Making Tax Digital for landlords

Landlords are treated just like sole traders: once your rent and self-employment income together pass the threshold, you keep digital records and send quarterly updates.

When do landlords have to start?

You have to use Making Tax Digital if you are registered for Self Assessment, receive property income and your qualifying income is above the threshold:

Not sure? The MTD checker works it out for you.

What counts as qualifying income?

• Rent before expenses. The threshold is based on your gross income (turnover), not your profit.
• Plus self-employment income. Rent and income from self-employment are added together.
• Jointly owned property: only your share counts. If you only find out your share after expenses, HMRC uses that figure.
• Property abroad: if you are UK resident, foreign rental income counts too. If you are not UK resident, only the UK income you declare on your UK Self Assessment return counts.

Details and examples are on the qualifying income page.

Which records do you need?

For every income and expense you record the date, amount and category in your software, ideally soon after the transaction. Typical categories for landlords are rent, premiums for a lease, repairs, maintenance and other services. Keep the original documents or copies as well. You don't have to send them to HMRC.

If you keep your records in a spreadsheet, you can link it to bridging software. Once a record is in your records you must not copy and paste or retype it into other software. More on this under software and the tax return.

Jointly let property

For jointly let property you can create a single digital record for each category covering the income of the update period, instead of recording every payment. In your quarterly updates you can choose to send either income and expenses, or income only. If you leave the expenses out during the year, you add them by resending your fourth update before you submit your tax return.

What stays the same

Making Tax Digital doesn't change how you pay tax or when payments are due. You still submit a tax return by 31 January, now from your software. How the four quarterly updates work is explained in a separate guide.

Frequently asked questions

Does rent from a jointly owned property count towards the threshold?

Only your share counts towards your qualifying income. If you only learn your share after expenses, HMRC uses that figure.

Does rent from a property abroad count?

If you are UK resident, yes: foreign property income counts towards your qualifying income. If you are not UK resident, only the UK income you declare on your UK Self Assessment return counts.

Is the threshold based on rent or on profit?

On rent. Qualifying income is the amount before expenses, also called turnover.

Sources: GOV.UK: Check if you're eligible, GOV.UK: Work out your qualifying income (updated 11 September 2026), GOV.UK: Create digital records, GOV.UK: Send quarterly updates. Checked October 2026.