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April 2026 marks one of the most significant shifts in UK tax reporting for landlords in a generation. Under Making Tax Digital for Income Tax (MTD for ITSA), landlords earning above the qualifying threshold will no longer file a single annual Self-Assessment return. Instead, they will submit four digital quarterly updates throughout the year, followed by a Final Declaration.
If you are a UK landlord trying to understand what MTD quarterly updates involve, what you need to submit, and when the deadlines fall, this guide covers everything you need to know.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
MTD quarterly updates become mandatory from 6 April 2026 for landlords with qualifying gross income above £50,000, with lower thresholds applying in 2027 and 2028
Update submission are cumulative year-to-date totals, not isolated three-month snapshots, meaning corrections carry forward automatically into the next submission
You submit income and expense totals only; individual receipts and invoices are not sent to HMRC at this stage
Even with no income or expenses in a quarter, a nil update must still be submitted
The four submission deadlines fall on 7 August, 7 November, 7 February, and 7 May each year
No penalty points will be issued for late quarterly updates in the first mandatory year (2026/27), but all four submissions remain a legal obligation and must be filed before the Final Declaration
What Is Making Tax Digital for Income Tax?
Making Tax Digital for Income Tax is HMRC's programme to modernise income tax reporting for self-employed individuals and landlords. Rather than completing one Self Assessment return at the end of the year, landlords and self employed individuals within scope must maintain digital records throughout the year and report income and expenses to HMRC every three months using HMRC-recognised software.
The aim is to reduce errors, improve accuracy, and give both taxpayers and HMRC a more up-to-date view of income throughout the year. MTD for IT becomes mandatory from 6 April 2026 for the first wave of affected landlords and sole traders.
What Are MTD Quarterly Updates?
A quarterly update is a digital summary of your property income and expenses sent to HMRC every three months through MTD-compatible software. It is not a tax return, and no tax is calculated or paid when you submit one. You are simply providing HMRC with a running picture of your financial position as the tax year progresses.
Important
Quarterly updates submission are cumulative, not isolated three-month snapshots. Each submission replaces the last with a year-to-date running total- covering everything from 6 April to the end of that quarter.
In practice cumulative sumissions work as follows:
Because quarterly update submission are cumulative, if you make an error in one quarter, you do not need to amend or resubmit the original update. The correction will be reflected automatically in the next submission.
Even if you receive no income and incur no expenses in a given quarter, you are still required to submit a nil update to HMRC.
Do Landlords Need to Submit MTD Quarterly Updates?
MTD applies to landlords whose qualifying gross income from property, either alone or combined with self-employment income, exceeds the relevant threshold. The rollout is phased across three tax years.
Tax Year | Gross Income Threshold | MTD Status |
|---|---|---|
2026/27 | £50,000 and above | Mandatory |
2027/28 | £30,000 and above | Mandatory |
2028/29 | £20,000 and above | Mandatory |
The threshold is measured on gross income before expenses, not profit. It is also assessed per person, not per property. A landlord with several rental properties has one combined property income figure, and if that figure exceeds the relevant threshold, MTD applies.
Qualifying income includes gross rental income and self-employment income. It does not include income from employment (PAYE), pensions, savings interest, dividends, or capital gains.
Important
One important nuance for jointly owned properties: only your individual share of the rental income counts towards your personal qualifying threshold, not the full income from the property.
Voluntary sign-up through the current HMRC pilot is already available for landlords who want to get familiar with the process ahead of the mandatory start date.
What Do Landlords Need to Submit in Each Quarterly Update?
Each quarterly update contains income and expense totals only. You do not submit individual receipts, invoices, or transaction-level records. HMRC receives the category totals that your software compiles from your digital records. No tax or accounting adjustments are required before submitting a quarterly update.
Property Income to Report
Rental income received from solely owned properties
Your share of rental income from jointly let properties
Any other business income directly connected to the property
Self-Employment Income(If applicable, reported separately)
Property Expenses to Report
Repairs and maintenance costs
Letting agent fees and management charges
Landlord insurance premiums
Utility costs where applicable
Any other allowable property expenses
Section 24 — Mortgage Interest:
Since the Section 24 changes, mortgage interest is no longer deductible against rental income at all. Instead, landlords receive a 20% basic rate tax credit on mortgage interest costs. This credit is dealt with at the year-end Final Declaration stage, not in quarterly updates.
Capital allowances are also not included in quarterly updates. These are claimed through the Final Declaration at year-end.
The Special Rule for Jointly Let Properties
Landlords with jointly let properties have a choice each quarter. They can either report their share of all income and expenses for those properties within the quarterly update, or report their share of income only and defer the expense reporting to the Final Declaration at year-end. Solely owned properties carry no such flexibility: full income and expenses must always be reported each quarter.
All land and property income is treated as a single income source for submission purposes. This means one combined quarterly update covers all of your property income, regardless of how many properties you own. If you also have self-employment income, that requires a separate quarterly update in addition to your property update.
MTD Quarterly Update Deadlines for Landlords
You have one month after the end of each update period to submit your quarterly update. The official submission deadlines fall on the 7th of the relevant month.
Quarter | Standard Period | Deadline | Calendar Period Alternative |
|---|---|---|---|
Q1 | 6 Apr to 5 Jul | 7 August | 1 Apr to 30 Jun |
Q2 | 6 Jul to 5 Oct | 7 November | 1 July to 30 Sep |
Q3 | 6 Oct to 5 Jan | 7 February | 1 Oct to 31 Dec |
Q4 | 6 Jan to 5 Apr | 7 May | 1 Jan to 31 Mar |
Standard update periods follow the tax year from 6 April to 5 April. If your accounting period does not align with the tax year, for example if it ends on 31 March, you can elect to use calendar update periods instead, which end on the last day of each month. Both options share the same submission deadlines. If you wish to use calendar periods, you must select this in your software before your first update of the tax year is submitted.
How to Submit MTD Quarterly Updates
Quarterly updates must be submitted using MTD-compatible software. There is no option to file manually through your HMRC online account. Spreadsheets alone are not compliant, but they can be used in combination with approved bridging software that connects to HMRC's systems digitally. It is important to check that your software is MTD-compliant specifically for Income Tax, not just for VAT, as these are separate schemes.
The submission process works as follows:
