Landlords whose gross rental income, plus any self-employment income, is over £50,000 have had to use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax since 6 April 2026. The threshold falls to £30,000 from 6 April 2027 and £20,000 from 6 April 2028. You keep digital records of rents and expenses, send HMRC a summary every quarter through compatible software, and file your tax return through the same software by 31 January. The test is gross rent before expenses, not profit.
Does MTD apply to you?
Add up your gross rents and any self-employment turnover for the test year. Do not deduct mortgage interest, repairs, agent fees or other costs.
| Gross property and self-employment income | Measured in tax year | MTD from |
|---|---|---|
| Over £50,000 | 2024 to 2025 | 6 April 2026 |
| Over £30,000 | 2025 to 2026 | 6 April 2027 |
| Over £20,000 | 2026 to 2027 | 6 April 2028 |
Example: a landlord with three flats earning £34,000 a year in rent and no other self-employment income is not in for April 2026, but is in from April 2027 if the 2025 to 2026 rents are over £30,000.
Employment income through PAYE, dividends and pensions do not count. If you are UK tax resident, foreign property income counts as well as UK rents.
Jointly owned property
Only your share of the income counts towards the threshold. If you and your partner own a let property equally and it earns £40,000 a year, each of you has £20,000 of qualifying income from it. If you only receive your share after expenses, HMRC uses that net figure.
Joint owners also get simpler record rules:
- You only keep records for your share of income and expenses.
- You can keep less detailed records, such as one record per category for each update period.
- You can leave joint expenses out of the quarterly updates, as long as you add them before you file your tax return.
- You do not need to link your records to the other owner's.
Records to keep for each property
Each income and expense record needs an amount, a date and a category. Keep separate records for each property business (UK property and foreign property are separate).
- Rent received and the date it arrived
- Letting agent statements and fees
- Repairs and maintenance
- Insurance, ground rent and service charges
- Mortgage interest statements (needed for the tax credit at year end)
- Utility bills and council tax you pay as landlord
- Legal and accountancy costs
If you use a letting agent, ask them for a statement each month or quarter that shows gross rent and each deduction separately. Recording only the net payment you receive makes the quarterly totals wrong.
Quarterly update deadlines
| Period (standard, from 6 April) | Deadline |
|---|---|
| 6 April to 5 July | 7 August |
| 6 April to 5 October | 7 November |
| 6 April to 5 January | 7 February |
| 6 April to 5 April | 7 May |
You can choose calendar quarters instead; the deadlines stay the same. Each update is a running total for the tax year, so you can fix a mistake in the next update. Send an update even if a quarter had no rent, for example when a property was empty.
Late quarterly updates do not earn penalty points in the 2026 to 2027 tax year. From 2027 to 2028, each late update earns a point and 4 points means a £200 penalty.
A simple routine for landlords
- Monthly: record rents received and costs paid, and match them to the bank statement.
- Monthly: file agent statements and receipts against each property.
- Quarterly: review the totals, check nothing is missing and send the update before the 7th.
- Year end: add mortgage interest, joint expenses and any other adjustments, then file the tax return by 31 January.
A separate bank account for lettings makes all four steps faster.
For support, see bookkeeping for landlords.
Frequently asked questions
My rental profit is £15,000 but gross rents are £32,000. Am I in?
Yes, from 6 April 2027 if your 2025 to 2026 gross rents are over £30,000. The threshold uses income before expenses.
I own a property jointly with my spouse. Do we both need MTD?
Each of you is tested on your own share. If your share of the rent plus any self-employment income is over the threshold, you need MTD; your spouse may not.
Does mortgage interest count as an expense in my quarterly updates?
Record it as part of your digital records. Mortgage interest is given as a tax credit at year end rather than deducted from rental profit, so check how your software handles it before filing.
Do I need an update for a quarter when the property was empty?
Yes. You must send an update even if there was no income or expense in that period.
Sources (reviewed 15 October 2026)
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