Tool
MTD penalty calculator
Late submission works on points, and nothing is charged until you reach the threshold for your filing frequency. Late payment is separate, runs on its own clock, and is not forgiven by filing on time. Work out both.
Late submission — penalty points
One point per missed deadline, however many updates were due that day. At the threshold you are charged £200, and £200 again for every later late submission while you remain there.
Count deadlines, not submissions. Missing one date for both a trade and a property business is one point, not two.
- Points against threshold
- 4 / 4
- Late submission penalty
- £200.00
You are at the threshold, so points stop expiring on their own. To clear them you must file everything on time for 12 months and bring the previous 24 months of outstanding submissions up to date.
Late payment — the two stages
Nothing for the first 15 days. A first penalty of 3% of the day-15 balance from day 16, a further 3% of the day-30 balance from day 31, and a second penalty accruing daily at 10% a year from day 31.
The amount unpaid. Part payments reduce what each stage is charged on, so paying something always helps.
Counted from the payment deadline, not the filing deadline — they are separate obligations with separate penalties.
- First penalty
- £600.00
- Second penalty
- £2.74
- Total late payment penalty
- £602.74
Interest is charged on top of these and is not a penalty — it is the price of the delay. A Time to Pay arrangement stops further penalties but not the interest.
Illustration only — not tax, legal or accounting advice. Assumes the balance is unchanged between the day-15 and day-30 measurement points, and excludes interest.
MTD penalties, answered
- How many late submissions before I am charged?
- It depends on how often you file. The threshold is 4 points if you file quarterly, 5 if monthly and 2 if annually. Below it nothing is charged and each point expires on its own 24 months after the deadline it relates to. At the threshold you are charged £200, and a further £200 for every subsequent late submission while you remain there — so a quarterly filer late four times pays £200, and late a fifth time pays another £200.
- Does filing on time protect me if I pay late?
- No, and the reverse is the cheaper mistake. Late submission and late payment are separate regimes with separate charges. Filing on time and paying late costs you the payment penalties only; filing late and paying late costs both. If you cannot pay, file anyway.
- How do the two late payment stages work?
- Nothing is charged for the first 15 days. From day 16 to day 30 the first penalty is 3% of whatever was outstanding at day 15. From day 31 a further 3% of the day-30 balance is added to that first penalty, and a second penalty starts accruing daily at 10% a year on the outstanding balance. So an unchanged balance reaches 6% plus daily accrual rather than staying at 3%.
- How do I clear penalty points once I have reached the threshold?
- Points stop expiring individually once you are at the threshold. You must serve a full period of compliance — filing every return on time throughout, 12 months for quarterly filers, 6 for monthly and 24 for annual — and bring the previous 24 months of outstanding submissions up to date. Only then do the points reset.
- Are MTD for Income Tax penalties different?
- The structure is the same, and the timing is not. The 2026/27 tax year runs with late-submission penalties switched off for missed quarterly updates, which is an easement on updates only: the updates still have to be filed, the Final Declaration carries its normal penalties, and late payment penalties and interest apply in full. From 6 April 2027 the points regime applies as it does elsewhere.