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Checked against the current regulations and GOV.UK on 14 August 2026
Closing the business, selling the flat or leaving the UK does not quietly end Making Tax Digital. It starts a short, dated obligation with a deadline most people have never been told about — and the deadline is not the day you stopped.
You must tell HMRC the date your income source stopped no later than the quarterly update deadline for the update period that date falls in — and send one final, shortened update covering up to that date.
The Income Tax (Digital Obligations) Regulations 2026, reg 6(1) and reg 14.
Update periods are cumulative — every one runs from the start of your periods to the end of that quarter. Reg 14 cuts the last one off early: “The quarterly update period containing the digital termination date for a relevant activity of a relevant person ends with that digital termination date.” So a sole trader on standard periods who stops on 20 November 2026 files a final update covering 6 April to 20 November 2026, not 6 April to 5 January 2027.
Reg 6(1) says the digital termination date is the date of cessation, and that you “must give notice to HMRC of the digital termination date no later than the quarterly update deadline for the quarterly update period in which that date falls”. That is a real deadline with a real date on it. HMRC's practical route for giving that notice is phone or webchat, with post accepted; ICAEW published a clarification of HMRC's position on cessations in April 2026.
One exception: reg 6(2)(a) switches the notice duty off if you stopped before your MTD start date.
Reg 9(3): you are “not required to give HMRC a quarterly update in relation to a relevant activity for any quarterly update period after the period in which the digital termination date for that relevant activity falls”. Note the words relevant activity — this switches off updates for the source that ended, not for you. Another trade, or a property business you still hold, carries on with its own updates on the same four dates.
Reg 6(3) treats two things as a cessation even though nothing was sold or closed: a cessation deemed to occur under section 17(2)(a) of ITTOIA 2005 on becoming or ceasing to be UK resident, and — for an overseas property business — simply ceasing to be resident in the United Kingdom. An overseas property business is a separate business from your UK property business, so it can terminate on its own while your UK sources continue.
Yes — one final one. Under SI 2026/336 reg 14 the update period containing your termination date ends on that date, so your final quarterly update is short. Reg 9(3) then removes the obligation for every update period after it.
Yes, and it is the part almost nobody publishes. Reg 6(1)(b) requires notice of the digital termination date no later than the quarterly update deadline for the period in which that date falls. Stop on 20 November 2026 on standard periods and your notice is due by 7 February 2027.
No. Reg 6(2)(a) disapplies the notice duty where the digital termination date is earlier than the digital start date. You will still need to deal with it on your Self Assessment return.
It can. Reg 6(3) treats a cessation deemed to occur under section 17(2)(a) of ITTOIA 2005 (becoming or ceasing to be UK resident) as a cessation, and for an overseas property business, ceasing to be UK resident is itself a cessation. Overseas property is a separate business with its own updates, so it can end while your UK sources continue.
No, and mixing them up is expensive. Cessation is a source ending. A source that continues at a lower level is a different route out — you can opt out once your qualifying income has been below the relevant threshold for three consecutive tax years.
Yes. Ceasing a source does not remove the Self Assessment return for the tax year in which it ceased, and that return deadline is unchanged at 31 January after the end of the tax year.
All four deadlines, with weekend flags → Income fallen instead? → What a missed deadline costs →
Everything above is free and stays free. The £7.99 MTD Readiness Checklist is a printable walk-through of your own position — scope, records, dates, and what to do when a source ends. No ads, no affiliate links, nothing charged for anything HMRC provides free.
These regulations came into force on 1 April 2026 and revoked the Income Tax (Digital Requirements) Regulations 2021. Guidance written against the 2021 regulations is describing revoked law.
General information about UK tax rules, not tax advice. Your own circumstances and HMRC's official guidance govern your position. If you are unsure, speak to an accountant or contact HMRC.