Making Tax Digital for landlords: what changes in April 2027?
Short answer
If your rent plus any self-employment turnover was over £30,000 in 2025 to 2026, you use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax from 6 April 2027. You keep digital records of rent and property costs, send quarterly updates and send your tax return through compatible software.
Rent before expenses decides
Qualifying income uses rent received, not profit. Mortgage interest, repairs and agent fees do not bring you under the threshold (GOV.UK).
Jointly owned property
Count only your share. HMRC's example: a property owned with your sibling earns £50,000, split equally; your qualifying income is £25,000 (GOV.UK).
For a jointly let property your quarterly updates may hold income only. You then add the expenses before the tax return by resending your fourth update (GOV.UK).
Foreign property and non-residents
If you are UK tax resident, foreign property income counts towards the threshold too. If you are not UK resident, only UK property and self-employment income on your UK return count (GOV.UK).
Your records each quarter
- Rent received, by property business.
- Costs in the categories of the UK property pages (SA105): repairs, insurance, agent fees and so on.
- An update even for a quarter with nothing in it.
- Rent-a-Room income may mean resending the fourth update.
Octobooks keeps the books of UK sole traders and landlords and sorts every entry into the categories of the self-employment pages (SA103F) and the UK property pages (SA105). Its Making Tax Digital for Income Tax connection is built and runs end to end against HMRC's test service (the sandbox). Octobooks is not on HMRC's list of compatible software yet; we are working towards recognition. Until it is listed, send your updates and your return through a product that is on the list.
More questions
- What is qualifying income for Making Tax Digital?
- What are MTD quarterly updates, and when are they due?
- Which accounting software works for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax?