Making Tax Digital for Income Tax
What categories go in an MTD quarterly update?
A quarterly update is not a single profit figure — it is a set of category totals, and HMRC's legal quarterly update direction fixes exactly which categories. Below is the full, unabridged list your software's boxes have to map to, copied straight from that direction, 15 August 2026.
Category totals, not a profit line
Each quarterly update carries a total for every income and expense category that applies to your business. A sole trader has 2 income and 13 expense categories; a UK landlord 4 income and 9 expense; foreign property 2 income and 1 expense. They are the same categories as the Self Assessment SA103F and SA105 boxes.
"Your quarterly updates will include totals for each income and expense category you've used for your self-employment and property income. Making Tax Digital for Income Tax uses the same income and expense categories as Self Assessment." — GOV.UK, Send quarterly updates
| Income (2) | Expenses (13) |
|---|---|
| Turnover | Cost of goods bought for resale or goods used |
| Other business income | Construction industry — payments to subcontractors |
| Wages, salaries, and other staff costs | |
| Car, van, and travel expenses | |
| Rent, rates, power, and insurance costs | |
| Repairs and maintenance of property and equipment | |
| Phone, fax, stationery, and other office costs | |
| Advertising | |
| Business entertainment costs | |
| Interest on bank and other loans | |
| Bank, credit card and other financial charges | |
| Accountancy, legal and other professional fees | |
| Other business expenses |
The same categories as the Self Assessment SA103F boxes. Business entertainment is listed as a category even though it is not tax-deductible — you record it, then it is disallowed at year end.
| Income (4) | Expenses (9) |
|---|---|
| Total rent | Rent, rates, insurance and ground rents |
| Other income from property | Property repairs and maintenance |
| Premiums for the grant of a lease | Non-residential property finance costs |
| Reverse premiums and inducements | Residential property finance costs |
| Residential finance costs brought forward | |
| Legal, management and other professional fees | |
| Costs of services provided, including wages | |
| Travel expenses | |
| Other allowable property expenses |
The same categories as the Self Assessment SA105 boxes. The two residential finance-cost lines are where the Section 24 restriction lives — residential mortgage interest is not a deductible expense but a 20% tax credit, so it sits in its own categories. See how Section 24 changes your bill.
| Income (2) | Expenses (1) |
|---|---|
| Total rents and other receipts | Allowable property expenses (rent, repairs, legal fees, cost of services provided) |
| Premiums for the grant of a lease |
HMRC groups foreign property expenses into a single allowable line rather than the itemised UK list.
| Income you may report (4) | Expenses |
|---|---|
| Total rent | Optional in-year |
| Other income from property | |
| Premiums for the grant of a lease | |
| Reverse premiums and inducements |
For property you let jointly, you can report income only during the year and add the expenses after the tax year ends — by resending your fourth quarterly update before you file. You can still report the full section 2 categories in-year if you prefer. (For foreign jointly let property the income lines are "Total rents and other receipts" and "Premiums for the grant of a lease".)
Why this list is shorter in most software
Two things soften it in practice. First, MTD uses the same categories as Self Assessment, so if you have filed a tax return you have met these boxes before. Second, HMRC lets you categorise in less detail — a single consolidated income total and a single consolidated expense total instead of the breakdown — for any source of self-employment whose turnover is under £90,000, or where your total UK property turnover is under £90,000 (this also applies to jointly let property). At or above £90,000 the full breakdown applies. So many sole traders and landlords send just two numbers a quarter. Work out which applies to you and what the totals are.
Source: GOV.UK, Create and store digital records (read 22 August 2026).
A quarterly update is a summary, not a tax return: it carries these category totals for the year so far, and HMRC never sees the individual receipts behind them. You reconcile and claim reliefs once, at the end, in your final declaration.
Keeping the categories straight all year
The categories only bite if your records are already sorted into them. The cheapest way to do that is a spreadsheet whose columns match these boxes, so a quarterly update is a copy-across rather than an afternoon of sorting.
Mostly a landlord? The Rental ROI & Yield Calculator keeps each property's rent and the nine expense categories straight through the year, Section 24 split included.
Filing for clients? Every client's update carries these same categories on a staggered quarterly clock. The MTD Practice Tracker keeps that list and its deadlines in one place, £39 one-time.
Common questions
What categories go in an MTD quarterly update?
HMRC's legal quarterly update direction sets them. A sole trader reports totals across 2 income categories (Turnover, Other business income) and 13 expense categories. A UK landlord reports 4 income and 9 expense categories. A foreign-property landlord reports 2 income categories and a single grouped expense line. They are the same categories as the Self Assessment SA103F and SA105 boxes.
Can I send one total instead of a breakdown?
You report a total for each category the direction lists — unless you qualify to categorise in less detail. HMRC lets you send a single consolidated income total and a single consolidated expense total instead for any source of self-employment whose turnover is under £90,000, or where your total UK property turnover is under £90,000 (this also applies to jointly let property). At or above £90,000 you report the full breakdown (GOV.UK: Create and store digital records, read 22 August 2026). Either way a quarterly update is a summary, not a tax return.
Are these the same as the Self Assessment boxes?
Yes. Making Tax Digital for Income Tax uses the same income and expense categories as Self Assessment, so the self-employment list is the SA103F set and the UK property list is the SA105 set. Your software may word or group them slightly differently, but they map to the same boxes.
What does a landlord report?
For UK property: 4 income categories and 9 expense categories, including a residential finance-costs line for the Section 24 restriction. For foreign property, HMRC groups the expenses into a single allowable line.
Do jointly let properties report expenses every quarter?
They do not have to. For property you let jointly, the direction lets you report income only during the year and add the expenses after the tax year ends, by resending your fourth quarterly update before you file.
Use this list
If you are building software, writing about MTD, or documenting the categories for a practice, take it. It is published under CC BY 4.0 — use it commercially, just credit the source so your readers can check it against the direction.
Machine-readable: /mtd-quarterly-update-categories/data.json — every category, by section, with counts, the legal basis, the method and the caveats.
Citation: “A Making Tax Digital for Income Tax quarterly update reports category totals, not a single profit figure. HMRC's quarterly update direction sets the categories: self-employment carries 2 income and 13 expense categories, UK property 4 and 9, foreign property 2 and 1.” — Fableworks HQ, compiled from HMRC's quarterly update direction, 15 August 2026.
We would rather you quoted it accurately than not at all. HMRC updates the direction; if a row here has aged, HMRC's page is the live answer.
Keep going
Build a quarterly update · Am I in MTD? · What counts as qualifying income? · Do I need to buy MTD software? · Every MTD deadline
Categories copied verbatim from HMRC's Making Tax Digital for Income Tax: quarterly update direction (made under regulation 10 of The Income Tax (Digital Obligations) Regulations 2026, updated 27 March 2026), with the "same categories as Self Assessment" wording from Send quarterly updates, both read 15 August 2026. HMRC's direction is the live answer if you are reading this long after that date.