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Only if your rent, plus any self-employed income, is over the threshold before expenses. Your salary does not count. Over £30,000 of rent in 2025-26 means Making Tax Digital from 6 April 2027.
This is the most common question from employed landlords, because many assume HMRC adds everything together. For Making Tax Digital for Income Tax (MTD), it does not. GOV.UK's qualifying income guidance, checked on 16 October 2026, lists employment pay as a source that does not count.
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.
Are you ready for Making Tax Digital? Check your start date and what to sort first. It’s free and takes a minute.
What counts and what does not
| Counts towards MTD | Does not count |
|---|---|
| Rent from UK property, before expenses | Wages and salary taxed through PAYE |
| Rent from overseas property, if you were UK resident | State Pension and private pensions |
| Self-employed turnover, before expenses | Dividends, including from your own company |
| Your share of a jointly owned property | Your share of partnership profit |
Three employed landlords
| Salary | Rent in 2025-26, before costs | Qualifying income | MTD from |
|---|---|---|---|
| £45,000 | £34,000 | £34,000 | 6 April 2027 |
| £80,000 | £24,000 | £24,000 | Not April 2027; April 2028 if 2026-27 rent is also over £20,000 |
| £60,000 | £18,000 | £18,000 | Not April 2027; exempt while it stays at £20,000 or less |
The thresholds are £50,000 from 6 April 2026, £30,000 from 6 April 2027 and £20,000 from 6 April 2028. Each is "over", so exactly £30,000 does not bring you in for April 2027. HMRC tests the return two years earlier: your 2025-26 return decides April 2027.
The second landlord is the one to watch. With rent of £24,000, nothing changes in April 2027, but the £20,000 line applies from April 2028, tested on the 2026-27 return.
Your salary still matters for the tax bill
Salary does not decide whether you join MTD, but it decides how much tax you pay on the rent. Rental profit is added to your other income. From 2027-28, in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, property income has its own rates of 22%, 42% and 47%, and your personal allowance is used against your wages first. Outside Scotland, a landlord earning £45,000 from a job has £5,270 of the basic rate band left before £50,270, so from 2027-28 the first £5,270 of rental profit is taxed at 22% and the rest at 42%.
You still file one tax return a year. Under MTD you also send quarterly updates, but only for your rental income. Your employer keeps reporting your pay through PAYE.
Telling HMRC about the rent
Even if MTD does not apply, rent still has to be reported. GOV.UK sets three levels. Up to £1,000 a year is covered by the property allowance. Between £1,000 and £2,500, you contact HMRC. You must file a Self Assessment return if your rental income is more than £2,500 after allowable expenses, or more than £10,000 before them. If you do not usually send a return, you must register by 5 October after the tax year in which you had the rent.
Many employed landlords file a return already. If you do, the rent goes on the UK property pages and nothing else changes until MTD reaches you.
What this means for you
If your job pays well but your rent is modest, MTD may not apply to you at all. If your rent alone is over £30,000 before costs, you join in April 2027 whatever your salary. The first quarterly update would be due by 7 August 2027.
Do not use profit. A landlord collecting £32,000 who spends £14,000 on agents, repairs and insurance still has £32,000 of qualifying income.
Steps to check if MTD applies
- Find your 2025-26 gross rent, before any expenses, from your agent statements or bank.
- Use only your share of anything you own jointly.
- Add any self-employed turnover. Leave out salary, pension and dividends.
- Compare the total with £30,000 for April 2027, and keep an eye on £20,000 for April 2028.
- File your 2025-26 return by 30 December 2026 if you want any balance collected through your tax code, or by 31 January 2027 at the latest.
- Run the free MTD check to confirm your date, and see the landlord section for what to do next.
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
Does my salary count towards the Making Tax Digital threshold?
No. GOV.UK lists employment (PAYE) income among the sources that do not count. Only self-employment and property income before expenses make up your qualifying income.
I earn £70,000 from my job and £12,000 in rent. Do I need MTD?
Not on those figures. Your qualifying income is the £12,000 of rent, which is under £20,000, the lowest threshold. You still report the rent on a tax return each year.
Does my pension count?
No. State Pension and private pensions are excluded, as are dividends, including from your own company.
Can the tax on my rent be collected through my tax code?
For 2025-26, yes if you file your online return by 30 December 2026 and the balance qualifies. Otherwise the tax is due by 31 January 2027.
My partner and I own the rental jointly. What counts?
Only your own share of the rent. GOV.UK's example is £50,000 of rent split equally, which counts as £25,000 for each owner.
Sources
- Work out your qualifying income for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax (GOV.UK)
- Find out if and when you need to use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax (GOV.UK)
- Self Assessment tax returns: deadlines (GOV.UK)
- Renting out a property: Paying tax (GOV.UK)
- Change to tax rates for property, savings and dividend income: technical note (GOV.UK)
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.