Ftax MTD for IT includes BOTH the Quarterly update form AND the End-of-Year form.
Ftax MTD for IT includes BOTH the Quarterly update form AND the End-of-Year form.
Making Tax Digital changes how landlords report to HMRC. If you are VAT-registered it affects your VAT returns, and from 2026 it affects how you report rental income. Here is what applies, including for portfolios and jointly owned property, and how to file it with Ftax.
Most landlords are affected by MTD for Income Tax, new from April 2026 for higher earners. A minority who are VAT-registered, for example on commercial property, are also in MTD for VAT, which has applied since 2022. They are separate obligations, so we cover each below.
Instead of only reporting once a year through Self Assessment, landlords in scope now need to keep digital records and send four quarterly updates through the year. They must still submit a Self Assessment tax return, with the tax return deadline remaining 31 January. A quarterly update is a running summary of your rental income and expenses for the period. It is not a tax bill. The quarterly updates are not tax bills. Your final tax position is dealt with through your Self Assessment tax return.
It is based on your qualifying income: your gross rental income and any self-employment income, added together, before expenses. This catches people out, so it is worth being clear: the threshold is measured on rent received, not on profit after costs and mortgage interest. Employment and pension income does not count. It applies to individual, unincorporated landlords. If you hold property through a limited company, that is outside MTD for Income Tax and reported through Corporation Tax instead.
All of your UK residential lettings are treated as one UK property business. That means one set of quarterly updates covering every UK property combined, not one per property. Whether you let two flats or twenty, your UK rentals roll up into a single stream, so more properties mean more bookkeeping but not more submissions. Overseas property is treated as a separate business with its own updates, and furnished holiday lets may also be treated separately.
Each owner reports only their own share of the income and expenses, in their own records, and files their own updates. There is no joint submission and you do not file for a co-owner. Spouses and civil partners split 50/50 by default unless a Form 17 declares a different split; other joint owners split by their actual ownership share. When you check your income against the threshold, you count only your share, combined with any solely owned rent and any self-employment.
There is also a practical easement: for jointly let property you can report the income each quarter and add the expenses after the year end, which helps when you do not have a co-owner’s figures in time.
MTD is not only about the quarterly submission. You also have to keep your records digitally and keep the figures flowing digitally from your records to your submission. Copying numbers by hand from one system into another does not meet the digital-links rule. In practice, recording income and expenses in software or a linked spreadsheet, and letting that feed the update, is what HMRC expects. Keep your records available for the period HMRC requires after the relevant deadline.
The deadlines are fixed and the same for everyone:
| Update | Standard period | Calendar period | Deadline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quarter 1 | 6 April to 5 July | 1 April to 30 June | 7 August |
| Quarter 2 | 6 July to 5 October | 1 July to 30 September | 7 November |
| Quarter 3 | 6 October to 5 January | 1 October to 31 December | 7 February |
| Quarter 4 | 6 January to 5 April | 1 January to 31 March | 7 May |
| Tax return | The full tax year | The full tax year | 31 January |
Standard periods run on the 6th to the 5th; calendar periods run to month ends, which many landlords find simpler. Choose one before your first update. The deadlines are the same either way.
For the first year, HMRC has confirmed no penalty points will be issued for late quarterly updates. All four still have to be in before you can complete your Final Declaration, so it is best not to let them slip. Late return and late payment penalties are unaffected and still apply. See the latest HMRC guidance on MTD penalties.
If you are VAT-registered, you are already in Making Tax Digital. MTD for VAT has been compulsory for all VAT-registered businesses since April 2022, whatever your turnover. It means keeping digital VAT records and sending each VAT return to HMRC through compatible software rather than the old online form.
You must register for VAT once your taxable turnover passes £90,000 in any rolling 12-month period, though you can register voluntarily below that. Once registered, MTD for VAT applies and your VAT returns are filed digitally, usually every quarter.
Ftax files VAT returns in a fully MTD-compliant way. You can prepare the figures in your own spreadsheet and submit through the Ftax VAT form, or use the Ftax Cashbook, which calculates the VAT report for you and submits it. Ftax has been recognised by HMRC for online tax filing for over 20 years.
Ftax handles both sides from one account. For income tax, the MTD for IT product is one credit at £25 plus VAT, covering you for the whole tax year, and it includes both the quarterly update form and the End-of-Year form. If your rental turnover has not yet passed £10,000, the forms are free to use. Ftax supplies UK Property and Foreign Property templates, and for VAT the Ftax VAT form files MTD-compliantly.
No. Your UK residential properties are one UK property business, so one quarterly update covers all of them. Overseas property is separate and has its own updates.
You each keep your own records for your share and file your own updates. There is no joint submission. Spouses and civil partners split 50/50 unless a Form 17 says otherwise; other joint owners split by their actual share.
Rent. Qualifying income is your gross rental income before expenses, combined with any self-employment income. Mortgage interest and other costs do not reduce the figure used to decide whether you are in scope.
No. A limited company is outside MTD for Income Tax and reports through the Corporation Tax return. You would only be in MTD for Income Tax on rental or self-employment income you hold personally, in your own name, above the threshold.
Usually not on residential rent, which is exempt from VAT. Some commercial property income is VATable, and if you are registered, MTD for VAT applies. Most residential landlords will only deal with MTD for Income Tax.
Ftax does not provide accounting, tax, business or legal advice. This guide has been provided for information purposes only. You should consult with your own professional advisors or with HMRC for advice directly relating to your business before taking action in relation to any of the content provided. Ftax Support will only be able to assist you with matters directly concerning the Ftax products and service.
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