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Making Tax Digital Checker for Landlords

Our free checker helps you work out whether Making Tax Digital for Income Tax applies to you, and when you need to start.

Making Tax Digital (MTD) is changing how landlords report rental income to HMRC. Instead of a single Self Assessment return each year, you'll keep digital records, send quarterly updates and submit a final declaration using MTD-compatible software. It's being phased in by income level, so your start date depends on how much you earn from property and self-employment combined.

Enter your gross rental income and any self-employment income to see which phase you fall into. Your final position can be affected by jointly owned property, income from more than one source, the tax year HMRC uses to assess you, and whether any exemptions apply.

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Making Tax Digital for Landlords: What You Need to Know

MTD for Income Tax is now live for landlords with qualifying income over £50,000, with lower thresholds following in 2027 and 2028. Find out what's changing, what you need to do and how we can help.
Read the guide

What Counts as Qualifying Income?

HMRC looks at your gross income from property and self-employment before expenses, not your profit. Understand which income is included, which is not, and how jointly owned property is treated.
Find out more

Allowable Expenses Against Rental Income

Good digital records make it far easier to claim everything you're entitled to. See which costs can be set against your rental income and which cannot.
What's deductible

Let Us Do Your Quarterly Updates

Our Landlord Tax Return Service covers digital record keeping, quarterly submissions and your final declaration, all for a fixed fee. One less thing to keep on top of.
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Does MTD Apply to Limited Company Landlords?

MTD for Income Tax only applies to individuals. If you own property through a company, the rules are different. Compare personal and company ownership before you decide what's right for you.
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Need to Bring Rental Income Up to Date?

Moving to digital reporting is a good moment to make sure everything is in order. HMRC's Let Property Campaign may offer a route to rectify tax affairs if you have undeclared rental income from previous years.
Find out how
The following checker and commentary are provided solely for informational purposes. Please note that this information may not be current or complete and that it may only apply to certain landlords and income types in the UK. It does not constitute any form of advice.
UK PROPERTY TAX

Making Tax Digital Eligibility Checker

Check whether and when you need to join Making Tax Digital for Income Tax

Answer a few questions about your self-employment and property income. This checker is for sole traders and landlords and shows which start date is likely to apply to you and what to do next.

1. Who receives the income?

Making Tax Digital for Income Tax applies to individuals who are sole traders or landlords.

2. What was your qualifying income?

Enter your gross self-employment and property income before any expenses or allowances, including UK and overseas income and any sources that have since stopped. We add the two together for you. For jointly owned property, enter only your share. For 2024-25 and 2025-26 use the figures from your submitted Self Assessment return. For 2026-27 an estimate is fine. Leave a box blank if you have no figure.

2024-25 tax year
£
£
2025-26 tax year
£
£
2026-27 tax year (estimate)
£
£
3. Does any of the following apply to you?

Tick all that apply. These can change the answer.

Start dates

    How the test applied to your figures

    Tax year testedSelf-employmentPropertyTotalThresholdOver the threshold?

    Points to be aware of

      Suggested next steps

        Where these rules come from

        Thresholds and start dates: HMRC Self Assessment Legal Framework manual, SALF910 (qualifying amounts of £50,000 for 2024-25, £30,000 for 2025-26 and £20,000 for 2026-27 onwards, with start dates of 6 April 2026, 6 April 2027 and 6 April 2028). Qualifying income and exemptions: gov.uk guidance pages on working out qualifying income and on exemptions from Making Tax Digital for Income Tax. The three year rule for leaving is in SALF1440 of the same manual. Rules were last checked in October 2026 and HMRC may change them, so please confirm against gov.uk before acting.

        Not sure where you stand?

        Our property tax specialists can confirm whether Making Tax Digital for Income Tax applies to you, when it starts, what you need to have in place and how we can help.

