Blog · 2 November 2026

MTD for landlords: quarterly updates, end-of-period statements and the final declaration

If you let property in the UK, Making Tax Digital for Income Tax changes how you report your rental income — but it does not change how much tax you pay, or when you pay it. Instead of one Self Assessment return a year, you keep digital records, send HMRC a short update every three months, then finalise the year with an end-of-period statement and a final declaration. Here is the whole annual cycle for a landlord, in order, with the dates that matter.

First: does MTD catch you, and when?

MTD for Income Tax applies to landlords (and sole traders) based on qualifying income — your combined gross income from self-employment and property, before expenses, as shown on a tax return you have already filed. It is turnover, not profit: a landlord with £32,000 of gross rents and £8,000 of allowable expenses has qualifying income of £32,000, not £24,000. The rollout runs in three waves:

If you are not sure which wave you fall in, run your gross rents and any self-employment turnover through the Making Tax Digital checker — it works out your start date from the same thresholds. Landlords in the April 2027 £30,000 wave have until 6 April 2027 to get their records digital, but the work of switching is best done well before then.

The landlord's MTD year, step by step

1. Keep digital records all year

From your start date, your property income and expenses must be kept in digital records using MTD-compatible software — or a spreadsheet linked digitally to bridging software. HMRC does not provide the software itself; you choose a product from its recognised list. Paper records and a shoebox of receipts do not meet the requirement once you are in scope, and retyping totals by hand into another program does not count as a digital link.

2. Send four quarterly updates

Four times a year you send HMRC a summary of your income and expenses for the quarter, through your software. The standard deadlines are the same every year:

These are summaries of the income and expense categories from your digital records — not full tax returns, and no tax is calculated or due at this point. After each update your software can show an estimate of your tax bill for the year to date, which is only as accurate as the records behind it. See every wave's dates on the MTD deadline calendar. Note the next deadline for landlords already in MTD: the second quarterly update of 2026/27 is due 7 November 2026.

3. Submit an end-of-period statement

After the tax year ends, you submit an end-of-period statement for each property business, finalising its figures — including adjustments and reliefs that quarterly updates do not carry. A landlord with several lets held as one property business submits one statement for that business; a landlord who also trades as a sole trader submits a separate statement for the trade.

4. Make the final declaration by 31 January

Finally, you submit a final declaration through your compatible software — the MTD replacement for the traditional Self Assessment return. It draws together your quarterly updates and end-of-period statements, adds any other income and reliefs (employment income, savings, dividends, Gift Aid, pension contributions), and confirms your total Income Tax position. The deadline is the familiar one: 31 January after the tax year ends. You cannot submit the final declaration until all four quarterly updates have been sent.

What does NOT change for landlords

Two common worries are misplaced. First, quarterly updates do not mean quarterly tax payments: the payment dates stay aligned with the existing Self Assessment approach, including 31 January and, where they apply, 31 July payments on account. Second, MTD does not create a new tax — Income Tax and the underlying rules for working out rental profit stay the same. What changes is the reporting rhythm: HMRC sees your figures four times a year instead of once.

Worked examples: two landlords, two different answers

Example 1 — caught in the 2027 wave. A landlord with £32,000 of gross rents in 2025/26 and no self-employment income has qualifying income of £32,000 — over £30,000, so MTD starts on 6 April 2027. Her first quarterly update (6 April – 5 July 2027) is due 7 August 2027, and her first final declaration is due 31 January 2028.

Example 2 — not caught by any announced wave. A landlord with £18,000 of gross rents in 2026/27 is below even the £20,000 threshold for the 2028 wave, so on the announced thresholds he stays on the annual Self Assessment return for now. If his rents later rise above a threshold in a relevant tax year, the wave for that year pulls him in.

Missed updates carry consequences once points start counting — from 2027/28, a missed quarterly update earns a penalty point, and four points trigger a £200 charge, as explained in MTD penalty points explained. Landlords in the first wave have a grace year: there are no penalties for missing a quarterly update deadline for the 2026/27 tax year. Later waves get no equivalent grace — for the 2027 wave, the very first missed update counts.

Landlord readiness checklist

1. Work out your qualifying income — gross rents plus any self-employment turnover, before expenses, from your filed return. Test it on the MTD checker.
2. Choose compatible software or bridging software before your start date, and confirm it handles a property business and end-of-period statements.
3. Start digital records early — per property, with dates, amounts and categories that match your Self Assessment boxes, and personal spending kept separate.
4. Diary the four update deadlines (7 August, 7 November, 7 February, 7 May) plus the 31 January final declaration — see the deadline calendar.
5. Sign up for MTD with HMRC (or have your agent do it) before day one of your first MTD tax year — and try the penalty estimator to see what a missed deadline would actually cost.

Sources

• GOV.UK — Use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax (who must use it, thresholds and start dates, digital records)
• GOV.UK — Quarterly updates: periods and deadlines (7 August / 7 November / 7 February / 7 May; estimates after updates)
• GOV.UK — Penalties for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax (2026/27 grace year; points from 2027/28)

Free information tool — not tax advice. Figures follow GOV.UK guidance as checked on 2 November 2026. Confirm your own position with HMRC or an accountant.