UK BUSINESS
Your 7 November quarterly update: what HMRC actually wants from online sellers
Your second Making Tax Digital quarterly update covers 6 July to 5 October 2026 and is due by 7 November. It is a summary of your income and expenses for those three months, not a tax return. It takes minutes if your records are already digital, and hours if they are not.
In this article
If you sell on eBay, Vinted or Depop and your income crossed £50,000 last year, you filed your first quarterly update in August. Most people who did it told the same story afterwards: the filing itself took ten minutes, and finding the numbers took a weekend.
The next deadline is 7 November. This post covers what HMRC actually asks for, what it does not ask for, and how to stop the second one from eating another weekend.
What is a Making Tax Digital quarterly update?
A quarterly update is a short summary of your business income and expenses for a three-month period, sent to HMRC through compatible software. It is not a tax return. You do not calculate your tax, claim reliefs, or pay anything when you send it.
Your annual Self Assessment return still exists and is still due by 31 January. The quarterly updates sit alongside it. Four summaries during the year, then the return at the end.
When is the November 2026 deadline and what period does it cover?
The second quarterly update is due by 7 November 2026 and covers 6 July to 5 October 2026. If you use calendar quarters instead, your period runs 1 July to 30 September.
The full set of dates for the tax year is 7 August, 7 November, 7 February and 7 May. They do not move, and they are the same for everyone in scope regardless of when your business year ends.
- 7 August 2026 , covers 6 April to 5 July (this one has passed)
- 7 November 2026 , covers 6 July to 5 October
- 7 February 2027 , covers 6 October to 5 January
- 7 May 2027 , covers 6 January to 5 April
- 31 January 2027 , Self Assessment return for 2025–26, unchanged
Why is this harder for online sellers than for other sole traders?
Because your income does not arrive in one place. A typical seller has eBay payouts, Vinted payouts, occasional Depop or Etsy sales, postage bought from three different carriers, and stock sourced in cash from car boots and wholesalers.
HMRC wants one summary. Getting there means every one of those channels has to land in the same set of digital records, categorised the same way, before the deadline , not reconstructed from screenshots the night before.
What to have ready before you file
- Total income per sales channel for the period
- Postage and packaging costs
- Cost of stock purchased
- Platform and payment fees
- Any other allowable business expenses
One place for every sales channel.
Connect eBay, Vinted, Shopify and your till, and TunedBooks keeps the records in the digital format quarterly updates need.
How many people does Making Tax Digital affect?
Making Tax Digital for Income Tax started on 6 April 2026 and is being phased in by income level over three years. No penalty points are issued for late quarterly updates during the first year , penalties for late Self Assessment returns and late payments still apply. The figures below come from HMRC and the Low Incomes Tax Reform Group.
| Measure | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Sole traders and landlords in scope from April 2026 | More than 864,000 | HMRC, July 2026 |
| Qualifying income threshold: April 2026, 2027, 2028 | £50,000 → £30,000 → £20,000 | LITRG, 2026 |
| Fine once four late-submission penalty points are reached | £200 | HMRC, 2026 |
The threshold drops to £30,000 from April 2027 and £20,000 from April 2028. That second drop is the one that catches most online sellers , someone turning over £25,000 a year across eBay and Vinted is comfortably outside the scope today but inside it from April 2028.
How to get ready before 7 November
The work is not the filing. It is having three months of clean, categorised records when the deadline arrives. Every week you leave it is another week of receipts to reconstruct.
TunedBooks pulls your eBay, Vinted and Shopify sales into one ledger automatically, tracks expenses alongside them, and shows your actual profit as you go. It keeps your records in the digital format MTD requires. Direct submission to HMRC is in final approval and arriving shortly.
Know your numbers before the deadline, not after it.
Free to start. Connect your sales channels in under five minutes.
Frequently asked questions
When is the next Making Tax Digital quarterly update due?
7 November 2026, covering the period 6 July to 5 October 2026. If you use calendar update periods, it covers 1 July to 30 September.
Do I still have to file a Self Assessment tax return?
Yes. Quarterly updates do not replace the tax return. Your 2025–26 return is still due by 31 January 2027.
What happens if I miss a quarterly update deadline?
No penalty points are issued for late quarterly updates during the first year of Making Tax Digital for Income Tax. Penalties for late Self Assessment returns and late payments still apply.
Does Making Tax Digital apply to me if I sell on Vinted or eBay?
It applies if your combined gross income from self-employment and property was over £50,000 on your 2024–25 tax return. That threshold drops to £30,000 from April 2027 and £20,000 from April 2028, which brings in a much larger group of online sellers.