Understanding Your Obligations

What this is

Obligations are the quarterly filing deadlines HMRC sets for your income sources under Making Tax Digital. Each obligation represents a period of time (typically a quarter) for which you must submit income and expense data. The Quarterly Statuses page shows all your obligations, their due dates, and whether they have been fulfilled.

What you see on screen

The Quarterly Statuses page at /app/quarterly-statuses shows:

• Obligations grouped by income source - each business or income source has its own set of quarterly obligations
• Period dates - the start and end date of each quarterly period
• Due date - when the submission must be made by
• Status badges for each obligation:
  • Open - data has not yet been submitted for this period. You need to upload and submit before the due date.
  • Fulfilled - you have submitted data and HMRC has accepted it. This quarter is complete.
  • Overdue - the due date has passed and no submission has been received by HMRC. Submit as soon as possible.
• A “Refresh from HMRC” button to sync the latest obligation data

How to check your obligations

View which quarters are due

1. Navigate to Quarterly Statuses in the sidebar
2. Review the obligations for each income source
3. Look for Open status badges - these are the quarters you need to file for
4. Check the due dates to prioritise which obligations need attention first

Start a filing for an open obligation

1. Note the income source and period for the open obligation
2. Go to Upload Quarterly Data in the sidebar
3. Select the matching obligation from the list
4. Upload your spreadsheet data and proceed through the filing steps

Refresh from HMRC

Click Refresh from HMRC to pull the latest obligation data. This is especially useful after submitting data, as it confirms HMRC has updated the obligation status.

Things to know

• Obligation dates come from HMRC. The period dates and due dates are set by HMRC based on your registration, not calculated by Aligned. Aligned simply displays what HMRC reports.
• Status updates after submission. When you successfully submit data for a period, the status should change from “Open” to “Fulfilled”. If it does not update immediately, use the refresh button.
• Overdue obligations can still be filed. Even if the due date has passed, you should still submit your data. HMRC may apply penalties for late submission, but filing late is better than not filing at all.
• Each income source has separate obligations. If you have both self-employment and UK property income, each has its own set of quarterly deadlines. They may have the same or different period dates.

FAQ

What are the standard quarterly deadlines?

For most taxpayers, the quarterly periods follow the tax year: 6 Apr - 5 Jul, 6 Jul - 5 Oct, 6 Oct - 5 Jan, 6 Jan - 5 Apr. Submissions are typically due one month after each period ends. See Quarterly Update Deadlines for the full schedule.

Why does my obligation still show as “Open” after I submitted?

HMRC may take a short time to update the status. Click Refresh from HMRC to check for the latest status. If it remains open, check your submission history to confirm the submission was successful.

Can I file early?

Yes. You can submit data for an open obligation at any time before the due date. Filing early does not affect your obligations for future quarters.