MTD chase emails you can copy
Four plain emails for getting quarterly records out of clients, and a calendar file with the days to send them. They’re free. There’s nothing to sign up for. Copy them, change them, put your name on them.
The emails
Curly brackets are yours to fill in. Take out anything a client doesn’t need: a client on a bank feed doesn’t need the line about statements.
Email 1. The first ask, once the period has ended
Subject: Your records for the {7 February} update
Hi {first name}, Your next Making Tax Digital update is due to HMRC by {7 February}. It covers everything up to {5 January}. Could you send me these by {date}? - Bank statements for every account the business uses - Sales invoices, or a note of what you were paid - Receipts for anything you paid for - {Your letting agent’s statements, if you have an agent} Don’t sort them. Photos and forwarded emails are fine. If something’s missing, send what you’ve got and tell me what’s still to come. Thanks, {your name}Email 2. The reminder, to whoever hasn’t sent them
Subject: Still need these for your {7 February} update
Hi {first name}, I haven’t had these from you yet: - {only what’s missing} Could you reply with them by {date}? I need them by then to get your update in on time. If you’ve already sent them, tell me when and I’ll find them. Thanks, {your name}Email 3. The last ask, a few days out
Subject: Last reminder: your update is due on {7 February}
Hi {first name}, Your update is due to HMRC on {7 February}, and I still can’t send it without: - {only what’s missing} Could you reply or ring me today, even if it’s only to tell me what’s held things up? Send me what you’ve got and we’ll work out the rest. Thanks, {your name}Email 4. After a missed deadline, for the 2026 to 2027 tax year only
Subject: Your {7 February} update hasn’t gone in
Hi {first name}, Your update was due on {7 February} and it hasn’t gone in, because I’m still waiting on your records. HMRC isn’t giving penalty points for late quarterly updates in the 2026 to 2027 tax year, so there’s no need to panic. It still has to be done, though: your updates have to go in before your tax return can. Could you send me these this week? - {only what’s missing} Thanks, {your name}
When to send them
The deadlines are HMRC’s, and they’re the same for standard and calendar update periods. The other dates are only our suggestion: the first ask just after the standard period ends, the reminder two weeks out, the last ask five days out, moved back to the Friday if they land on a weekend.
| Update due | Email 1 | Email 2 | Email 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sun 7 February 2027 | Wed 6 January 2027 | Fri 22 January 2027 | Tue 2 February 2027 |
| Fri 7 May 2027 | Tue 6 April 2027 | Fri 23 April 2027 | Fri 30 April 2027 |
| Sat 7 August 2027 | Tue 6 July 2027 | Fri 23 July 2027 | Mon 2 August 2027 |
| Sun 7 November 2027 | Wed 6 October 2027 | Fri 22 October 2027 | Tue 2 November 2027 |
Check your penalty wording
A reminder that says a client will get a penalty for a late quarterly update is wrong for this tax year. GOV.UK’s words:
HMRC will not apply penalty points for late quarterly updates during the 2026 to 2027 tax year.
That’s why email 4 is written the way it is, and why emails 1 to 3 don’t mention penalties at all. Penalty points still apply to late tax returns, and GOV.UK says the updates have to go in before the return can be submitted.
It changes for the 2027 to 2028 tax year, when GOV.UK says a missed quarterly update gets a penalty point. So rewrite email 4 before you use it for the August 2027 update, and check GOV.UK for how it treats any client who’s volunteering.
Before you use them
We aren’t accountants and this isn’t tax advice. We wrote these from GOV.UK’s guidance on 5 November 2026, so check them against GOV.UK and your own engagement letter.
No practice has run them yet, so we can’t give you a reply rate. If one of them works or falls flat, we’d like to know: info@chancelry.com.
If you’d rather nobody had to send them
Chasing is the sort of job Chancelry can set up for a practice, in its own email and systems. You don’t need that to use anything on this page.