Business Detail

What this is

The business detail page shows an income source’s details and the quarters it owes for the selected tax year. It is also the one place to choose between standard and calendar update periods, which must be done before the first quarterly update of the year.

What you see on screen

Open it with View Details on the income sources page, or from a client’s Businesses card. The page shows the trading name and type at the top, then:

• Business Details - Business ID, Type, Trade (HMRC’s own description, self-employment only), Update Periods (Standard, Calendar or Not confirmed, with a Change link until the first update of the year is filed), Accounting Type (Cash Basis or Accruals (Traditional)), Trading Since and, for a closed business, Ceased
• Business Address - the address HMRC holds
• Foreign Properties, on a foreign property business only, from the 2026-27 tax year - the properties HMRC holds for this business in the selected year, each with its name, country code and HMRC property ID, and an Edit button and a Remove button. An Add property button sits at the top
• Obligations for the selected tax year - how many are fulfilled, open and overdue, and a row per quarter with its period, due date, status and an Upload Data button on the quarter that can be filed, plus Correct & Resubmit on the latest filed quarter that can still be corrected

If you are an accountant working under records access that the taxpayer granted you (View only or Manage my records), Change is shown but cannot be used, with the reason underneath it: “Records access does not allow changes at HMRC. Ask the account owner or their agent to make this change.” Upload Data is shown in the same way on the quarter that can be filed: the button is disabled, with the reason beside it: “Only the account owner or their agent can submit this update to HMRC.”

If your own HMRC connection has lapsed, the page shows none of this. In its place is Reconnect to HMRC, with “HMRC details for this business stay hidden until you reconnect.” and a Reconnect to HMRC button that opens the HMRC connection screen. Reconnect, then open the business again. This does not apply when you are working under records access the taxpayer granted you, because the business is read through that taxpayer’s own HMRC connection rather than yours.

If HMRC cannot return current details for a business already saved for this client, the page shows the saved details with a warning and a Try HMRC again button. Update period changes are unavailable until HMRC returns current details. The back control returns to where you opened the business from: ← Back to Businesses from the income sources page, or ← Back to Client when you opened it from a client’s Businesses card.

How to

Choose standard or calendar update periods

1. In Business Details, next to Update Periods, click Change.
2. In the Update Periods dialog choose Standard update periods (“Follow the tax year, 6 Apr - 5 Apr split into four periods”) or Calendar update periods (“Follow calendar months: Apr-Jun, Jul-Sep, Oct-Dec, Jan-Mar”).
3. Click Save Changes. aligned.tax records the choice with HMRC.
4. Wait about 10 seconds while the dialog says “Waiting for HMRC to update your quarters”. HMRC needs that long before it shows quarters with the new dates. aligned.tax then fetches them, checks they end on the new update periods’ dates, and reloads the page with the new dates. If HMRC still shows the old dates, the dialog says “HMRC is still updating your quarters. Checking again…” and tries once more about 10 seconds later.

If HMRC’s quarters cannot be fetched, or still show the old dates after that second try, the dialog says the dates shown may be the old ones and stays open until you click Close. Before you upload figures, choose Refresh from HMRC on Quarterly Statuses, so your upload is checked against the new dates.

The dialog reminds you: “Change must be made before your first quarterly update”. Once a quarter has been filed for the year the row shows Locked - submissions exist for the year. Under records access granted by the taxpayer, the dialog shows the same reason and Save Changes stays unavailable.

Start a quarter from here

Click Upload Data on the open quarter. The upload journey opens with that business and quarter chosen.

Under records access granted by the taxpayer, Upload Data is disabled, because a records grant cannot submit an update to HMRC. The account owner or their agent files the quarter.

If an earlier quarter was missed, you do not have to file it first. The open quarter’s row says its update also covers the missed one, because updates are cumulative, and the missed quarter’s row says sending it on its own is optional. For the 2026-27 tax year there is no penalty point for the missed deadline. For 2027-28, if you joined MTD in April 2026, HMRC may still give a penalty point for the missed deadline; the government has said people required to join in April 2027 will not get points for 2027-28 quarterly updates. Once a later quarter has been sent, an earlier quarter it covers shows Upload Data disabled with “Covered by your later update. HMRC can take up to an hour to show it as fulfilled.”

Add, rename, end or remove a foreign property

HMRC needs each foreign property registered with it before you report figures for it.

