Send your 7 November MTD update from a spreadsheet: a guide for sole traders and landlords

Who it’s for

UK sole traders and landlords using Making Tax Digital for Income Tax who keep their own records in a spreadsheet

Time to set up

45 minutes the first time, then about 15 minutes a quarter

Difficulty

Beginner

Monthly cost

£0–£19 + VAT

What does this automation do?

If your records already live in a spreadsheet, Making Tax Digital doesn’t force you into accounting software. HMRC-recognised “bridging” software reads your spreadsheet and sends the quarterly update for you, and some of it is free. This guide walks a sole trader or landlord through the second update of the 2026 to 2027 tax year, due 7 November 2026, then sets up reminders and a quick pre-send check so the next three are routine.

HMRC says more than 436,000 sole traders and landlords sent their first quarterly update, and over 570,000 had signed up (HMRC, 12 August 2026). If you missed 7 August, send that first update now: there are no penalty points for late quarterly updates this tax year, but you still have to send every one before you can submit your tax return.

What do you need before you start?

• To be signed up for MTD for Income Tax (our free MTD readiness checklist covers sign-up, with every point linked to GOV.UK)
• Your Government Gateway sign-in details, to connect the software to HMRC
• Your income and expenses from 6 April to 5 October 2026 in a spreadsheet, or the receipts and bank statements to build one

Do it yourself or pay for a tool?

All of these are on HMRC’s list of recognised software, which on 17 October 2026 showed 159 products for individuals, 37 with a free version and 78 bridging products (HMRC finder). Prices are from each vendor’s own page, checked 17 October 2026.

Choose a spreadsheet and bridging if your records are already in a sheet and you’re happy to keep it tidy. Choose an app if you want a bank feed to do the typing, or you invoice from the same place. We don’t have an affiliate deal with flonancial, Coconut, Sage or FreeAgent. The Xero link may earn us a commission in future; it costs you nothing extra.

How do I set it up?

Step 1: Check you’re in, and what counts as your qualifying income

Qualifying income is your self-employment and property income added together, before expenses. Over £50,000 in 2024 to 2025 means MTD from 6 April 2026; over £30,000 in 2025 to 2026 means from 6 April 2027; over £20,000 in 2026 to 2027 means from 6 April 2028 (GOV.UK). Wages, pensions, dividends and a partnership profit share don’t count. If you own a property jointly, only your share counts (GOV.UK).

Step 2: Pick bridging software from HMRC’s list and connect it to HMRC

Open HMRC’s finder, choose View all software, say you’re a sole trader or landlord, then filter by Bridging software (and Free version if you want). Check each product supports all your income sources: self-employment, UK property, foreign property. Sign up, then authorise it with your Government Gateway login. You can only use one product for each submission, so don’t split one business’s update across two tools.

Step 3: Set up the spreadsheet: one tab per business

Each business gets its own records and its own update (GOV.UK):

• Self-employment: one tab per trade. An electrician who also teaches driving needs two.
• UK property: one tab for all your UK rentals together, because they count as one UK property business.
• Foreign property: a separate tab.

Use these columns: date, description, amount, category, income or expense. Every record needs an amount, a date and a category. If a business’s turnover is under £90,000, you can use simpler categories: a sole trader just marks income or expense, and a residential landlord marks income or expense and whether an expense is a “restricted finance cost” (GOV.UK’s term; for most landlords that means mortgage or loan interest). Over £90,000, use the full Self Assessment categories. Your bridging software’s template will show the layout it reads.

Joint owners: record only your share. For jointly let property you can enter one figure per income category for the quarter, rather than every rent payment, and you can leave joint-property expenses out of your quarterly updates and add them after the year end by resending your fourth update.

Step 4: Catch up your records to 5 October

The 7 November update covers 6 April to 5 October 2026 (1 April to 30 September if you use calendar periods). Add everything up to that date: bank payments, cash takings, rent received, receipts. You have to create the records for a period before you send that update.

Step 5: Run a 10-minute check for gaps and duplicates

Optional, but it catches the obvious mistakes. Copy your year-to-date tab into a new file, delete anything that identifies you or others (UTR, National Insurance number, bank details, tenants’ or customers’ names), and upload it to ChatGPT with the prompt below. Fix anything it flags in your spreadsheet, not in the chat. Nothing comes back from ChatGPT into your records, so the digital link from spreadsheet to bridging software stays intact.

