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

Your software sends HMRC turnover and cost totals for the year so far, builder jobs gross and homeowner and cash jobs in full. 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 roofer's quarter often mixes builder jobs inside the Construction Industry Scheme (CIS) with homeowner jobs paid in full. All of it goes in one update. Checked against GOV.UK and HMRC on 18 October 2026; the general guide covers everyone.

Who sends them, and when

You join when your 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 roofers 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. A quarter with no income or expenses still needs an update.

Jobs for builders: in CIS or not

CIS changes how you are paid, not what goes in the update. CIS 340 covers the repair of buildings, including replacing damaged parts. HMRC does not name roofing, so in our reading the lines fall like this, and the repairs guide sorts more jobs:

• In CIS: re-roofs, roof repairs, replacing broken tiles or slates, and leadwork, paid for by a builder or roofing contractor. A builder working for a homeowner still runs the scheme on what it pays you.
• Out on their own: routine clearing of gutters, and repairing a broken gutter, which HMRC's manual calls normally excluded because guttering is a drainage system.
• Mixed contracts: HMRC's manual says a payment under one contract to repair a broken gutter and replace broken roof tiles is caught in full.

HMRC's notes say a subcontractor's turnover is the full amount before CIS deductions, and MTD uses the same categories, so in our reading the gross figure on each monthly statement goes in, not what your bank shows.

Homeowner and cash jobs

CIS 340 says private householders are not contractors, so a homeowner pays you in full. Cash is business income like a bank transfer, so a £400 cash repair is £400 of turnover, as the cash jobs guide explains.

Tiles, lead and the materials rule

Contractors do not take the deduction from the direct cost of materials you paid for. HMRC's manual says direct cost means what you can show you paid, so in our reading any mark-up you add is deducted from, the same as your labour. For MTD, the tiles, slates, felt, lead and timber you charge for are turnover, and their cost goes in "cost of goods bought for resale or goods used", which HMRC's notes say includes raw materials.

Scaffold, skips, van and insurance

CIS 340 says plant you hire from a third party for the work, which includes scaffolding, can be treated as materials when a contractor works out the deduction; scaffold you own cannot. That changes the deduction, not your turnover. In our reading, scaffold and skip hire are costs of the job, and as HMRC's notes do not name equipment hire, both go in "other business expenses", which the notes say includes other sundry running costs. Paying a firm to erect scaffold can make you a CIS contractor, as the scaffolding guide explains.

Van fuel, insurance and servicing go in "car, van, and travel expenses", business share only, and in our reading public liability and tool insurance in "rent, rates, power, and insurance costs". The roofer expenses guide lists more.

Under £90,000 of turnover, 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 what an update holds, and CIS deductions are not on it. 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 roofers explains.

A worked example

A roofer starts MTD on 6 April 2027. By 5 July 2027 they have re-roofed a house for a builder: £5,500 labour, £2,200 for tiles, battens, felt and lead they bought for £2,000, and £800 for a tower hired from a hire shop, charged at cost. The builder takes 20% from £5,700, the labour plus the £200 mark-up, which is £1,140, and pays £7,360. Homeowners pay £6,400 for repairs, £600 of it in cash. Costs: merchant £1,500, scaffold hire £400, skips £300, van £700 and public liability insurance £250.

They received £13,760, but their turnover is £14,900.

What this means for you

A mistake is fixed 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 roofers, or see who can send updates for you.

Steps to send your update as a roofer

1. Collect builders' statements for deductions taken, and chase any missing.
2. Check each builder job against the CIS lines above.
3. Record CIS payments gross with the deduction noted, and homeowner and cash jobs in full.
4. Record merchant, hire and skip receipts, van costs and insurance against each job.
5. Check turnover against your invoices and statements, not your bank.
6. Send the update by the deadline, even after a quarter with no work.
7. 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.