Does MTD Apply to You? The 3-Question Checker
Three questions, a dated answer: mandated now, 2027, 2028 or not yet — plus this year's exact quarterly deadlines.
Enter your figures
Based on gov.uk’s eligibility guidance (updated 26 Mar 2026) and the MTD penalties page, both read 29 Aug 2026. Full guide.
MTD went live for landlords in April 2026 — here is the actual rule
Making Tax Digital for Income Tax is no longer a future thing. Since 6 April 2026, sole traders and landlords whose gross qualifying income — self-employment turnover plus property income, combined, before expenses — exceeded £50,000 in 2024/25 must keep digital records and send quarterly updates through recognised software. The threshold drops to £30,000 from April 2027 and £20,000 from April 2028.
Three details the checker builds in, because they decide real cases:
- Gross, not profit. A landlord with £52,000 of rent and £30,000 of costs is IN (gross £52k), while one with £45,000 of pure profit and no other income is OUT. HMRC tests turnover, not what you kept.
- Joint property counts your share only. Half of a £60,000-rent property adds £30,000 to your test, not £60,000 — and a record-keeping easement lets you report gross rent only in-year for joint property, sorting expenses at year-end.
- Companies are out; partnerships are parked. Ltd landlords pay Corporation Tax and are outside MTD IT entirely; partnerships have no announced join date yet.
Where things actually stand (dated)
- 13 Aug 2026 (gov.uk): 436,000+ first quarterly updates submitted; 570,000+ signed up.
- Late Aug 2026: HMRC announced it will auto-enrol roughly 290,000–300,000 in-scope taxpayers who have not signed up, starting September 2026. If your 2024/25 gross was over £50,000, waiting for a letter is no longer a strategy.
- Penalties, year one: quarterly updates earn no penalty points for 2026/27 (gov.uk’s penalties page limits points to “tax years after 2026 to 2027” for quarterlies) — but the system is live from 2027/28: miss deadlines and points build to a £200 penalty at 4 points, plus £200 per further miss. The year-end final declaration has no such grace.
The 2026/27 calendar
| Update | Standard period | Calendar-quarter option | Deadline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 | 6 Apr – 5 Jul 2026 | 1 Apr – 30 Jun 2026 | 7 Aug 2026 |
| Q2 | 6 Jul – 5 Oct 2026 | 1 Jul – 30 Sep 2026 | 7 Nov 2026 |
| Q3 | 6 Oct – 5 Jan 2027 | 1 Oct – 31 Dec 2026 | 7 Feb 2027 |
| Q4 | 6 Jan – 5 Apr 2027 | 1 Jan – 31 Mar 2027 | 7 May 2027 |
Updates are cumulative year-to-date, so a mistake in Q1 is simply corrected in Q2 — you never resubmit. The calendar-quarter election must be made before your first update of the year.
gov.uk: find-out-if-and-when (upd. 26 Mar 2026) · work-out-your-qualifying-income · penalties for MTD (read verbatim 29 Aug 2026) · digital record-keeping notice (17 Jan 2025) · gov.uk news 13 Aug 2026. Checked 29 Aug 2026.
Asked constantly
£50,000 gross qualifying income — your 2024/25 self-employment turnover plus property income, before expenses, combined. Over it and you should already be in MTD (since 6 April 2026). The threshold falls to £30,000 from April 2027 (tested on 2025/26) and £20,000 from April 2028 (tested on 2026/27).
HMRC announced in late August 2026 that it will automatically enrol roughly 290,000–300,000 people in your position from September 2026. The pragmatic move is to choose software and sign up on your own terms rather than being enrolled into a system you haven't set up. The one comfort: quarterly updates carry no penalty points for 2026/27 itself.
No — this is the most common myth. Quarterly updates are information (cumulative income and expense totals), not tax bills. You still pay on the normal Self Assessment dates, and the year-end final declaration (due 31 January 2028 for 2026/27) replaces the tax return.
Only your share counts toward your threshold — a 50% owner of a £60,000-rent property adds £30,000. There's also a record-keeping easement for joint property: report gross rent only during the year and sort expense splits at finalisation.
HMRC-recognised software — its official 'find software' page is the authoritative list and includes free options and bridging tools alongside the big names and landlord-specific apps. Our MTD guide covers how to choose; whatever you pick, it must keep digital records and submit updates, not just file year-end.