Making Tax Digital
When do landlords have to use Making Tax Digital?
Making Tax Digital for Income Tax (MTD ITSA) starts on 6 April 2026 for sole traders and landlords with combined gross income from self-employment and property above £50,000. The threshold drops to £30,000 from 6 April 2027 and to £20,000 from 6 April 2028, per HMRC's published timetable.
From the qualifying date, affected landlords must keep digital records of rental income and expenses, submit quarterly updates to HMRC through compatible software, and file a final declaration after the tax year. Joint property income, furnished holiday lets, and overseas property are all in scope. Companies and partnerships are out of scope for now.
Use the MTD Landlords tool to check whether your portfolio crosses the threshold, and pick MTD-compatible bookkeeping software well before April 2026.
What this means in practice
A landlord with three rental flats grossing £18,000, £14,500 and £19,000 (£51,500 combined gross) crosses the April 2026 threshold by £1,500. From 6 April 2026 they must keep digital records and submit four quarterly updates: 5 August (Q1), 5 November (Q2), 5 February (Q3) and 5 May (Q4), each within five weeks of the period end. The final declaration replaces the existing self-assessment return and is due by 31 January 2028. Mortgage interest, agent fees, repairs and insurance must be tagged to property categories defined by HMRC, not free-text descriptions.
Related questions
Does each property need a separate MTD account?
No. The taxpayer is the legal entity, not the property. A single individual with one property or twenty submits one combined property income figure per quarter, plus separate self-employment figures if they also trade. Joint owners (e.g. spouses) each submit their share through their own MTD account based on the legal beneficial split (50/50 by default for spouses, or per a Form 17 declaration for unequal splits). Ltd company landlords are out of scope and continue under Corporation Tax.
What MTD-compatible software should landlords use?
HMRC publishes a current list at gov.uk/find-software. For property landlords specifically, FreeAgent, Hammock, Landlord Studio, Coconut and Xero (with bridging software) are the most common. Spreadsheets remain permissible if combined with HMRC-approved bridging software that submits the data via API. Pure manual filing through the HMRC web form is not permitted under MTD — the submission must originate from compatible software.
Related reading
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