How do I submit a quarterly update to HMRC as an accidental landlord?

Only if your rent is over the line; your salary does not count. Your software then sends rent and cost totals for the tax year so far, mortgage interest apart. For 2027 joiners, the first is due 7 August 2027.

An accidental landlord lets out a home they used to live in, perhaps after moving in with a partner or taking a job elsewhere. Under Making Tax Digital for Income Tax (MTD), a quarterly update is a summary, not a tax return. This page follows GOV.UK and HMRC as checked on 18 October 2026. The landlord guide lists every category.

Do you need to send updates?

Qualifying income is your rent, or your share of it, plus any self-employed turnover, before expenses. Wages, dividends and pensions are left out. GOV.UK says qualifying income of £20,000 or less is an automatic exemption.

A single let at £1,400 a month is £16,800 a year, so on its own it is under every line. A let at £2,600 a month is £31,200, so if that was your 2025-26 rent and you were not over £50,000 in 2024-25, you start on 6 April 2027. If this let is your only UK property and it started part-way through the year, in our reading your accounting period was shorter than 12 months, and GOV.UK says landlords then scale their rent up to a full year themselves. If you already let other UK property all year, in our reading nothing is scaled up.

When your updates are due

You can choose calendar periods ending 30 June, 30 September, 31 December and 31 March instead, with the same deadlines. Each update covers the tax year so far.

What goes in for a former home

Mortgage interest gets a basic rate tax reduction rather than a deduction, so it is kept apart from your other expenses.

The simpler option under £90,000

If your UK property turnover is under £90,000, as a single let's usually is, GOV.UK lets you record each item as just income or an expense. HMRC's record-keeping direction says you then send a total for income and a total for expenses. Residential finance costs must still be recorded and sent separately.

A worked example

Sam has let his old flat through an agent at £2,600 a month since before April 2025, so his 2025-26 rent was £31,200 and he starts on 6 April 2027. His first update covers 6 April to 5 July 2027 and he uses the simpler option.

The agent paid Sam £6,864 after its fees, but his rent is £7,800. This is an example only.

What this means for you

If you must use MTD, a late update can earn a point from 2027-28 (joined April 2026) or 2028-29 (joining April 2027, per the 28 October 2026 Budget); 4 points bring a £200 penalty. If you move back in or sell, and the let was your only qualifying income, GOV.UK says to tell HMRC the date the rent stopped, by the update deadline for that quarter, and send that quarter's update. A mistake is fixed by correcting the record, and the next update carries the right totals.

Steps to send your update

1. Check you are over the line, counting only your rent and any self-employed turnover.
2. Ask your letting agent for monthly or quarterly statements.
3. Record the full rent and each fee and cost with its date and category.
4. Record only the interest from your mortgage, as its own record.
5. After the period ends, check the year-to-date totals against the statements.
6. Send the update from your software by the deadline, even after a quarter with no tenant.
7. After the fourth update, make any year-end adjustments, then submit your tax return by 31 January.

The free MTD check works out your qualifying income from your share of the rent, and the accidental landlord sign-up guide explains the test. There are more guides in the landlord section.