Making Tax Digital for UK landlords from April 2026
Last updated 26 Oct 2026
UK landlords whose qualifying income was over £50,000 in 2024 to 2025 must use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax from 6 April 2026. The threshold falls to £30,000 from 6 April 2027 and £20,000 from 6 April 2028. It is an HMRC scheme, so the rules are the same in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Once you are in, you keep digital records, send four quarterly updates and submit your tax return, all from compatible software. Every figure below is taken from GOV.UK and linked to the page it came from.
Making Tax Digital threshold for landlords
GOV.UK says you must use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax if you are a sole trader or landlord registered for Self Assessment, you get income from self-employment or property, and your qualifying income is over the threshold for the tax year.
| Qualifying income over | Measured on the tax year | You must use it from |
|---|---|---|
| £50,000 | 2024 to 2025 | 6 April 2026 |
| £30,000 | 2025 to 2026 | 6 April 2027 |
| £20,000 | 2026 to 2027 | 6 April 2028 |
If your qualifying income is £20,000 or less, GOV.UK's exemptions page says you are automatically exempt. HMRC checks each Self Assessment return and writes to you if you must start. If no letter comes, checking is still your responsibility.
What counts as qualifying income
Qualifying income is your total self-employment and property income before expenses, also called turnover. It is not your profit.
- Rent plus self-employment: the two are added. GOV.UK's example is £25,000 of rent plus £27,000 of self-employment income, giving qualifying income of £52,000.
- Not counted: employment (PAYE) pay, your share of a partnership's profit, dividends, the State Pension and private pensions.
- Foreign property: for a UK tax resident, UK and foreign property income both count. For someone not UK resident, only UK property income and the self-employment income on their UK return count.
- Part-year lets: if you get property income for only part of the year, you annualise it yourself to work out your qualifying income.
Making Tax Digital for joint property owners
Only your share counts. If you and a sibling own a property equally and it earns £50,000, each of you has £25,000 of qualifying income, so with no other self-employment or property income neither of you is in from April 2026. If you are only told your share after expenses, HMRC uses that net figure.
Joint landlords get two simplifications. GOV.UK's quarterly update guidance lets you send income only for a jointly let property during the year. You then add the expenses by resending your fourth update before you submit your tax return. You do not need to link your records to the other owner's records.
Partnerships do not need to use Making Tax Digital yet; GOV.UK will publish their timeline later.
Exemptions and how to apply
Some exemptions are automatic, so you do nothing. The exemptions page lists them. For landlords the most common are:
- qualifying income of £20,000 or less
- no National Insurance number before the start of the tax year
- acting as the personal representative of someone who has died
- having the SA109 residence page on your 2024 to 2025 return, for example as a non-resident landlord, which exempts you for 2026 to 2027
You must apply if you are digitally excluded: your age, health or disability stops you using a computer, tablet or phone, your religious beliefs are incompatible with digital records and you do not use a computer, tablet or phone, or you cannot get internet access at home or work. HMRC will not accept an application whose only reason is that you filed on paper before, are unfamiliar with software, have few records, or would face extra time or cost.
To apply, call or write to HMRC's Self Assessment general enquiries. Give your National Insurance number, name and address, and why you think you are exempt. HMRC aims to reply within 28 calendar days, and you can appeal a refusal within 30 days of the letter. If you must start on 6 April 2026 or 6 April 2027, you can apply now. If you start on 6 April 2028, apply from summer 2027.
Exempt landlords still file a Self Assessment tax return as normal.
Digital records you must keep
You must keep digital records of your property income and expenses in compatible software. For each record, GOV.UK says to record the amount, the date, and the Self Assessment category.
- One UK property business: all your UK properties, including your share of joint lets, count as one business. You do not need separate records for each UK property.
- Foreign property: you keep separate records for each foreign property, which the software adds up into one update.
- Spreadsheets are allowed: bridging software can read records you keep in a spreadsheet and send them to HMRC. Once a record has gone to HMRC in an update, you must not copy or paste it into other software by hand.
- Keep the paperwork: you still keep the bank statements, invoices and receipts you used, as you do for Self Assessment now.
Quarterly update deadlines
A quarterly update is a summary of your income and expense totals for the tax year so far, not a tax return. GOV.UK sets these periods and deadlines. Software uses standard periods unless you pick calendar periods before your first update.
| Standard period | Calendar period | Update deadline |
|---|---|---|
| 6 April to 5 July | 1 April to 30 June | 7 August |
| 6 April to 5 October | 1 April to 30 September | 7 November |
| 6 April to 5 January | 1 April to 31 December | 7 February |
| 6 April to 5 April | 1 April to 31 March | 7 May (the following tax year) |
For 2026 to 2027, the first year for landlords over £50,000, the deadlines are 7 August 2026, 7 November 2026, 7 February 2027 and 7 May 2027. You must still send an update for a quarter with no income or expenses. You can send an update up to 10 days before a period ends if you expect no more transactions.