1. To add one, click Add property, enter a Property name unique to that country and the three-letter Country code (for example FRA for France), then click Create property. HMRC gives the property an ID that every submission uses.
2. To rename one, click Edit, change the name, then click Save changes.
3. To record that a property stopped earning income, click Edit, enter the End date as dd/mm/yyyy (it must fall within the selected tax year, and the dialog shows that year’s first and last day in the same form) and choose an End reason (“No longer renting the property out”, “Disposal (sold or otherwise disposed of)” or “Added in error”), then click Save changes. HMRC needs both together. The property shows Ended with the date as dd/mm/yyyy.
4. To remove one added by mistake, click Remove, then Remove again in the question that opens beside it (“Remove name from HMRC?”). HMRC has no delete, so aligned.tax records the property as added in error on the day HMRC recorded it, shown as dd/mm/yyyy, which is what HMRC asks for. The property shows Removed (added in error).
5. To undo an end or a removal, click Edit (Edit or reinstate on a removed property), click Clear the end date and reason (reinstate the property), then Save changes.

If HMRC refuses a change, its reason shows in the dialog or beside the question, for example that a property with that name already exists in that country, or that the amendment window for the year has closed. Nothing changes at HMRC until it accepts. A property added in an earlier tax year cannot be removed from a later year’s list; the row says which year to switch to.

Correct a quarter you have already filed

Click Correct & Resubmit on the latest filed quarter. The upload journey opens on that quarter so you can upload a corrected year-to-date workbook. Full steps are in Correcting a Submitted Quarter.

Reviewers do not see the button, and neither do holders of records access granted by the taxpayer, because neither can start an upload.

Things to know

• Current details come from HMRC when available. If HMRC cannot return them, aligned.tax labels its saved copy and shows when it was last synced. To correct a name, address or accounting type, update it with HMRC; aligned.tax shows the change after Refresh from HMRC on the income sources page.
• Calendar update periods suit a 1 April to 31 March accounting period. HMRC’s guidance is that all other accounting periods, including the standard tax year, use standard update periods. Calendar periods change the dates each quarter covers but not the deadlines.
• The accounting type decides which figures HMRC expects. Cash basis and accruals use different HMRC fields; Smart Map and the review screen follow whichever HMRC holds for the business.
• Quarters are cumulative whatever the period type: every update covers from the start of the year to the end of that quarter. See Cumulative Quarterly Updates.
• The obligations here follow the tax year in the header. Change the year to see another year’s quarters.

FAQ

Why can I not change the update periods?

Either a quarterly update has already been filed for this business in the selected tax year, so HMRC has fixed the periods for the year, or you hold records access granted by the taxpayer, which does not allow changes at HMRC. Where a quarter has been filed, the choice opens again for the next tax year. Where it is your access, the page shows the reason under Change.

Why is Upload Data greyed out on the open quarter?

You hold records access granted by the taxpayer, which can view and prepare records but cannot send an update to HMRC. The reason shows beside the button. The account owner or their agent submits the quarter.

The page asks me to reconnect to HMRC instead of showing the business.

Your HMRC connection has lapsed, and everything on this page comes from HMRC, so nothing is shown until the connection is restored. Click Reconnect to HMRC, authorise aligned.tax with HMRC again, then open the business from your income sources. If you are working under records access granted by the taxpayer, their connection is used, so you will not see this.

Why is there no Delete for a foreign property?

HMRC does not delete foreign properties. A property added by mistake is ended with the reason “Added in error”, dated the day it was added, and Remove does exactly that. A removed or ended property stays on the year’s list and does not appear in later years. You can reinstate it from Edit until HMRC’s amendment window for the year closes.

Why does only one filed quarter offer Correct & Resubmit?

HMRC only accepts a replacement for the latest period it holds for a business in a tax year, so the button sits on that quarter alone. It is not offered for an earlier quarter. Once the tax year’s return has been sent to HMRC (HMRC has crystallised the year’s calculation, or the final declaration for the year has been sent), that year’s quarterly updates cannot be corrected on their own either: the button is shown but unavailable, and the reason on screen explains that the figures can then only change by amending the year’s return.

The business shows as ceased. Do I still need to file?

Only for periods up to the cessation date. HMRC stops issuing obligations after it.

The page shows a warning that HMRC could not return current details.

The business is saved for the selected client, but HMRC did not return its current details. Click Try HMRC again, or return to the business list and click Refresh from HMRC. The saved details may be out of date until a refresh succeeds.