How do I tell HMRC I'm a landlord?

If your rent is over £2,500 after expenses or £10,000 before, and you don't already send a tax return, register for Self Assessment by 5 October after the tax year. For 2026-27 rent, that is 5 October 2027.

You tell HMRC about rental income through Self Assessment, the yearly tax return. What you need to do depends on how much rent you receive in a tax year, which runs from 6 April to 5 April. If you own a property jointly, use your share.

What to do at each level of rent

If you already send a tax return, for example because you are self-employed, you do not register again. You add the rent on the UK property pages of your return.

What this means for you

Say you start letting a flat in June 2026 at £900 a month. By 5 April 2027 you have received £9,000, and after £1,500 of allowable costs your profit is £7,500. That is over £2,500, so you register for Self Assessment by 5 October 2027. Your first return, for 2026-27, is due online by 31 January 2028, and so is any tax.

If you had rental income in 2025-26 and do not usually send a return, the deadline to tell HMRC was 5 October 2026. That has passed. GOV.UK says you could get a penalty if you tell HMRC after that date, so register now. Your online 2025-26 return is due by 31 January 2027. If HMRC's notice to file is dated after 31 October 2026, you get 3 months from that date instead. The tax is still due by 31 January 2027.

Rent also counts towards Making Tax Digital, which already applies over £50,000 of qualifying income and extends to over £30,000 from 6 April 2027. The free MTD check shows whether you are affected.

Steps to tell HMRC

1. Add up the rent you received in the tax year, using your share if you own the property with someone else.
2. Take off your allowable expenses, such as letting agent fees, insurance and repairs, to find your profit.
3. Use GOV.UK's "check if you need to send a Self Assessment tax return" tool to confirm.
4. Register for Self Assessment on GOV.UK by 5 October after the tax year. If you registered in the past but did not send a return last year, you may need to reactivate your account instead.
5. If you are waiting for your Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR), use GOV.UK's tool to check when to expect a reply.
6. Keep records of your rent and costs, then send your return and pay any tax by 31 January after the tax year.
7. If you owe tax from earlier years, tell HMRC through the Let Property Campaign before it finds out another way.

After you register

Send your return on time. For a 2025-26 return sent late, HMRC charges £100 straight away, then £10 a day after 3 months, up to £900, and more at 6 and 12 months.

After your first year, you may also have to pay in advance. Unless your last bill was under £1,000 or more than 80% of it was collected at source, such as through PAYE, you make two payments on account towards the next bill, on 31 January and 31 July.

If you rent out more than one property

All your UK lets go on the same UK property pages of the return, which ask how many properties you let. In England, you will also need to register each let on the Private Rented Sector database, a separate government service that opens region by region from 15 December 2026. The landlord section has guides on both.