MTD Quarterly Filer - Getting started

MTD Quarterly Filer provides the functionality to complete in-year submissions (Quarterly Updates) and integrates with TaxCalc modules, as well as other bookkeeping and spreadsheet solutions.

Before you begin

Before you can submit quarterly updates, the individual must be registered for Making Tax Digital (MTD) for Income Tax with HMRC.

• If you are acting as an agent, you must register your client for MTD using your Agent Services Account (ASA). Once HMRC has processed the registration, the client can be set up in MTD Quarterly Filer.
• Allow sufficient time for HMRC to process the registration before attempting to fetch the client's MTD information in TaxCalc. If registration is still being processed, the client or business records may not yet be available.
• Ensure that:
  • the client has been signed up successfully with HMRC for MTD;
  • your Agent Services Account has the necessary authority to act for the client

Setting up businesses in MTD Quarterly Filer

After launching MTD Quarterly Filer:

1. Select the client you are ready to set up (one who has already been signed up with HMRC for MTD) and click Continue.
2. Click New Tax Year (this will default to 2025/26) and click Create.
3. The Business Information screen displays all businesses already created in Practice Manager for the individual that are relevant to the tax year opened (for example, businesses that ceased before the start of the tax year are not displayed).
4. If a business is not linked to an HMRC record, you can use Link business(es) to check for HMRC business records.

If there are no business records in TaxCalc for the individual, you can either:

• create the business in Practice Manager using the Add a business button in MTD Quarterly Filer; or
• fetch the businesses directly from HMRC. Please note, if an existing business has already been created within the client record please ensure you link to this business when you fetch from HMRC.

If the business is a foreign property business, you can enter additional information about the countries where the rental properties are located. This information is required for quarterly update submissions.

• Click Add country to select the country where the property is located.
• Optional commencement and cessation dates can also be entered.
• From April 2026, quarterly submissions will be required for each individual foreign property, rather than one submission per country as during the pilot year.

Fetching and linking businesses

1. Click Fetch businesses from HMRC or Link business(es).
2. If you have not already authorised the software via Admin Centre, the Authorise TaxCalc To Connect To HMRC dialog is displayed.
3. Click Authorise.
4. Click Sign in to the HMRC online service.
5. Enter your Agent Services User ID and Password, then click Sign in.
6. Click Give permission to allow TaxCalc to connect with HMRC.
7. Click Fetch to retrieve the client's MTD business information from HMRC.
8. The Business Information screen displays the information returned by HMRC.
9. Click Sync records to match the HMRC information with your TaxCalc records. Sync the information on each tab where required.
10. Once the records have been synchronised, click Finish set up. TaxCalc will check the client's quarterly obligations and the business will be ready for preparing and submitting quarterly updates.

Tip: If no businesses are returned from HMRC, first confirm that the client has been successfully registered for MTD, that HMRC has completed processing the registration, and that you have correctly authorised the correct Agent Services Account with authority for the client.