| Overview |
Making Tax Digital for Income Tax Self Assessment (MTD ITSA) requires eligible self-employed individuals and landlords to submit quarterly updates of their income and expenses to HMRC, followed by a final declaration for the tax year.
Quarterly submissions under MTD ITSA are made through BrightBooks — not BrightTax. BrightBooks is used to record income and expenses and submit the quarterly updates to HMRC throughout the year. BrightTax is used for the annual Self Assessment return.
| ⚠ Important: Quarterly MTD ITSA updates cannot be submitted from within BrightTax. A BrightBooks subscription is required. If you or your client do not currently have access to BrightBooks, contact the Bright sales team to add it to your subscription. |
| How MTD ITSA Works Across the Bright Product Suite |
| Submission Type | Product | When |
| Quarterly income and expense updates | BrightBooks | Four times per year — within one month of each quarter end |
| End-of-period statement (EOPS) | BrightBooks | Once per year — after the final quarter |
| Final declaration (tax return) | BrightTax | Once per year — by 31 January following the tax year end |
| What BrightBooks Does for Quarterly Submissions |
- Record self-employment income and expenses throughout the quarter
- Record UK property income and expenses throughout the quarter
- Submit each quarter's summary of income and expenses directly to HMRC
- View submitted data and HMRC's acknowledgement in one place
| What BrightTax Does for the Annual Return |
- Prepare and submit the final Self Assessment tax return (the final declaration)
- Include all other income sources — employment, dividends, savings, pension
- Calculate and confirm the final tax liability for the year
| Getting Access to BrightBooks |
To add BrightBooks to your subscription, contact the Bright sales team at brighttaxsales@brightsg.com.
| Frequently Asked Questions |
Q: Can I submit quarterly MTD ITSA updates from BrightTax?
A: No. Quarterly updates require BrightBooks. BrightTax handles the final annual Self Assessment return.
Q: My client is mandated for MTD ITSA from April 2026 — what do they need?
A: BrightBooks for their quarterly updates and BrightTax for their annual Self Assessment return. Contact brighttaxsales@brightsg.com to discuss the right setup for your practice.
Q: Does BrightBooks connect to BrightTax?
A: Yes, for accounts work. You can import a client's trial balance from BrightBooks into BrightTax Accounts Production and send year-end journals back to BrightBooks. The quarterly MTD submissions themselves are made from BrightBooks. See Connecting BrightBooks to BrightTax: Trial Balance Import and Journal Export.
Q: I already use BrightBooks — where do I find the quarterly submission steps?
A: Full guidance is in the BrightBooks Help Centre. Log in to BrightBooks and open the Help Centre from the support menu.
Q: What are the MTD ITSA quarterly submission deadlines?
A: Quarterly updates must be submitted within one month of the end of each quarter. The standard quarterly periods are 6 April–5 July, 6 July–5 October, 6 October–5 January, and 6 January–5 April. Each update is due by the 5th of the following month.
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