By Cat Hall Making Tax Digital Should HMRC push back MTD quarterly filing deadlines? 6 Jul 2026 We take the temperature on whether our members think it’s worth extending Making Tax Digital’s reporting times. We’ve all seen the discussions online. Some people are very worried about the current quarterly reporting deadlines, while others just want to get on with Making Tax Digital (MTD) now it’s here. The conversation is also split among those who support a delay, with some wanting to extend the 7 August deadline specifically because they don’t feel prepared yet, while others are hoping for extended reporting periods in general to alleviate workload. Currently, each quarterly account must be reported by the 7th of the following month. In an article for Accounting Web, Nick Paddenburg pointed out that this real-time reporting creates pressure points across the year: “This is at its worst in the third quarter deadline in early February, as it lands just days after the 31 January self assessment deadline. January is the busiest and most stressful month in accounting, and firms will already be working at full capacity.” Screenshot taken Monday 6 July 2026. We polled LinkedIn, “Should HMRC delay quarterly filing deadlines for MTD?” expecting all sorts of responses. Two-thirds of the vote (66%) were for yes, and one-third (34%) for no. However, the people elaborating in the comments were largely the ones who were in favour, meaning the conversation looks a little one-sided here. Read on to see what accountants and bookkeepers had to say. Current deadlines MTD is already in place, as of 6 April 2026. From this date on, sole traders and landlords with qualifying income of £50,000 and over must comply. However, the ‘Soft Landing’ period applies for the first year, meaning there will be no penalty points awarded for late quarterly submissions during 2026/27 – though late payments will still be penalised. 7 August 2026: first quarterly update. 7 November 2026: second quarterly update. 31 January 2027: Self Assessment tax return for 2025/26, in the usual way. 7 February 2027: third quarterly update. 7 May 2027: fourth quarterly update. 31 January 2028: end-of-year tax return for 2026/27. Those with qualifying income of £50,000 and over will send this straight from their MTD for IT software. Your responses Tom Bickle MAAT, Director, JP Blackmoor: I think this is the biggest behavioural change in 30 years of Self Assessment and I believe extending the filing deadline to three months instead of five weeks (even for a year or two) will massively help our industry and taxpayers affected. Cathy Smith, Practice Accountant, Stewart Hindley LLP: For the sanity of accountants everywhere, yes. Quarterly reporting isn’t the only thing on our desks. We’re also preparing year-end accounts, tax returns, VAT returns, payroll, company secretarial work, tax planning, client queries, and everything else that comes with running a practice. Balancing all of that while protecting staff from burnout is becoming increasingly difficult. It already feels challenging with the first MTD for Income Tax cohort. Looking ahead to cohorts two and three is even more concerning. By 2028/29, it’s estimated that around 2.7 million taxpayers will be within the quarterly reporting regime (ICAEW, 19 August 2025). MTD has the potential to modernise tax administration, but the implementation needs to be realistic for both taxpayers and the profession supporting them. A little more breathing space between quarterly deadlines would make a significant difference to workload management without changing the overall reporting requirements. Rebecca Benneyworth, Principal, Rebecca Benneyworth and Co: No because from next year our clients need to get this right. Delaying now will incubate bad habits. We really need to train our clients for the new rules, and delaying this allows them to develop bad habits that we will later need to cure. Just go for it now guys – one behaviour change rather than two. Brittany Draper FMAAT, Director, Draper Accountants Limited: Seeing as all our clients will have the same filing quarter deadlines, which would seriously affect our work load, a filing deadline of two or three months would be much better to spread workload rather than one month and seven days! Aimee Coller, Accountant, Tax & Business Consultant, Coller Associates Ltd: Part of me of me wants to just crack on with it and the other half wants the delay. I’ve only got about 20 clients in this first year, however, only 3 want their own software, everyone else (mainly shoe box clients) want me to do it all for them – and I am sure I am not alone. They don’t want to spend their time dealing with the software, they want to run their businesses not deal with a new way of keeping their records. It’s going to take time to change a clients viewpoint when they have done things the ‘old way’ for decades. Robyn Milstead, Director of Tax, LKA Chartered Accountants: Five weeks is not enough time for taxpayers or agents – throw in some sickness, looking after loved ones, a holiday (God forbid), an emergency etc and five weeks is impossible. The QUs arent being used for any meaningful purpose so why not extend the deadline – if agents or taxpayers want to file before the deadline then they can do so! Karen Waters FMAAT, K W Accounting Services: This isn’t about agents not being ready or prepared – this will ease also pressure on HMRC, the software firms, the unrepresented and agents. Sole practitioner here, I’ve been preparing for this for years, I’m good to go, my clients all know what’s happening. Would I like longer to file to ensure accuracy? Hell YES! If I can file earlier I will, it won’t stop me, this would just give flexibility for the unexpected curve balls life, HMRC, and glitchy software sometimes throw up. Louise Richards, Accountant, Mathieson Garven Associates: An extension to the QU deadline would be a chance to settle into this new routine, helping us agents to manage VATs, CTs and other SAs effectively, ensuring MTD is a success and not a waste of time and money on something that might not be as accurate as it could be. Tarun Bangia, Partner, Aspire Accountants & Advisors Ltd: Whilst an extension gives some breathing space, …whenever more time is given it always invariably encourages client complacency with less urgency to get their records to us until the last moment so the pressure will always be there regardless of any extension. I still think if systems are seamless & regularly updated surely the bulk of the work is complete. [Clients knowing about an extended deadline] encourages them to be complacent with no rush to get their records to us in a timely fashion, people only act when forced to do so otherwise its literally like pulling teeth trying to get the info. We’ve all preached the benefits of getting your tax return in early but has any client actually been convinced by this & have we seen the mad last minute rush to get returns in January diminish over time? Robyn Milburn MAAT, Head Bookkeeper, SKY Bookkeeping: Accountants and bookkeepers are already on strict deadlines for lots of other submissions. Some of which already fall just days after the biggest deadline of all (7th Feb) and its just a bit much with so many. I also think it would ease the pressure on HMRC systems as it will stagger the submissions. Nick Paddenburg, Director & Business Owner, Brighton Tax: Accuracy takes time! Five weeks is too short to submit accurate data that is to be relied on when advising clients. Just submitting numbers to make a deadline is far from satisfactory! Laura Ford, Senior Tax Adviser, LKA Accountants: Allowing three months will spread the workload for taxpayers, agents and HMRC. Those who want to file within five weeks (or earlier!) still can. Those who want to plan their work and be as accurate as possible so tax predictions etc are useful will have the time to do so. Cat Hall is Content Specialist at AAT.