Published 14 September 2026 by Prop-Pocket Team
Making Tax Digital for landlords: deadlines, rules and what you need to do, from digital records and quarterly updates to your final declaration each year
A rent roll in a spreadsheet, repair invoices in an inbox and bank transactions waiting to be reconciled may have worked for one property. Under Making Tax Digital, that fragmented approach creates a much bigger compliance risk. Making Tax Digital for landlords: deadlines, rules and what you need to do comes down to one practical shift: keep your property income and expenses in digital records throughout the year, rather than rebuilding them for a Self Assessment return in January.
For many landlords, the change starts in the 2026-27 tax year. It does not change how much tax you pay, but it does change how and when you report information to HMRC. The landlords who prepare early will spend less time chasing figures, have cleaner accountant records and retain a clearer view of their real rental profit.
Making Tax Digital for Income Tax Self Assessment, often shortened to MTD for ITSA, applies to individuals with qualifying income above set thresholds. Qualifying income is your gross income from property and self-employment before expenses are deducted. It is not your taxable profit.
The rollout is phased:
If you have rental income of £35,000 and self-employment income of £20,000, your qualifying income is £55,000. Even if mortgage interest, repairs and other allowable costs reduce your eventual profit substantially, you would be in scope from April 2026.
For joint owners, each person considers their own share of the income alongside any self-employment income they receive. A property’s total rent is not automatically the figure that determines every co-owner’s position. This is one area where it is worth checking the detail with an accountant, particularly where ownership shares are unequal or have changed.
Limited companies are not included in MTD for Income Tax. Company landlords have separate Corporation Tax and filing obligations. Equally, being VAT registered does not by itself mean that a landlord is in scope for MTD for Income Tax.
MTD introduces quarterly updates, but it does not turn tax into a quarterly payment system. Your Self Assessment payment dates remain unchanged unless HMRC announces a future policy change.
For a landlord using the standard tax-year quarters, the reporting timetable is:
| Period | Quarterly update due by | |---|---:| | 6 April to 5 July | 5 August | | 6 July to 5 October | 5 November | | 6 October to 5 January | 5 February | | 6 January to 5 April | 5 May |
Your software may allow calendar quarters instead, provided it follows HMRC’s permitted reporting arrangements. The choice should be made for operational convenience, not just because one date looks easier. If most rent, mortgage and contractor records are reviewed monthly, a consistent monthly reconciliation routine makes either quarterly cycle manageable.
After the fourth update, you will complete a final declaration by 31 January following the end of the tax year. For the 2026-27 tax year, that deadline is 31 January 2028. This is where you confirm the information is complete, make year-end adjustments and report other taxable income, such as employment income, savings interest or dividends where required.
Tax remains due on the usual Self Assessment dates: generally 31 January, with a possible payment on account on 31 July. Quarterly updates give HMRC information during the year; they do not usually create four new tax bills.
The core rule is straightforward: records must be kept digitally in compatible software, with the required information transferred through digital links rather than manually retyped between systems.
For your property business, you need a clear digital record of income and expenses. In practice, that means recording the amount, date and category of each transaction, supported by invoices, statements and receipts. Rent received, letting-agent fees, repairs, insurance, service charges, accountancy fees and finance costs all need to be recorded accurately.
The quality of categorisation matters. A £1,200 boiler repair and a £1,200 kitchen upgrade may have very different tax treatment. Likewise, mortgage payments need separating into capital repayment and interest. The capital element is not normally an allowable rental expense, while finance costs may receive tax relief under the rules for residential landlords. Recording the entire mortgage payment as an expense can distort both your reported profit and your view of portfolio cash flow.
Keep the underlying evidence too. Digital records do not mean you can discard documentation the moment a transaction is entered. HMRC can ask for records, and clean supporting evidence is useful when a repair, deposit deduction or expense category is questioned later. As a general rule, Self Assessment records should be retained for at least five years after the 31 January submission deadline.
Most UK rental properties are treated as one UK property business for tax reporting. Overseas rental properties are treated separately. That distinction matters when you are setting up categories and reporting flows in software.
For landlords with HMOs, single lets and mixed ownership arrangements, the practical answer is to track each property separately even where the tax return combines UK property income. Property-level reporting shows which asset is carrying excessive repairs, suffering arrears or delivering a weaker yield. It also makes the tax totals easier to verify rather than harder to find.
A quarterly update is a snapshot of income and expenses recorded to date. It is not the same as filing a completed Self Assessment return every three months.
You can correct errors in a later update or deal with certain adjustments in the final declaration. That said, treating quarterly submissions as an opportunity to send rough figures defeats much of the value. Inaccurate records tend to create a January clean-up exercise, exactly the problem MTD is designed to reduce.
A better approach is to reconcile each bank account and review outstanding rent before every update. Check that rent due matches rent received, identify arrears separately from void periods, attach repair evidence and review uncategorised transactions. This gives you a reporting process that also improves day-to-day control of the portfolio.
Start by confirming whether you will cross the relevant qualifying-income threshold. Use the gross property income and self-employment figures on the tax return that determines your entry year, rather than an estimate of net profit.
Next, choose software that is compatible with MTD for Income Tax and can submit updates to HMRC. Your accountant may recommend a system, manage submissions for you or request a particular export format. The right choice depends on who does the bookkeeping, how many properties you own and whether you need more than tax reporting from the system.
Then migrate your records before the first mandatory period begins. Set up each property, tenant, rent schedule, mortgage and expense category. Bring opening balances and current-year transactions into order. The earlier this is done, the less likely you are to miss income or misclassify historic costs when deadlines arrive.
Finally, establish a monthly routine. Match bank transactions, record invoices, review maintenance costs and check rent status. A portfolio management system such as Prop-Pocket can help keep property-level income, costs, mortgage information and documents organised, while your MTD-compatible accounting software handles the required HMRC submission process.
HMRC recognises that digital reporting will not be practical for everyone. You may be able to apply for exemption if it is not reasonably practicable for you to use digital tools because of age, disability, location or another valid reason. Religious beliefs that are incompatible with using electronic communications can also qualify.
An exemption is not intended for landlords who simply prefer paper records or do not want to change an established spreadsheet process. If you think an exemption may apply, raise it with HMRC rather than assuming you can continue filing in the same way.
The useful mindset is not to treat MTD as another deadline to survive. Set up records that show what is happening across every property while the information is current. When your rent, repairs, mortgages and compliance documents are organised all year, the quarterly update becomes a routine check - and you have better information for decisions long before the tax deadline arrives.
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