the minimum anyone inside MTD faces. Our guide to MTD for Income Tax for sole traders and landlords covers what each of those quarterly updates needs to include.

Running More Than One Business Multiplies It

Add a second income source, self-employed and a landlord, or two separate sole trades, and each one needs its own quarterly cycle. The Final Declaration stays a single submission covering everything, but the quarterly updates stack:

1 business: 4 quarterly updates + 1 declaration = 5 filings
2 businesses: 8 quarterly updates + 1 declaration = 9 filings
3 businesses: 12 quarterly updates + 1 declaration = 13 filings

So the 13-filings-a-year scenario belongs to someone running, say, two sole trades plus a let property, all above the qualifying threshold. It has nothing to do with VAT. Around 2.9 million taxpayers are expected to fall inside MTD once the rollout completes, and our breakdown of who exactly MTD affects shows how HMRC arrived at that figure.

If you're also VAT-registered, your real total is higher still. VAT returns run under MTD for VAT, a separate system with its own quarterly deadlines and its own penalty points, tracked apart from MTD for Income Tax. So a VAT-registered contractor with three income sources isn't capped at 13, they're filing 13 MTD for Income Tax updates plus 4 VAT returns, 17 a year in total.

What the Software Will Cost You

HMRC's own estimates put the average one-off transitional cost at £280 to £350 per business and ongoing software fees at £110 to £115 a year for day-to-day use. Costs vary depending on what you're moving from: businesses already using accounting software tend to see little extra cost, while those still on paper records generally face the steepest jump.

Free MTD-recognised products exist for straightforward tax affairs, and bridging tools that link a spreadsheet to HMRC's system typically cost less than a full accounting platform. Our guide to choosing MTD software breaks down the different types and what to check before you commit.

Pie Tax prices this per filing, so you can see exactly what your own number costs. A single Quarter Update, connect your bank and a tax expert handles it, is £29 (down from £59). A Final Declaration, your full annual return handled with expert review, is £89 (down from £179). Or take the complete MTD Package, all 4 quarterly updates plus your Final Declaration, HMRC dealt with throughout, for £199 (down from £300), which we work out saves around £600 compared with paying an accountant and buying separate software.

Missing a Deadline: How the Penalty Points Work

Late filings don't trigger an instant fine. HMRC uses a points-based system: one point per missed deadline, and a £200penalty once you hit 4 points.

One useful detail if you're running multiple businesses: if several of your quarterly updates share the same deadline and you miss all of them, HMRC issues one point for that deadline, not one per business. Points expire automatically after 24 months provided you stay under the threshold.

When You'll Be Brought Into MTD

The rollout is phased by qualifying income (turnover, not profit):

From April 2026: sole traders and landlords with income above £50,000
From April 2027: those with income above £30,000
From April 2028: those with income above £20,000

Working Out Your Own Number

Count your qualifying income sources (each sole trade, each property business), multiply by 4, add 1 for the Final Declaration. If you're VAT-registered, add 4 more for your VAT returns, filed separately under MTD for VAT.

That's your real annual filing count, and it's worth knowing before the software costs and deadlines catch you off guard. Our guide on how to prepare for MTD for Income Tax walks through the practical steps once you know what you're facing.

We built Pie Tax to keep your MTD for Income Tax quarterly updates and Final Declaration organised in one place, so they don't turn into a scramble each time a deadline lands. Get started for free.

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