        Contact us now

        Disclaimer

        This checker provides general information only and does not constitute tax, legal or financial advice. Results depend on the figures you enter and on HMRC guidance as understood in October 2026. Rules, thresholds and start dates may change, and your own circumstances may lead to a different outcome. HMRC makes the final decision on whether Making Tax Digital for Income Tax applies to you.

        No information you enter into this checker is stored or sent anywhere. Please take advice from a qualified adviser before making decisions about your tax position. To the fullest extent permitted by law, UK Landlord Tax (Thandi Nicholls Ltd) accepts no liability for any loss arising from reliance on the result shown.

        Key MTD dates and thresholds:

        Your start date depends on your qualifying income, which is what you earn from property and self-employment combined, before any expenses come off. Over £50,000 and you've been in since 6 April 2026. Between £30,000 and £50,000, your turn comes on 6 April 2027. Anyone over £20,000 joins from 6 April 2028.

        The bit that catches people out is timing. HMRC doesn't use this year's figures. It looks at the return you filed two years earlier, so it's your 2025/26 return that decides whether you're in from April 2027.

        What you'll need to do:

        Once you're in MTD you must keep digital records of your rental income and expenses using HMRC-recognised software, send a quarterly update for each property business by 7 August, 7 November, 7 February and 7 May, and submit a final declaration by 31 January following the end of the tax year. The quarterly updates are not tax returns and you won't pay tax at those points, but missing them earns penalty points under HMRC's points-based system, and enough points trigger a fine.

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        We will only contact you in relation to latest news & updates that we think will be of interest to you. We will not disclose your information to any third party and you can unsubscribe from our database at any time.

        MTD doesn't change how much tax you pay

        Making Tax Digital is about how you report, not what you owe. Your allowable expenses, finance cost relief and tax rates all stay the same. What changes is that you keep your records digitally and update HMRC through the year, rather than pulling everything together in January.
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        It's your total income that counts

        HMRC adds up the gross rent from all your properties, UK and overseas, plus any self-employment income. A few modest lets can push you over a threshold even when no single one would on its own.

        Start before you have to

        The landlords who find MTD easiest are the ones who get their records sorted early. Tidy digital records mean quarterly updates take minutes and your expenses are easy to back up. If you're joining in 2027 or 2028, running this year's figures through software now is a good way to iron out any problems first.
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        FAQs

        Making Tax Digital for Income Tax is HMRC's programme to move Self Assessment onto digital records and more regular reporting. Rather than gathering a year's worth of paperwork and filing one return, landlords in scope keep their records in compatible software as they go, send HMRC a summary every quarter and confirm the full year's figures in a final declaration. The idea is fewer errors and fewer surprises at the end of the year.

        If you're already using software or a spreadsheet to track your rental income, the shift is smaller than it sounds. If you're still working from a shoebox of receipts, now is the time to change that.

        Speak to an Expert

        Take a landlord with two flats let at £1,100 a month each. That's £26,400 a year in rent. After the mortgage, repairs and agent fees, their profit might only be £8,000, but HMRC looks at the £26,400. So while they're outside MTD today, they'll need to be ready by April 2028.

        If you also have self-employment income, add that on too. And if you'd rather get comfortable with the software before you have to, you can sign up voluntarily at any time.

        You'll need software that HMRC recognises as MTD-compatible. There are two main routes. Full record-keeping software stores your income and expenses and sends your updates straight to HMRC. Bridging software links a spreadsheet you already keep to HMRC's systems, which suits landlords who prefer to carry on working the way they do now. Either way, the software needs to be able to send your quarterly updates and final declaration digitally.

        If you'd rather not deal with any of it, our Landlord Tax Return Service includes digital records, quarterly submissions and your year-end declaration for a fixed fee. Get in touch on 0800 907 8633, via enquiries@uklandlordtax.co.uk or through our online contact form to speak to one of our specialist tax advisers.

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        For a clearer view of the numbers, read our Scottish landlord property-tax guide before you make your offer.

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