Submitting your tax return (the final declaration)
After the fourth update you make any adjustments, add your other income, and submit your tax return from the software by 31 January after the tax year ends. GOV.UK calls this step "submit your tax return"; some software providers still call it the final declaration. The 2026 to 2027 return is due by 31 January 2028.
The year before you join is unchanged: a landlord who starts on 6 April 2026 still files the 2025 to 2026 Self Assessment return as normal, by 31 January 2027.
Making Tax Digital penalties
The new penalties apply from the tax year you join.
- Late updates in 2026 to 2027: there are no penalty points for late quarterly updates. Late tax returns still get a point.
- From 2027 to 2028: each missed update or return deadline gets one point. At 4 points you pay £200, then £200 for each further missed deadline.
- One point per deadline: you get one point however many businesses' updates are late on the same date.
- Points expire: below 4 points, each point is removed 24 months after the missed deadline.
- Late payment: for tax owed for 2026 to 2027, paying 16 to 30 days late costs 3% of the tax owed at day 15. Paying 31 days or more late costs 3% at day 15 and 3% at day 30, plus 10% a year from day 31. For 2027 to 2028 the 3% rates become 4%.
- First year: late payment penalties start after 30 days instead of 15.
What HMRC-recognised software means
Compatible software must create and store your digital records, send quarterly updates and submit your tax return. One product can do all three, or a record-keeping product can work with bridging software. As a landlord you can only use one product to send the quarterly updates for your property income.
Every product in HMRC's software finder has been through HMRC's recognition process. HMRC does not recommend any of them. GOV.UK says free products exist for simple tax affairs but may limit use, for example by capping the number of transactions. Check that a product supports UK property, any foreign property and your other income before you sign up.
Once you are in, you can opt out if your qualifying income stays below the threshold for 3 tax years in a row, GOV.UK says.
What Letbook does and does not do
Letbook is not Making Tax Digital software. It does not keep income or expense records, send quarterly updates or file returns, and it is not in HMRC's software finder. For each property it tracks the safety checks your nation requires and their due dates, and it stores certificates on a dated timeline. It records the rent and each rent change, and emails you before each check is due. Use it alongside the HMRC-recognised software you choose. Sign up free.
Related guides: landlord allowable expenses and section 24, landlord software for 1 to 5 properties and rent increases by nation.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Making Tax Digital threshold for landlords? Qualifying income over £50,000 in 2024 to 2025 means you start on 6 April 2026. Over £30,000 in 2025 to 2026 means 6 April 2027, and over £20,000 in 2026 to 2027 means 6 April 2028.
Is the threshold based on rent before or after expenses? Before expenses. Qualifying income is your property and self-employment turnover added together, not your profit.
How does Making Tax Digital work for joint property owners? Only your share of the income counts towards your threshold. During the year you can send income only for a jointly let property and add its expenses before you submit your tax return.
When are the Making Tax Digital deadlines for landlords? Quarterly updates are due by 7 August, 7 November, 7 February and 7 May, and the tax return by 31 January after the tax year ends.
Has Making Tax Digital for landlords been delayed? No. GOV.UK says landlords with qualifying income over £50,000 in 2024 to 2025 should have started on 6 April 2026, and sign-up is still open.
Is there free Making Tax Digital software for landlords? GOV.UK says free products are available for people with simple tax affairs, though they may limit use, for example by capping transactions. HMRC's software finder lists products that have been through its recognition process.
Sources
- Find out if and when you need to use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax, GOV.UK (updated 26 March 2026)
- Work out your qualifying income for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax, GOV.UK (updated 11 September 2026)
- Find out if you can get an exemption from Making Tax Digital for Income Tax, GOV.UK (updated 28 May 2026)
- Apply for an exemption from Making Tax Digital for Income Tax, GOV.UK (updated 17 August 2026)
- Create digital records, GOV.UK (updated 16 July 2026)
- Send quarterly updates, GOV.UK (updated 16 October 2026)
- Submit your tax return, GOV.UK (updated 16 July 2026)
- Penalties for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax, GOV.UK (updated 30 March 2026)
- Choose the right software for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax, GOV.UK (updated 13 July 2026)
- Find software that works with Making Tax Digital for Income Tax, GOV.UK (updated 31 July 2025)
- If your circumstances change, GOV.UK (updated 7 September 2026)
Facts checked against these pages on 26 October 2026. Dates relied on: Making Tax Digital for Income Tax starts on 6 April 2026, 6 April 2027 and 6 April 2028 for the three thresholds. This page is general information, not tax advice.