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Making Tax Digital quarterly update from a spreadsheet: how it works

Last checked 15 Oct 2026 against the GOV.UK pages linked below. Not tax advice; follow the sources before relying on dates.

You can keep your Making Tax Digital records in Excel or Google Sheets. HMRC never sees the spreadsheet itself: it receives category totals, sent by recognised software that is digitally linked to your sheet. Here is what the sheet has to do and how a quarterly update gets from it to HMRC.

The short answer

A spreadsheet counts as record-keeping for MTD for Income Tax, as long as it is digitally linked to HMRC-recognised software that sends the update. For spreadsheet users that software is usually called bridging software. HMRC's software finder lets you filter for products that work with spreadsheets; some are free.

What the spreadsheet needs

• One row per transaction with the date, the amount and a category.
• HMRC categories: the same ones as Self Assessment (SA103 for self-employment, SA105 for UK property).
• A totals area that sums each category from 6 April to the end of the update period. Use formulas (for example SUMIFS), not typed numbers.
• Cells your bridging software can map: most products ask you to point each HMRC category at a cell or range.

Updates are cumulative

Each quarterly update covers the tax year to date, not just the latest three months. GOV.UK gives the standard period for the second update as 6 April to 5 October, due 7 November 2026. So your totals area should always sum from 6 April. If you missed the first update, the second one brings you up to date.

The digital-link rule

Data has to move between programs digitally: linked cells, file import (CSV/XML), or an API. Retyping figures or copy-and-paste into the filing software is what GOV.UK rules out. Formula totals in the same workbook that your bridging software reads directly are fine.

Short on time before 7 November? The MTD Q2 catch-up kit (£39) reads your bank CSV in your browser, sorts each line into HMRC categories, flags anything unclear for you to check, and gives you cumulative totals plus a linked workbook for bridging software. Try the free preview first; 14-day refund.

Step by step for the 7 November update

1. Export your business bank account as CSV from 6 April 2026 to 5 October 2026.
2. Put each line in your sheet with a category. Mark transfers, personal spending and tax payments as not business.
3. Check the totals sum every category from 6 April.
4. Choose bridging software in HMRC's finder, authorise it with your Government Gateway login, and map your total cells.
5. Review the figures in the bridging software and send by 7 November 2026.

Common mistakes

• Summing only July to October instead of from 6 April.
• Counting transfers to savings or your Self Assessment payment as expenses.
• Typing the totals into the bridging software by hand.
• Missing cash income that never went through the bank.

Sources

• GOV.UK: Send quarterly updates
• GOV.UK: Create digital records
• GOV.UK: Find software for MTD for Income Tax

Related

• MTD Q2 catch-up kit (£39): bank CSV to cumulative HMRC totals, in your browser
• Making Tax Digital quarterly update from a spreadsheet
• MTD Q2 deadline: 7 November 2026
• MTD for landlords: from bank statement to quarterly update
• MTD for landlords: what records you need

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