How do I submit a quarterly update to HMRC as a decorator?

Your software sends HMRC turnover and cost totals for the year so far, with homeowner, cash and CIS jobs together at their full value. If you start in April 2027, your first update is due by 7 August 2027.

Making Tax Digital for Income Tax (MTD) asks for totals each quarter, not receipts. A decorator's quarter often mixes homeowner rooms, some paid in cash, with builder work under the Construction Industry Scheme (CIS). All of it goes in one update. Checked against GOV.UK and HMRC's CIS manual on 18 October 2026; the general guide covers everyone.

Who sends them, and when

You join when your qualifying income, self-employment and property income before expenses, goes over the line: over £50,000 in 2024-25 meant 6 April 2026, over £30,000 in 2025-26 means 6 April 2027, and over £20,000 in 2026-27 means 6 April 2028. The sign-up guide for decorators shows how to add up your jobs.

If your accounts run from 1 April to 31 March, GOV.UK says to use calendar periods ending 30 June, 30 September, 31 December and 31 March, with the same deadlines; choose them in your software before your first update of the year.

Homeowner jobs and cash

CIS 340 says householders are not contractors, so a homeowner having their own home decorated pays you in full. In our reading, a landlord who only lets property is not one either unless its construction spending passed £3 million in the previous 12 months. HMRC's manual says a letting agent acting for one generally is not either, but can be if it contracts in its own name.

Record homeowners' cash in full. GOV.UK says some transactions may not appear in full in a bank feed and must be added separately, and cash never does.

If a customer buys their own wallpaper or paint, in our reading it is not your cost or your turnover. Only your charge for the work goes in.

Jobs for builders: in CIS

The law behind CIS lists painting or decorating the internal or external surfaces of any building or structure as a construction operation, and CIS 340 says the same. So decorating for a builder, developer or main contractor is CIS work, even on a homeowner's house, as the homeowner CIS guide explains.

CIS changes how you are paid, not whether a job goes in the update. HMRC's notes say a subcontractor's turnover is the full amount before CIS deductions. MTD uses the same categories as Self Assessment, so in our reading the gross figure on each monthly payment and deduction statement goes in, not what your bank shows.

Paint, kit and the van

Contractors do not take the deduction from the direct cost of materials, which HMRC's manual says is what you can show you paid. CIS 340's own worked example is a painter: on a £600 job before VAT with £200 of materials, the 20% comes off the £400 labour, so £80 is taken. In our reading, any mark-up on paint is deducted from, and without receipts the builder may estimate the cost. The CIS materials guide has more.

In our reading, everything you charge for, paint included, is turnover, and the paint, paper and filler you buy for jobs go in "cost of goods bought for resale or goods used", which HMRC's notes say includes raw materials. Brushes, rollers, dust sheets, ladders and small tools are kit. On the cash basis, HMRC's HS222 puts equipment and tools in "repairs and maintenance of property and equipment"; under traditional accounting they go through capital allowances. Van fuel, insurance and servicing go in "car, van, and travel expenses", business share only. The decorator expenses guide lists more.

With turnover from the trade under £90,000, GOV.UK lets you record each item as just income or an expense. Reach £90,000, and every record for the year must be fully categorised before your next update.

What stays out of the update

HMRC's quarterly update direction lists the totals an update holds, and CIS deductions are not among them. HMRC adds your CIS deductions to your MTD tax return, and any refund is requested separately through HMRC online services, as the CIS refund guide for decorators explains.

A worked example

A decorator starts MTD on 6 April 2027. By 5 July 2027 they have painted a block of flats for a builder: £3,600 labour plus £1,000 charged for paint that cost them £900. The builder takes 20% from £3,700, £740, because the £100 mark-up is not direct cost. A second builder pays £2,400 for labour only and takes £480. Homeowners pay £6,800, £1,500 of it in cash; one supplied their own wallpaper. Paint and filler for homeowner jobs cost £1,100, brushes, rollers and a ladder £420, and the van £580.

Their bank received £11,080 and cash £1,500, but turnover is £13,800. Under £90,000, they could send one expenses total of £3,000 instead.

What this means for you

A mistake is fixed in your records and carried by the next update. If you must use MTD, a late update can earn a point from 2027-28 (joined April 2026) or 2028-29 (joining April 2027, per the 28 October 2026 Budget); 4 points bring a £200 penalty. Compare MTD software for decorators, or see who can send updates for you.

Steps to send your update as a decorator

1. Add every cash job from your diary, in full.
2. Collect builders' statements for deductions taken, and chase any missing.
3. Record homeowner jobs in full, and CIS payments gross with the deduction noted.
4. Record paint and paper receipts, leaving out anything customers supplied.
5. Record kit, such as brushes and ladders, and van costs.
6. Check turnover against your invoices and statements, not your bank.
7. Send the update from your software by the deadline.
8. After the fourth update, check the CIS deductions HMRC adds to your tax return, then submit by 31 January.

The free MTD check shows when you start, and the trades section has more guides on CIS and MTD.