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What is Accounting period?
Last verified 31 October 2026
An accounting period is the period that your books or accounts cover. For most landlords it matches the tax year, 6 April to 5 April.
Why it matters to landlords
By default MTD software uses an accounting period that matches the tax year, so most landlords need to do nothing. If yours ends on 5 April, you create digital records from 6 April of the relevant tax year. If your accounting period runs from 1 April to 31 March, HMRC says to select calendar update periods in your software before you send your first quarterly update.
You cannot change update periods after you have sent a quarterly update, so check this when you set up the software. If your accounting period does not align with the tax year, you adjust your totals before submitting the return, and periods ending on 1 to 4 April fall under special late accounting date rules. Your software also needs to support whichever period you use.
Example
Peter's rental accounts always run from 1 April to 31 March. Before his first update he switches his software to calendar periods, so his updates cover 1 April to 30 June, 30 September, 31 December and 31 March, each due by 7 August, 7 November, 7 February and 7 May.
MTD Deadlines 2026/27: Quarterly Update Calendar →
Related terms
- Calendar update periods
- Quarterly period (update period)
- Basis period reform
- Tax year
- Software authorisation