Correcting a Submitted Quarter
What this is
If you find a mistake after filing, you do not amend the old submission; you submit the quarter again with the right figures. Because every update is the year to date, the new submission simply replaces what HMRC holds. The earlier submission stays in Past submissions for your records.
How to correct a quarter
- Fix the figures in your workbook. Keep them cumulative: the year to the end of that quarter.
- Open Quarterly updates and choose the same business and quarter. A filed quarter can be chosen again for a corrected upload.
- Upload the corrected workbook, check Smart Map’s mapping, and continue to Review & Submit.
- Confirm the period on the review card is the one you meant to correct.
- Tick the declaration and click Submit to HMRC.
- In Past submissions, the new row for that quarter is marked Latest; the earlier row remains.
Things to know
- You cannot go back further than your last filed period. HMRC rejects a submission whose period ends before the latest one it holds (“you cannot submit for an earlier period than your last submission”). If Q3 is filed and Q2 was wrong, correct the year-to-date figures by submitting Q3 again.
- Corrections after the year is finalised are different. Once the year has been finalised with HMRC, quarterly resubmissions no longer apply; that is an amendment to the year, outside the quarterly journey.
- The receipt for the correction is a new receipt. Keep both if you need to show what changed and when.
- Agents: the correction is filed under the same authorisation and appears against the client in the workspace.
FAQ
Will HMRC penalise a correction?
Correcting a quarterly update is normal and expected. Late-submission points relate to missing the deadline, not to corrections. See The Penalty-Free Period.
Can I delete a submission?
No. HMRC has it. Submit the quarter again with the correct figures; the new figures replace the old ones.
I submitted the wrong business.
Submit the right business’s quarter with its correct figures. For the business that received the wrong figures, submit its quarter again with its true year-to-date figures (zeros if it had nothing to report).