Standard and calendar quarters
When you submit quarterly updates to HMRC, you'll use either standard quarters or calendar quarters. For most property landlords, standard quarters are the right choice.
Standard quarters (default)
Standard quarters align with the tax year and run from 6 April to 5 April:
| Quarter | Period covered | Deadline |
|---|---|---|
| Q1 | 6 April to 5 July | 7 August |
| Q2 | 6 April to 5 October | 7 November |
| Q3 | 6 April to 5 January | 7 February |
| Q4 | 6 April to 5 April | 7 May |
Remember that quarterly updates are cumulative — each update reports your income and expenses from 6 April to the end of that quarter. See What is a quarterly update? for more detail.
This is the default for all property businesses and you don't need to change it.
Calendar quarters (rare for property landlords)
Calendar quarters align with calendar months and run from 1 April to 31 March:
| Quarter | Period covered | Deadline |
|---|---|---|
| Q1 | 1 April to 30 June | 7 August |
| Q2 | 1 April to 30 September | 7 November |
| Q3 | 1 April to 31 December | 7 February |
| Q4 | 1 April to 31 March | 7 May |
HMRC introduced calendar quarters for businesses that keep accounts running from 1 April to 31 March. This is rare for property landlords.
Note
In your first year of using calendar quarters, Q1 runs from 6 April to 30 June. Subsequent years start from 1 April. See HMRC's guidance for full details.
If your property business uses the standard tax year (6 April to 5 April), stick with standard quarters. Calendar quarters don't reduce workload or complexity — they just introduce another date pattern to remember.
Changing to calendar quarters in Provestor
Provestor supports both standard and calendar quarters. If you need to switch to calendar quarters:
- Choose your first quarterly update (Q1) from the business workspace sidebar
- You'll see a message asking if you want to change your quarterly reporting type
- Choose Calendar quarters
- Provestor will notify HMRC of the change
Important: You can only change this before you've submitted your first quarterly update for the tax year. Once you've sent Q1, the setting is locked for that year.
To switch back to standard quarters, follow the same steps and choose Standard quarters before submitting your first update.
Which should I use?
Use standard quarters unless you have a specific reason to use calendar quarters (such as a self-employment business with a 1 April to 31 March accounting period running through Provestor).
For full details on calendar quarters and when they apply, see HMRC's guidance on quarterly updates.