Step 6: Upload, review the totals and compare with your first update

Upload the spreadsheet to your bridging software (or connect it, depending on the product) and let it read the totals. GOV.UK says that if you use more than one product, your spreadsheet and the software that sends your updates must be digitally linked, for example by uploading the file, importing a CSV or using linked cells. As examples of what you must not do, it gives writing a record out again in another cell or in other software, and moving records by ‘cut and paste’ or ‘copy and paste’ (GOV.UK: create digital records). So don’t retype figures into the software. Updates are cumulative, so your totals should be at least as big as the ones you sent in August, unless you’ve corrected something.

Step 7: Send by 7 November and confirm it arrived

Send it by 7 November 2026. You can send any time after 5 October. Your HMRC online account’s recent activity should then say “You sent a quarterly update”. A quiet quarter still needs an update (GOV.UK).

Step 8: Set reminders for the next three deadlines

In Google Calendar, create an all-day event on 7 February 2027 called “MTD quarterly update due”. Set it to repeat every 3 months on day 7 (Google’s help), and add notifications 14 days and 3 days before. That covers 7 February, 7 May and 7 August, and keeps going.

The copy-paste prompt (optional check)

I'm a UK sole trader / landlord using Making Tax Digital for Income Tax.
Attached is my spreadsheet for the tax year so far (6 April to 5 October
2026). Columns: date, description, amount, category, income/expense.

Check it before I send my quarterly update. Do NOT change any figures,
do NOT calculate tax and do NOT give me totals.

List, with the date and description of each row:
1. GAPS: any month with no income or much less than the others
   (for landlords: any month a regular rent is missing).
2. POSSIBLE DUPLICATES: same amount and similar description within 7 days.
3. UNCATEGORISED rows, or rows marked "other".
4. QUERIES: anything that looks personal, or that sits in a category that
   doesn't match its description. Phrase these as questions.
5. The five largest single items, so I can confirm each one.

Plain British English, short. If something looks fine, don't mention it.

What UK rules apply?

• Deadlines: 7 August, 7 November, 7 February and 7 May, for standard and calendar periods alike. Each update covers the tax year so far (GOV.UK). The tax return is still due by 31 January after the tax year.
• Penalties: no points for late quarterly updates in 2026 to 2027. From 2027 to 2028, one point per missed deadline (only one per deadline, however many businesses you have). Late tax returns earn a point from the tax year you join. At 4 points, a £200 penalty, then £200 for each further missed deadline. Below 4 points, each point expires after 24 months (GOV.UK). Volunteers have different rules.
• Digital links: spreadsheet to bridging software must be a digital link, such as an upload, CSV import or linked cells (GOV.UK).
• Who’s next: HMRC estimates around 1,077,000 more sole traders and landlords join on 6 April 2027 (HMRC, 5 October 2026).
• Keep records for at least 5 years after the 31 January deadline for the tax year.

What can go wrong?

• Two income sources on a free plan. Sage’s free tier covers one income source only, so a sole trader who also lets a property needs a paid plan for the second, or a different product (Sage).
• Crossing £90,000. Free tools built for smaller businesses may not fit, and you’ll need full categories for that income source from the start of the tax year.
• Retyping totals. Copying a figure from your sheet into the software by hand breaks the digital link rule. Upload or link instead.
• Missing cash and personal-account payments. Rent or jobs paid into a personal account won’t show in a business bank statement. Add them.
• Mixing up update periods. Choose standard or calendar before your first update of the year; you can’t switch for the rest of that year.
• AI maths. The prompt tells ChatGPT not to total anything. Your bridging software does the sums.

Photographing receipts? Turn receipt photos into an MTD-ready spreadsheet first, then send from it. For one tested automation and the week’s UK rule changes every Friday, join our free email.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

1. GOV.UK: Use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax: send quarterly updates
2. GOV.UK: Use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax: create digital records
3. GOV.UK: Work out your qualifying income for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax
4. GOV.UK: Find out if and when you need to use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax
5. GOV.UK: Penalties for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax
6. GOV.UK: Choose the right software for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax
7. GOV.UK: Find software that works with Making Tax Digital for Income Tax (HMRC finder)
8. HMRC news, 12 August 2026: 436,000 sole traders and landlords make their tax digital
9. HMRC news, 5 October 2026: Sole traders and landlords earning more than £30,000 urged to act now
10. flonancial: free MTD bridging
11. Coconut: Pricing
12. Sage UK: Pricing
13. Sage Knowledgebase: MTD for Income Tax for UK landlords
14. FreeAgent: Pricing
15. Xero UK: Pricing plans
16. Google Calendar Help: Create a recurring event

This guide is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Tool prices and screens change; we re-check every guide regularly. Spotted something out of date? Tell us and we’ll fix it.