Voice and visuals made with automated software, including AI.
Each joint owner counts only their own share of the rent. If your share, plus any other rent and self-employed income, was over £30,000 in 2025-26, you join Making Tax Digital on 6 April 2027, on your own.
Making Tax Digital for Income Tax (MTD) treats joint landlords as individuals. There is no joint sign-up and no joint update. GOV.UK and HMRC's manuals, checked on 16 October 2026, give joint owners two simpler record-keeping options and a rule for couples that decides how the rent is split.
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.
How your share is decided
| Who owns it | How the rent is split for tax | Where this comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Married couple or civil partners living together | 50:50, even if you own unequal shares | The 50/50 rule, TSEM9814 |
| Married couple with a Form 17 declaration | Your actual ownership shares, from the date of the declaration | Form 17 rule, TSEM9860 |
| Unmarried partners, siblings, friends | Normally your ownership share, or the share you actually agree | PIM1035 |
For couples, the Form 17 declaration must reach HMRC within 60 days of the date it was signed. HMRC's manual says the limit is strict and cannot be extended. A late form has no effect at all.
For other co-owners, HMRC's manual says the share for tax normally matches the share each person owns, but owners can agree a different split. The share used for tax must be the one actually agreed, and it should stay consistent unless something clearly changes.
Four joint owners in 2025-26
| Situation | Rent before costs | Your share | Over £30,000? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Married couple, flat let for £36,000, no Form 17 | £36,000 | £18,000 each | No |
| Married couple, Form 17 at 75:25 | £36,000 | £27,000 and £9,000 | No |
| Two siblings owning 60:40 | £60,000 | £36,000 and £24,000 | First sibling only |
| Unmarried partners 50:50, one also owns a flat alone with £10,000 rent | £48,000 joint | £24,000 + £10,000 = £34,000 for that partner | That partner only |
So one owner can be in MTD from April 2027 while the other is not. Each owner follows their own threshold and dates.
Two options that make joint records easier
HMRC's record-keeping direction lets joint landlords keep their share of rent as a single entry for each income category in each quarter, rather than every payment. Your share of expenses can be one entry per category for the whole tax year.
You can also send income-only quarterly updates for jointly let property. The expenses are added after the year ends, by resending your fourth update before you file your tax return. This suits owners whose co-owner or agent pays the bills.
Properties you own alone are not covered by these options and need full income and expense records.
What this means for you
Start with your own share, not the property's total rent. For many married couples a 50:50 split keeps each person under £30,000, so April 2027 may not apply to either of you. But the £20,000 threshold arrives in April 2028, and a £50,000 rent split equally is £25,000 each.
You remain personally responsible for putting your share on your own return, even if your co-owner keeps the books. HMRC's manual says you should know who keeps the records and have access to them.
Steps for joint owners
- Confirm how the rent is split: 50:50 for couples unless a valid Form 17 is in place, or your actual or agreed share otherwise.
- Add your share to any other rent and self-employed turnover for 2025-26, before expenses.
- Run the free MTD check on your own figure, not the property total.
- If you are over £30,000, sign up yourself; your co-owner signs up only if their own figure is over.
- Choose whether to record your share of rent once per quarter and send income-only updates.
- Agree with your co-owner who keeps the records, and make sure you can see them.
More guides for small landlords are 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
My spouse and I own a buy-to-let. Do we both need Making Tax Digital?
Each of you is tested separately on your own share. Married couples and civil partners who live together are normally taxed 50:50 on jointly held property, so £50,000 of rent is £25,000 each, under the £30,000 threshold for April 2027.
We own the property 70:30. Can we be taxed that way?
Married couples and civil partners can, by sending HMRC a Form 17 declaration within 60 days of signing it. It applies only from the date of the declaration, and only where the ownership really is unequal.
Do I need my co-owner's records?
No. HMRC's guidance says joint landlords do not need to link their records to the other owner's. You record your own share.
Do I have to report expenses every quarter for a joint property?
No. For jointly let property you can send your share of the income only in quarterly updates, and add the expenses after the tax year ends by resending your fourth update before your tax return.
Is a jointly owned property a partnership?
Usually not. HMRC's manual says joint letting does not, of itself, make the activity a partnership. Partnerships do not currently need to use Making Tax Digital.
Sources
- Work out your qualifying income for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax (GOV.UK)
- Making Tax Digital for Income Tax: digital record-keeping direction (GOV.UK)
- Use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax: Send quarterly updates (GOV.UK)
- Property Income Manual PIM1035: jointly owned property and partnerships (GOV.UK)
- Trusts, Settlements and Estates Manual TSEM9814: the 50/50 rule (GOV.UK)
- Trusts, Settlements and Estates Manual TSEM9862: Form 17 time limit (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.