The Filing Calendar and your HMRC obligations

Two surfaces help you stay on top of HMRC deadlines. The Filing Calendar lays out every quarterly update and Final Declaration deadline for a chosen tax year, with a countdown and timeline, and works on every plan even before you connect HMRC. Filing Obligations shows the authoritative status (open or fulfilled) read straight from HMRC, and appears once your HMRC account is connected.

What these two surfaces are for

There are two related pages, and they answer different questions.

• Filing calendar (at /tax/calendar) answers "when is everything due?" It lays out every HMRC deadline for a tax year (the four quarterly updates plus the Final Declaration) with a countdown to the next one, a year timeline, and your progress through the year. The deadline structure is worked out in the app, so this page is available on every plan and renders even before you connect HMRC.
• Filing obligations (at /tax/filing-obligations) answers "what does HMRC say is still outstanding?" It shows the authoritative status for each income source (open or fulfilled), read straight from HMRC. It needs HMRC connected.

Note: HMRC tracks two kinds of obligation under Making Tax Digital: your quarterly updates and a single Final Declaration. The Final Declaration replaces the Self Assessment return for the income this app covers. Both surfaces reflect those two obligation types.

Open the Filing Calendar

1. Open the "Tax & MTD" group in the sidebar and click Filing Calendar (or go straight to /tax/calendar). The page heading reads Filing calendar.
2. Pick the tax year with the year switcher at the top right. The subtitle names what the calendar covers (for example "Every HMRC deadline for your property income") and the tax year.
3. Read the next deadline. The hero shows the next pending deadline with a countdown and a status badge that reads On track or Due soon.
4. Scan the timeline. Below the hero, the deadline pins and the all-deadlines list show each quarterly update (tagged Q1 to Q4) and the Final Declaration.
5. Mixed portfolios show one strip per business. If you have both property and self-employment, each business gets its own row with its own quarter boundaries.

Tip: The Filing Calendar is read-only: it shows the dates. To actually send a quarter, use Send update to HMRC. See Submit a quarterly update.

The four standard quarters are 6 April to 5 July, 6 July to 5 October, 6 October to 5 January, and 6 January to 5 April. Your exact due dates are worked out in the app from HMRC's deadline rules and shown against each deadline on the calendar, so read them there rather than relying on a fixed rule.

See your live status on Filing Obligations

This page shows HMRC's own view, so it needs HMRC connected first.

1. Connect HMRC. The Filing Obligations link only appears once HMRC is connected, and it lives in the Tax & MTD group. See Connect your HMRC account.
2. Open /tax/filing-obligations. The hero eyebrow reads FILING OBLIGATIONS and the heading reads Filing obligations.
3. Check which year it lands on. The page opens on the tax year that has outstanding work: if the previous tax year still has an open quarterly obligation it opens there, otherwise the current year. Switch year with the selector if you need a different one.
4. Read each tab. There is a tab per income source (property and each self-employment business). Each shows that business's quarters with HMRC's status, plus a Final Declaration card that unlocks only once every required source is fulfilled.
5. Re-pull from HMRC with the Refresh button (it reads Refreshing… while it works) whenever you want the very latest status.

Important: HMRC's obligations response is the source of truth here and is shown exactly as returned (open or fulfilled). The app does not invent a four-quarter template when HMRC returns nothing, so if a year shows no obligations, that is what HMRC holds for you.

Because each quarterly update is cumulative, a later one supersedes the earlier ones, so the obligations page reflects the latest position rather than a stack of separate filings. See How cumulative updates work, and fixing mistakes.

Email deadline reminders

Everyone can see the deadlines on the Filing Calendar. Automatic reminder emails ahead of each deadline are an MTD Lite feature.

1. Reminders are automatic. There is no manual send. They go out a set number of days before a deadline, and only when you actually have an HMRC obligation for that period.
2. Set the timing under Settings > Notifications (your reminder days). See Notifications and reminders.
3. On the Free plan the dates still show on the calendar, but the reminder emails are not sent. Upgrade to MTD Lite to receive them.

The ITSA status banner

The Filing Obligations page can show a banner that mirrors HMRC's Making Tax Digital for Income Tax status for the year (for example whether HMRC has you as mandated, voluntary, or exempt), with the reason and the date HMRC recorded it.

Note: The banner appears above the obligations hero once HMRC is connected and HMRC holds a categorised status for the year, with its own Refresh from HMRC button. It is available on both the Free and MTD Lite plans. For what your status means for you, check with HMRC or your accountant.

If something goes wrong

• "Filing Obligations" is missing from the sidebar. The link is hidden until HMRC is connected, and it sits in the Tax & MTD group. Connect HMRC and it appears there. The Filing Calendar is always visible in the meantime.
• Filing Obligations shows "Connect HMRC to view your obligations". Your HMRC connection or National Insurance Number is not set up yet. Click Go to settings (it opens /settings?tab=hmrc) and finish connecting. See Connect your HMRC account.
• Filing Obligations shows "Not registered for Making Tax Digital". HMRC reports that the account is not signed up for MTD for that income type. Sign up with HMRC (the notice links out to the sign-up guide), then come back and use Refresh. See Not signed up for MTD yet?.
• A year shows "No filing obligations for that year". HMRC returned no obligations, often because the business started trading after that year ended. Switch to the earliest fileable year shown in the hint.
• The obligations page shows "We could not load your obligations". This is a temporary problem reaching HMRC. Use Try again or Refresh in a moment.
• No reminder emails arrive although the dates are shown. Reminder emails require MTD Lite and an actual HMRC obligation for that period; the Free plan is not sent them. Confirm reminders are enabled under Settings > Notifications, or upgrade to MTD Lite.
• Quarter date ranges look different from what you expected. The calendar shows the standard quarters (6 April to 5 July and so on) for most people. If a business elected calendar-aligned quarters with HMRC, that business shows month-boundary quarters (1 April to 30 June and so on) instead.

For anything about whether you must file, your deadlines, or penalties, check with HMRC or your accountant, or see the MTD guide.

Frequently asked questions

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