What is the best MTD software for joint property owners?

There is no single best product. On HMRC's software finder on 18 October 2026, 132 products for individuals were ready for UK property income. For joint owners, in our reading, what matters is how each handles your share.

Making Tax Digital for Income Tax (MTD) means keeping digital records, sending HMRC four quarterly updates a year and filing your tax return from compatible software. HMRC does not recommend any product. MTD applies to each person, not to the property: each owner who needs it signs up with their own Self Assessment user ID and password and sends their own updates.

Your landlord deadlines, handled

A compliance calendar for each property, with reminders before every certificate and your register deadline. Landlord Tax adds your Making Tax Digital figures and tax return, prepared for you to send.

Hold my place See Righto Landlord

Are you ready for Making Tax Digital? Check your start date and what to sort first. It’s free and takes a minute.

Only your own share of the rent counts towards the threshold. GOV.UK's example is a property owned with a sibling that brings in £50,000, shared equally, which counts as £25,000 for each owner. Add any rent from property you own alone and any self-employed turnover, all before expenses. If you are only told your share after expenses have been taken off, GOV.UK says HMRC assesses that figure. If the total was over £30,000 in 2025-26, MTD starts for you on 6 April 2027, unless you were over £50,000 in 2024-25 and should have started in April 2026.

If you are not married or in a civil partnership with your co-owner, HMRC's manual (PIM1035) says your share normally matches your ownership share, unless you actually agree a different split. Married couples and civil partners who live together are taxed 50:50 on property held in both names, even if they own unequal shares, unless a valid Form 17 is in place. The guide to how married couples split rent covers the form.

So two owners of one house can need different things. One may need MTD software from April 2027 while the other carries on with a normal tax return. The joint owner sign-up guide has worked examples.

Two joint-owner options your software should handle

GOV.UK, checked on 18 October 2026, gives joint landlords two easements, which you can use separately or together:

Simpler records. You only need digital records of your share, and you "do not need to link your digital records to the records of the other landlord". You can also keep less detailed records for the joint let: one record per income category each quarter, and one per expense category for the whole year.
Income-only updates. For jointly let property, each update can carry your share of income and expenses, or your share of income only. If you leave expenses out, GOV.UK says "you must report them after the end of the tax year", by resending your fourth quarterly update before you submit your tax return. Its record-keeping page also allows adjusting the category totals in your software instead.

In our reading, that gives three questions for any product. Can it record a percentage share? Can it send income only for the joint let while sending full figures for any property you own alone? Can it resend the fourth update with the year's expenses, or let you adjust the category totals? The finder has no filter for these, so check the vendor's own page or ask them. The quarterly update guide for joint owners walks through a year.

What the finder shows

We counted products for individuals that HMRC's finder listed as ready now for UK property on 18 October 2026. A product can appear in more than one row. We have not tested them.

What the finder listed as ready now	Products
UK property, for individuals	132
...with a free version	32
...that create digital records	108
...that bridge from a spreadsheet	74
...that agents can also use	80
...also ready for foreign property	77

Bridging is worth a look if you and your co-owner already keep one shared spreadsheet. In our reading, each owner can link bridging software to their own share, as long as the figures move by digital link and are not retyped. If an agent will send updates for both of you, check the product is listed as agent software. Our MTD software census has the full counts, and the free landlord software guide covers the limits of free versions.

What this means for you

Work out who needs MTD first. If only one of you does, only that person needs to sign up. If both do, you each need your own sign-up and your own connection to the software, even if you choose the same product.

Then agree who keeps the shared figures. HMRC's Property Income Manual says joint owners "should know who is keeping the records and have access to them", and each of you is personally responsible for your own share on your own return. In our reading, the income-only option suits owners whose co-owner or letting agent pays the bills. The broader landlord software comparison covers mortgage interest and the tax return.

Steps to choose software as a joint owner

Run the free MTD check on your own share, not the property total.
Confirm your share: 50:50 for married couples and civil partners living together unless Form 17 applies, otherwise your ownership or agreed share.
On HMRC's finder, filter for UK property and any other income you have, plus a free version or bridging if you want one.
On the vendor's own page, check it records a share of a jointly let property, sends income-only updates and lets you resend the fourth update.
Agree with your co-owner who keeps the shared figures and how each of you gets your share every quarter.
Each owner who needs MTD signs up and connects the software before 7 August 2027, the first deadline for April 2027 joiners.

There are more guides for co-owners in the landlord section.

Hold your place on the landlord waitlist

We’ll email you when Landlord Tax starts, with the founding-member price while it lasts. No payment is taken. Landlord Compliance is open now.

Questions people ask

Do my co-owner and I need one software subscription or two?

Each owner who needs MTD signs up separately and sends their own updates. Whether that means one subscription or two depends on the product, so ask the vendor whether it charges per person.

Does my co-owner have to use the same software as me?

No. GOV.UK says a landlord who jointly lets a property does not need to link their digital records to the other landlord's records. In our reading, that means each of you can use a different product.

Can I leave the joint property's expenses out of my quarterly updates?

Yes, for jointly let property only. GOV.UK says you must then report them after the end of the tax year, by resending your fourth quarterly update before you submit your tax return. Its record-keeping page also allows adjusting the category totals in your software instead.

Can one of us send the updates for both owners?

Each owner's updates go from their own MTD sign-up. If someone else is to send yours, GOV.UK's route is an agent: the agent uses an HMRC agent services account to ask you to authorise them, and you accept.

Is free software enough for a jointly owned let?

Often, if your affairs are simple. GOV.UK says free products are available for simple tax affairs, but there may be limits. Check the free version handles a share and sends the tax return.

Sources

This is general information to help you understand the rules. It isn't tailored to your circumstances, so check your own position before acting on it.

Righto Landlord is a trading name of NJG Consultancy Ltd, registered in England and Wales, company number 16095900. Registered office: Jubilee House, East Beach, Lytham St Annes, FY8 5FT.

What happens next

Use the free Making Tax Digital checker to see your own start date and deadlines.
See what Righto Landlord does for you, and join the waitlist.
Questions about this page? Email hello@rightolandlord.co.uk.