If you manage a buy-to-let property yourself, Making Tax Digital adds a new routine to the record keeping you already do. Since 6 April 2026, MTD for Income Tax has applied to landlords whose 2024 to 2025 tax return showed qualifying income over £50,000, unless an exemption applies.
MTD for Income Tax is being introduced in stages, so the date it applies depends on your qualifying income. Rather than treating each update as a separate tax exercise, it helps to understand what HMRC needs, keep records up to date and use software that suits the size of your property setup.
Check when Making Tax Digital applies to you
The first step is knowing which start date applies. HMRC bases this on qualifying income, which is the gross income from self-employment and property before expenses are deducted. If you also have self-employment income, HMRC counts both property and self-employment income when working out your qualifying income.
If your qualifying income was over £50,000, MTD for Income Tax applied from 6 April 2026. The threshold falls to more than £30,000 from 6 April 2027 and more than £20,000 from 6 April 2028. The number of rental properties on its own does not decide whether MTD applies.
HMRC also has exemptions, some automatic and some available by application. Anyone who thinks an exemption may apply can check the current HMRC rules before setting up software.
Keep your property records digital as you go
If MTD for Income Tax applies to you, HMRC requires digital records of your property income and expenses. Leaving everything until a quarterly deadline means more transactions to find, enter and check at once. Recording rent and property costs during the quarter spreads that work across the year.
If you let one UK property and want to keep software costs down, free software for MTD-compliant landlords can cover the filing needs of a straightforward one-property setup. The free plan covers one property, manual entry and CSV import, quarterly updates and the tax return. It is permanently free for one property rather than a trial, and no card is required to start.
A spreadsheet can still form part of an MTD setup. HMRC allows records held in spreadsheets to connect to compatible bridging software, so if you already have a workable spreadsheet system, you do not necessarily have to abandon it.
Choose software that fits the way you let property
If you have one property, you may need far fewer features than someone managing a larger portfolio. For a simple setup, free MTD software for landlords may cover the records and submissions required without adding a monthly subscription.
Before choosing software, check what it actually covers. Can it create or receive your digital records, send quarterly updates and deal with the tax return information you need to report? HMRC’s software finder lists products that have been through HMRC’s recognition process, and HMRC makes clear that recognition is not the same as recommending one provider over another.
Other income matters too. If you also receive income from employment, pensions, dividends, self-employment or another source, check whether the chosen software supports everything required for the tax return or whether another compatible product may also be needed. HMRC allows more than one software product to be used where the products work together for the required submissions.
Treat quarterly updates as summaries rather than extra tax returns
Quarterly updates are summaries, not tax returns. Your software uses the income and expense records collected during the year to produce the figures sent to HMRC.
Each quarterly update covers the digital records from the start of the tax year to the end of that update period, while the tax return is still submitted after the tax year. The Self Assessment deadline remains 31 January.
Mistakes in digital records can also be corrected. HMRC explains that a correction made during the tax year will be reflected when the next quarterly update is sent. This makes regular record checking more useful than waiting until the end of the year to find missing rent or property expenses.
Put the quarterly deadlines into your normal routine
For standard update periods, the quarterly deadlines are 7 August, 7 November, 7 February and 7 May. HMRC also allows calendar update periods, but the submission deadlines remain the same.
A calendar reminder a week or two before each date gives you time to check whether rent and property expenses have been recorded and whether the software is connected to HMRC. This is less about doing a large piece of tax work four times a year and more about making sure the digital records collected during the quarter are ready for submission.
There is also a temporary difference in the penalty rules. HMRC will not apply penalty points for late quarterly updates for the 2026 to 2027 tax year, although those updates still have to be sent before the tax return can be submitted. For later tax years, missed quarterly deadlines can count towards the points-based penalty system.
Quarterly reporting becomes easier when the work is spread across the year. Knowing your MTD start date, keeping digital records up to date and choosing software that matches the way you manage your property leaves less to sort out when a deadline arrives.
If you have one property, that does not automatically mean paying for a large accounting package. Knowing when MTD applies, what the software covers and when the four quarterly deadlines fall gives you a simpler routine to follow throughout the year.