MTD for Joint Property Owners
Tested on your own share of gross rent; each mandated owner submits their own updates; HMRC's income-only easement. Worked situations and the Form 17 timing trap.
The short answer
Joint owners are tested on their own share. If you own a property 50/50, only half the gross rent counts towards your £50,000 (then £30,000, then £20,000) qualifying-income test — and each mandated owner sends their own quarterly updates. HMRC has confirmed an easement letting joint owners report income only in quarterly updates and add expenses at the final declaration.
“Making tax digital landlords and joint property owners” is one of the most-searched MTD questions because the rules were unclear for years. They are now settled enough to act on.
Whose income counts
Qualifying income is GROSS income (before expenses) from self-employment + property, combined; joint property counts only your share. For jointly owned property that means your beneficial share of the gross rent — 50% by default for spouses and civil partners unless a Form 17 declaration and matching deed set a different split; the actual ownership share for everyone else.
| Situation | Result |
|---|---|
| Spouses, 50/50, £80,000 gross rent | £40,000 each — not mandated until the £30k wave (April 2027) |
| Spouses with Form 17 declaring 90/10, £80,000 rent | £72,000 / £8,000 — one mandated now, one not |
| Three siblings, equal shares, £120,000 rent | £40,000 each — April 2027 wave |
| Joint owner who also has £20,000 self-employment plus £35,000 rent share | £55,000 combined — mandated now |
| Partnership (formal, with partnership return) | Not yet — partnerships have no mandation date |
The joint-owner easement
HMRC allows landlords with jointly owned property to report only income in the quarterly updates and bring in the expenses at the final declaration — an acknowledgement that expense information often sits with one co-owner or an agent. You still need digital records of expenses; you simply are not forced to split them quarterly. You can also choose to report expenses quarterly if you prefer a running tax estimate.
Software: one product each
Each mandated owner needs their own HMRC-compatible software (or an agent). Several landlord products support “shared property” setups where one set of records feeds two owners’ submissions in their shares — worth checking before choosing. gov.uk is explicit that one person cannot use two products for the same property income.
Non-mandated co-owners
A co-owner below the threshold carries on with self assessment as before (SA105 property pages) until their own wave arrives. Nothing about the mandated co-owner’s reporting changes theirs.
Timing matters for the split
Because qualifying income is tested on a tax year two years earlier (2024/25 for the April 2026 wave), a Form 17 declaration made now changes the test for the April 2028 wave, not for this year.
gov.uk “Check if you need to use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax” (jointly owned property — your share); HMRC MTD joint-property easement (announced with the 2025 regulations, confirmed in gov.uk guidance); HMRC Form 17 guidance. Checked 2026-08-29, re-checked 31 Aug 2026.
Quick answers
Yes, but each owner is tested on their own share of the gross rent. A 50/50 owner with £80,000 of joint rent has £40,000 qualifying income — below the £50,000 threshold, mandated from April 2027.
No. HMRC's easement lets joint owners report income only in quarterly updates and add expenses at the final declaration. Digital records of expenses are still required.
Each mandated owner submits their own updates, so yes — their own product or an agent. Some landlord apps support shared-property setups feeding both owners.
It changes the share of income counted — but the test looks two years back, so an election now affects the April 2028 test, not this year's.