UK · Updated July 2026

Making Tax Digital for Joint Landlords

If you own rental property jointly, MTD applies to each owner separately, based on each owner's own share of the income. Joint owners do not file together. There are two easements that make jointly owned property much lighter to report than most landlords expect.

The short answer Threshold per owner The two easements Deadlines FAQ

MTD for Income Tax applies to individuals, not to properties. If you own a rental property jointly, each owner is assessed separately against the threshold, using their own share of gross rental income plus any other qualifying income such as self employment. There is no joint filing and no joint MTD account.

This means a jointly owned portfolio can sit outside MTD for longer than a solely owned one of the same size. Because the threshold is applied to each owner's share, splitting income across two owners halves each owner's qualifying income.

Two easements reduce the work. For jointly owned property you may report only your share of income in the quarterly updates and leave your share of expenses to the annual final declaration. You may also keep a single digital record of category totals for the joint property rather than a record of every transaction.

THRESHOLD

The Threshold Applies to Your Share, Not the Property

Qualifying income is gross income before expenses, tested on the tax return two years before the year in question.

MTD startsQualifying income overTested on the return for
April 2026GBP 50,0002024 to 2025
April 2027GBP 30,0002025 to 2026
April 2028GBP 20,0002026 to 2027

Worked example: a couple with GBP 80,000 of rents

A married couple jointly own three properties producing GBP 80,000 of gross rent, split 50/50. Neither owner has other qualifying income.

Each owner's qualifying income is GBP 40,000, not GBP 80,000. Neither is over the GBP 50,000 threshold, so neither enters MTD in April 2026. Both are over GBP 30,000, so both enter in April 2027.

A single landlord with the same GBP 80,000 of rent enters a full year earlier, in April 2026. This is the point most joint owners get wrong in both directions: some sign up a year early, others assume the split protects them permanently.

Watch the beneficial split. The share that counts is the beneficial ownership share, not necessarily the legal title. For married couples and civil partners, jointly held property is taxed 50/50 by default unless the beneficial split differs and a Form 17 declaration has been made with evidence. If your income split is not 50/50, your MTD threshold test follows the actual split.

EASEMENTS

Two Easements for Jointly Owned Property

These are optional relaxations. You can use them, but you do not have to.

Income quarterly, expenses annually

For jointly owned property, quarterly updates need only your share of income, broken down by category. Your share of expenses does not have to be reported each quarter and can instead be reported once, as part of the end of year final declaration.

Category totals, not every transaction

You can keep a single digital record of the total for each income and expense category for the joint property, rather than a separate digital record of every individual transaction. Only one owner needs to maintain the underlying detail.

Three line accounts, if under GBP 90,000

Separately, where gross UK property income is below GBP 90,000 you can report income, expenses and profit as three figures rather than full categories. Residential finance costs must still be shown separately. This can be combined with the joint property easements.

What the easements do not change. Each owner still submits their own quarterly updates from their own MTD compatible software, under their own National Insurance number. The final declaration must still show each owner's full share of both income and expenses for the year. Solely owned properties held alongside joint ones do not get the easement and need full records in the normal way.

DEADLINES

Quarterly Update Deadlines

Standard quarterly periods run to 5 July, 5 October, 5 January and 5 April, and each update is due by the 7th of the following month: 7 August, 7 November, 7 February and 7 May. Every owner of a joint property files their own update by the same dates. Quarterly updates are cumulative, so a later update corrects an earlier one rather than requiring an amendment.

The final declaration, which replaces the Self Assessment return, is still due by 31 January after the end of the tax year. That is where the annual expense figures for jointly owned property are reported, along with any reliefs and allowances.

FAQ

MTD and Joint Ownership Questions

No. MTD for Income Tax applies to individuals, so each joint owner keeps their own digital records and submits their own quarterly updates under their own National Insurance number, using their own MTD compatible software. There is no joint account and neither owner files on behalf of the other. Only one owner needs to keep the underlying transaction detail for the joint property, but each still reports their own share.
Your share. Qualifying income is measured per individual, so a couple splitting GBP 80,000 of gross rent 50/50 each have GBP 40,000 of qualifying property income. Neither would cross the GBP 50,000 threshold for April 2026, but both would cross the GBP 30,000 threshold for April 2027. Add any other qualifying income, such as self employment, to your property share before comparing to the threshold.
No. For jointly owned property there is an easement allowing quarterly updates to include only your share of income, categorised, with your share of expenses reported once at the end of the year as part of the final declaration. You can still report expenses quarterly if you prefer, and many landlords do because it keeps the running profit figure realistic. The easement applies to jointly owned property only, not to properties you own alone.
The share that matters is the beneficial ownership share. For married couples and civil partners, jointly held property is taxed 50/50 by default, and a different split is only recognised where the beneficial ownership genuinely differs and a Form 17 declaration has been made to HMRC with supporting evidence. For unmarried joint owners, income follows the actual beneficial shares. Whatever split applies for income tax is the split used to test each owner against the MTD threshold.
That is common and entirely normal, because the test is per person. One owner may have self employment income that pushes them over the threshold while the other has only their rental share. The owner inside MTD keeps digital records and files quarterly updates. The other continues with Self Assessment until their own qualifying income crosses a threshold. The property records themselves can still be kept once and shared.
Standard quarters end on 5 July, 5 October, 5 January and 5 April, with each update due by the 7th of the following month: 7 August, 7 November, 7 February and 7 May. Updates are cumulative, so an error in one quarter is corrected by the next update rather than by amending. The final declaration replacing the Self Assessment return remains due by 31 January after the tax year ends.

Sources and further reading

General information, not tax advice. Verified against GOV.UK and professional body guidance in July 2026. MTD detail is still being clarified by HMRC, so confirm the current position with your accountant or GOV.UK before relying on it.

Related guides and tools

Rental records both owners can rely on

Rentalize keeps the income and expense record for each property once, with ownership shares applied, so each owner has the figures their own quarterly update needs.