How do I submit a quarterly update to HMRC as an electrician?

Your software sends HMRC turnover and cost totals for the year so far, CIS and non-CIS jobs together, CIS pay before deductions in our reading. If you start in April 2027, your first update is due by 7 August 2027.

Making Tax Digital for Income Tax (MTD) asks sole traders in it for category totals each quarter, not receipts. An electrician's mix of work is what makes it tricky. A rewire for a builder may sit inside the Construction Industry Scheme (CIS), while a homeowner's fault call does not. Both go in the same update. Checked against GOV.UK and HMRC's CIS manual on 18 October 2026. The general guide covers sending an update for everyone.

Who sends them, and when

You join when your qualifying income, which is self-employment and property income before expenses, goes over the line. Over £50,000 in 2024-25 meant starting on 6 April 2026. Otherwise, over £30,000 in 2025-26 means 6 April 2027, and failing that, over £20,000 in 2026-27 means 6 April 2028.

Calendar periods ending 30 June, 30 September, 31 December and 31 March have the same deadlines, chosen in your software before your first update of the year, then fixed for that year. You must still send an update after a quarter with no income or expenses.

Recording CIS and non-CIS jobs

Whether a job is in CIS changes how you are paid, not whether it goes in the update. HMRC's manual draws the lines:

• In CIS: installing a system, including a complete rewire, when a contractor such as a builder pays you.
• Out on their own: repairs and maintenance, such as rewiring a single defective circuit, and extensions, such as wiring additional sockets.
• Also out on their own: alarm or detection systems that only sound or show a warning. Fire detection that also sets off sprinklers is in.
• Mixed contracts: if any part of a contract is covered, every payment under it is caught, even on separate invoices. A repair with making good to the building, or wiring under a builder's contract for an extension, is caught.

A homeowner paying you direct is not a CIS contractor. The CIS guide for electricians sorts more jobs into in and out.

Record every job as income. For CIS jobs, HMRC's notes for the self-employment tax return pages say a subcontractor's turnover is the full amount before CIS deductions. GOV.UK says MTD uses the same categories as Self Assessment, so in our reading the gross figure from each monthly payment and deduction statement goes in, not the net amount your bank shows. Contractors who take a deduction must give you that statement within 14 days of the end of each tax month.

Materials

Contractors do not take the deduction from materials you paid for directly, and may ask for receipts. In our reading, the cable, consumer units and fittings you charge for are part of your turnover, and what you paid for them goes in "cost of goods bought for resale or goods used", which HMRC's notes say covers raw materials.

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

What stays out of the update

HMRC's technical specification for a self-employment update has a box for "other tax taken off trading income apart from CIS deductions", and no box for CIS itself. HMRC adds your CIS deductions to your MTD tax return. GOV.UK says you cannot claim a refund in it; you request one separately through HMRC online services, as the CIS refund guide explains.

A worked example

An electrician starts MTD on 6 April 2027. Between 6 April and 5 July 2027 he rewires a house for a builder: £6,000 labour plus £1,500 of materials he bought. The builder takes 20% from the labour only, £1,200. He also earns £3,200 from homeowners for fault calls and extra sockets, and £1,800 for a warning-only fire alarm under a separate contract, both paid in full, using £800 of parts. Van fuel costs £520.

His bank received £11,300, but his turnover is £12,500. This is an example only.

Mistakes and late statements

Each update covers the year so far, so you correct the digital record, or add a late monthly statement, and the next update carries the right totals. A change found after the fourth update may mean resending the fourth update before your tax return. The guide to correcting a quarterly update has the detail.

VAT is separate

If you are VAT registered, your VAT returns are separate: under Making Tax Digital for VAT you keep digital records and file them from software. GOV.UK says your penalty points for MTD for Income Tax are separate from your VAT points. The VAT return guide covers sending one.

What this means for you

If you must use MTD, a late tax return earns a penalty point from your first MTD year, and 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 brings a £200 penalty. The MTD software guide for electricians compares options.

Steps to send your update as an electrician

1. Collect every monthly payment and deduction statement for the period, and chase any missing.
2. Check each job against the CIS lines above, reading the whole contract.
3. Record CIS payments at their gross amount, with the deduction noted, and direct jobs at the full amount paid.
4. Record materials, van, tools and other costs with the amount, date and category.
5. After the period ends, check turnover against your statements and invoices, not your bank.
6. Send the update from your software 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.