You, or an agent you authorise through HMRC: an accountant, a bookkeeper or a managed service. Your letting agent can only if it is also a registered tax agent. For 2027 joiners, the first update is due 7 August 2027.
Making Tax Digital for Income Tax (MTD) asks landlords for four quarterly updates a year, sent from compatible software, then a tax return. A house in multiple occupation (HMO) makes more records than a single let: several room rents, bills paid on the tenants' behalf, and a licence. In our reading, HMRC does not control who prepares the figures, only who sends them for you. This page follows GOV.UK as checked on 18 October 2026, for HMOs owned by individuals, not companies.
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.
Your options as an HMO landlord
| Who sends the update | What they can do | What to watch |
|---|---|---|
| You, with software | Send updates and your tax return | Your time each quarter, with several rents and bills to match |
| A main agent, often an accountant | Sign you up, send updates and your tax return, see your tax calculation | Price per property or per room |
| A supporting agent, often a bookkeeper | Sign you up and send quarterly updates | Cannot send your tax return or see your tax calculation |
| A managed service | Builds updates from your rent account and statements | What it covers, and whether you confirm before sending |
| Your HMO letting agent | Usually holds the rents already | Only possible if it is also a registered tax agent |
You can have one main agent at a time and any number of supporting agents. All your UK lets count as one property business, so one main agent covers the HMO and any other UK property you let.
What goes in an HMO's updates
GOV.UK says rental income includes charges for services you provide, such as hot water, heating and cleaning of communal areas. HMRC's manual (PIM2076) treats those receipts as part of the property business when the services are an ordinary part of the letting. So in our reading the full bills-included rent from every room goes in as income, and the gas, electricity, water, broadband and cleaning you pay go in as expenses.
GOV.UK says income is recorded at its full amount, so the rent your letting agent collected goes in as income and its fees as an expense, not as a smaller rent. Mortgage interest is recorded as a finance cost, apart from your other expenses, because it gets a basic rate tax reduction rather than a deduction.
What an HMO landlord's agent needs from you
- A rent schedule by room, with who pays what and when, or your letting agent's monthly statements.
- Utility, broadband and council tax bills you pay for the house, if the rent includes them.
- Cleaning, repairs and safety certificate invoices, such as gas safety and electrical checks.
- Your HMO licence fee receipt and the dates the licence covers.
- Mortgage statements, so interest is kept separate from capital repayments.
- Your 2024-25 and 2025-26 rent totals, to confirm your start date.
If your turnover is under £90,000, each item only needs to be marked as income or expense, but mortgage interest is still recorded separately.
What any agent must have
- An HMRC agent services account. An agent needs one to sign clients up for MTD. HMRC now requires most people paid to deal with it about someone else's tax to register through this account, and is bringing the rule in by stages.
- Money-laundering supervision for tax work, by HMRC or another supervisory body. A letting firm supervised for lettings should check whether that covers tax work.
- Your authorisation, not your password. A new agent sends a link and you accept it with your own HMRC sign-in.
What this means for you
MTD started on 6 April 2026 if your qualifying income was over £50,000 in 2024-25. Otherwise it starts on 6 April 2027 if your 2025-26 qualifying income was over £30,000, or on 6 April 2028 if it was over £20,000 in 2026-27. Qualifying income is your rent, or your share of it, bills included, plus any self-employed turnover, before expenses. Room rents add up fast: five rooms at £600 a month are £36,000 a year.
If you start in April 2027, your first update covers 6 April to 5 July 2027 (or 1 April to 30 June) and is due by 7 August 2027. If you must use MTD, a late tax return earns a penalty point from your first MTD year. A late update can earn a point from 2027-28 if you joined in April 2026, or from 2028-29 if you join in April 2027 (the 28 October 2026 Budget said that group gets no points for 2027-28 updates); 4 points brings a £200 penalty.
Whoever you choose, you stay responsible for your tax. Check every figure before it goes to HMRC.
If you would rather hand it over, our Landlord Tax plan is £15 a month including VAT for 1 to 2 properties, or £20 for 3 to 4, in England. We keep the records from your rent account and agent statements, and send the updates and your tax return once you confirm the figures. Our tax plans start once our HMRC registrations are complete. Until then you can join the waitlist, and no payment is taken.
Steps to hand over your updates
- Use the free MTD check to confirm your start date, counting every room's rent with bills included.
- Ask your letting agent for monthly statements, and whether it offers tax services itself.
- Ask any agent you consider whether it has an HMRC agent services account and money-laundering supervision.
- Agree whether it will be your main agent, which includes the tax return, or a supporting agent for the updates only.
- Ask whether the price is per property, per room or per owner, and get it in writing, including VAT.
- Accept the authorisation request through HMRC.
- Pass on bills, licence and certificate invoices as they arrive, and check your HMRC online account after each deadline.
The HMO sign-up guide shows how to add up your rents. There are more guides 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
Can my HMO letting agent send my MTD updates?
Only if the letting firm also acts as a tax agent: an HMRC agent services account, money-laundering supervision for that work, and your authorisation through HMRC. Managing the rooms and collecting the rent does not make it your tax agent.
Do the bills I pay for tenants go in the updates?
Yes, both sides. GOV.UK says rental income includes charges for services you provide, such as hot water, heating and cleaning of communal areas, so bills-included rent goes in at its full amount. The bills you pay go in as expenses.
Is my HMO licence fee something my agent records?
Yes, as an expense of the letting, with the receipt and the dates the licence covers. Under the cash basis, the default for most individual landlords, HMRC's manual says capital costs are generally deductible, with exceptions. Under traditional accounting, a licence lasting two years or more may be capital, so ask your agent which basis you use.
Do I give my agent my HMRC password?
No. HMRC's standard for agents says agents must never ask for a client's HMRC sign-in details. The agent sends you an authorisation request through HMRC and you accept it.
I live in the HMO and let rooms. Does my agent need to know?
Yes. The Rent a Room Scheme covers furnished rooms in your own home, up to £7,500 a year tax-free. Whether you need MTD records for that income depends on what your last return showed, so tell your agent from the start.
Sources
- Choose agents for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax (GOV.UK)
- Sign up your client for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax (GOV.UK)
- Get an HMRC agent services account (GOV.UK)
- Check if and when you need to register with HMRC (GOV.UK)
- The HMRC standard for agents (GOV.UK)
- Find out if and when you need to use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax (GOV.UK)
- Work out your qualifying income for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax (GOV.UK)
- Use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax: Send quarterly updates (GOV.UK)
- Use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax: Create digital records (GOV.UK)
- Penalties for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax (GOV.UK)
- Income Tax when you rent out a property: working out your rental income (GOV.UK)
- PIM2076: Property income: services provided to tenants (HMRC manual)
- Rent a room in your home (GOV.UK)
- Changes to tax relief for residential landlords: how it's worked out (GOV.UK)
- PIM1095: Cash basis for landlords: capital expenditure (HMRC manual)
- BIM35901: Capital/revenue divide: tax cases and summing up (HMRC manual)
- Budget 2026: Overview of tax legislation and rates (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.