When does Making Tax Digital start for landlords?

It depends on your income before expenses: over £50,000 started on 6 April 2026, over £30,000 starts on 6 April 2027, and over £20,000 starts on 6 April 2028.

Making Tax Digital for Income Tax (MTD) means keeping digital records and sending HMRC an update every quarter. Landlords join in three waves, decided by one number: your qualifying income. The rules are in the Income Tax (Digital Obligations) Regulations 2026, and the dates below follow GOV.UK as checked on 15 October 2026.

The three start dates

The first group has already started. The middle group has a catch: its test year is 2025-26, and that return is not due until 31 January 2027, so many landlords will only know for certain which side of £30,000 they fall on once they file it.

What counts as qualifying income

Qualifying income is your self-employment income and your property income added together, before expenses. HMRC also calls this turnover. It is not your profit. A landlord who collects £32,000 in rent and spends £12,000 on repairs and agent fees still has £32,000 of qualifying income, so the £30,000 line has been crossed.

A few points catch landlords out:

• If you own a property jointly, only your share counts. The GOV.UK example is £50,000 of rent split equally, which is £25,000 each.
• Pay from an employer, dividends, pensions and a partner's share of partnership profit are not counted.
• Qualifying income of £20,000 or less is listed on GOV.UK as an automatic exemption, so there is nothing to apply for.
• After three tax years in a row at or below the threshold, you can leave MTD.

What this means for you

If your 2025-26 rent and any self-employed turnover came to more than £30,000, MTD starts for you on 6 April 2027. Your first quarterly update covers 6 April to 5 July 2027 and is due by 7 August 2027. If the total was £30,000 or less, nothing starts in April 2027, but keep an eye on the £20,000 line, which applies from April 2028 and is tested on your 2026-27 return.

Tax is paid on the same dates as before, because a quarterly update is a report and not a payment. You still file a tax return, due by 31 January after the end of the tax year.

Two things are new. Landlords with a mortgage must keep mortgage interest and other finance costs as a separate digital record and send them separately in each update. And missed deadlines now earn penalty points: one point for each missed quarterly update or tax return, and a £200 penalty once you reach 4 points. GOV.UK says there are no points for missed quarterly updates in 2026-27. At the Budget on 28 October 2026 the government said people who must join in April 2027 will get no points for late 2027-28 quarterly updates either, though the updates must still be sent. For them, the earliest a late update can earn a point is 7 August 2028.

Steps to take before 6 April 2027

1. Add up your 2025-26 rent and any self-employed turnover, before expenses. Use your share of any jointly owned property, and leave out wages, dividends and pensions.
2. Compare the total with the table above. Over £30,000 means 6 April 2027. Between £20,000 and £30,000, your date may be 6 April 2028, based on your 2026-27 return.
3. Check that you are registered for Self Assessment and have filed a return in the last two years. HMRC needs both before you can sign up.
4. Start keeping digital records now, with mortgage interest as its own category, so your first update is a copy of work already done.
5. Choose MTD-compatible software, or a service that uses it, and sign up. The free MTD check shows which date applies to you.
6. Put the quarterly deadlines in your diary: 7 August, 7 November, 7 February and 7 May.

Dates for your diary

Each update is cumulative: it covers the tax year so far. You can choose calendar quarters instead, ending 30 June, 30 September, 31 December and 31 March. The due dates are the same either way.

Do not mix this up with the landlord register

Separately from MTD, the government's Register your rental property service opens on 15 December 2026, starting in the West Midlands and moving region by region. All landlords who are letting out property are expected to be registered by 14 November 2027. The regional dates are in draft regulations that had not been approved as at 15 October 2026, so they could still change, and the £65 yearly fee per property is not fixed by those regulations either. The register deadline checker shows your date, and the landlord section has more guides.