How to register for Making Tax Digital as a landlord, and whether you need to

In the UK, Income Tax Making Tax Digital is an HMRC rule, so the same landlord sign-up rules apply in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The key question is not whether you have received a letter, but whether your gross property and self-employment income puts you over the relevant threshold.

Do you need to register for Making Tax Digital?

You need to use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax if you are a landlord or sole trader in Self Assessment and your qualifying income is over £50,000 for 2024–25, over £30,000 for 2025–26, or over £20,000 for 2026–27, which brings you in from 6 April 2026, 6 April 2027, or 6 April 2028 respectively.

HMRC’s sharpest warning is that “Even if you do not receive a letter, you must still check your qualifying income to find out if you need to use the service and sign up.” Qualifying income means gross property and self-employment income before expenses: HMRC says “Qualifying income is your total income from self-employment and property,” and salary, dividends and pensions do not count.

For jointly owned property, only your share counts, because “Your share of the property income will count towards your qualifying income.” If you are digitally excluded, you can apply by phone or letter: “To apply for an exemption for yourself or on behalf of someone else, you must either call or write to HMRC using the contact details in Self Assessment: general enquiries.”

How do you use HMRC's Making Tax Digital eligibility checker?

You use HMRC’s Making Tax Digital eligibility checker by entering your Self Assessment and income position for the relevant tax years so the tool can tell you whether you need MTD, when you must start, and whether an exemption route may apply.

HMRC introduces the checker with “You can use our tool to check:” and then asks about the tax years that drive the staged start dates, including 2024–25, 2025–26 and 2026–27. Before using the MTD eligibility checker, have your filed or expected Self Assessment position, your declared income sources, and your property or self-employment income figures to hand; the checker is only as useful as the gross income numbers you put into it.

For a landlord, the figure to use is rental income before deducting mortgage interest, repairs, agent fees or other expenses, and for joint property it is your own share rather than the whole rent roll.

How do you register for Making Tax Digital?

You register for Making Tax Digital by signing up through HMRC only after you are registered for Self Assessment, have submitted a recent tax return, and have software that works with MTD for Income Tax; there is no separate landlord register step for MTD.

HMRC says “You’ll need to use the same user ID and password you got when you registered for Self Assessment,” and its software rule is to “have software that works with Making Tax Digital for Income Tax — always check with the software provider to make sure their software will meet your needs.” A Self Assessment return is still required: “You still need to submit a Self Assessment tax return for the tax year before you start using Making Tax Digital for Income Tax.”

From September 2026, HMRC began signing up non-signers itself, using what it already held, because “From September 2026, HMRC will start to sign up anyone who needs to use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax for the 2026 to 2027 tax year and has not signed themselves up.” Check HMRC’s details if that happens. Budget 2026 extends the no-points easement so April 2027 joiners get no late-submission penalty points for their first four 2027–28 quarterly updates, but “Penalties will still apply for late tax returns or if you pay your tax bill after the due date.”

Once you have signed up, Abodient connects to HMRC and files your quarterly updates from the rent and expenses you already record, with every expense filed under its HMRC box and HMRC’s own tax estimate shown back to you after each update.

How does an agent register a client for Making Tax Digital?

An agent registers a landlord client for Making Tax Digital by getting the client’s permission, using an agent services account, and signing up each client individually through HMRC’s online service.

HMRC’s first rule is “You need to get your client’s permission to sign them up,” and the account needed is not the old agent login: “Your agent services account is different to your HMRC online services for agents account.” The agent services account itself depends on AML supervision, because “You must have approved anti-money laundering supervision in place before you apply.”

Existing Self Assessment authorisations can be used if they are in the agent services account, but authorisation is not the same as sign-up: “Adding authorisations will not automatically sign up your client for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax — you still need to sign up each of your clients individually through the online service.” If the client has not authorised the agent, HMRC says “If you are not authorised by your clients, you cannot sign them up for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax.” Where a digital handshake is used, the client must act quickly because “The link will expire after 21 days.”

Last reviewed November 2026.

Sources

• HMRC, find out if and when you need to use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax — “You can use our tool to check:” Source
• HMRC, work out your qualifying income for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax — “Even if you do not receive a letter, you must still check your qualifying income to find out if you need to use the service and sign up.” Source
• HMRC, work out your qualifying income for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax — “Qualifying income is your total income from self-employment and property.” Source
• HMRC, work out your qualifying income for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax — “Your share of the property income will count towards your qualifying income.” Source
• HMRC, apply for an exemption from Making Tax Digital for Income Tax — “To apply for an exemption for yourself or on behalf of someone else, you must either call or write to HMRC using the contact details in Self Assessment: general enquiries.” Source
• HMRC, sign up for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax — “You’ll need to use the same user ID and password you got when you registered for Self Assessment.” Source
• HMRC, sign up for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax — “have software that works with Making Tax Digital for Income Tax — always check with the software provider to make sure their software will meet your needs” Source
• HMRC, sign up for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax — “You still need to submit a Self Assessment tax return for the tax year before you start using Making Tax Digital for Income Tax.” Source
• HMRC, sign up for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax — “From September 2026, HMRC will start to sign up anyone who needs to use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax for the 2026 to 2027 tax year and has not signed themselves up.” Source
• HMRC, sign up for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax — “Penalties will still apply for late tax returns or if you pay your tax bill after the due date.” Source
• HMRC, sign up your client for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax — “You need to get your client’s permission to sign them up.” Source
• HMRC, sign up your client for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax — “Your agent services account is different to your HMRC online services for agents account.” Source
• HMRC, apply for an agent services account — “You must have approved anti-money laundering supervision in place before you apply.” Source
• HMRC, sign up your client for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax — “Adding authorisations will not automatically sign up your client for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax — you still need to sign up each of your clients individually through the online service.” Source
• HMRC, add your client authorisations for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax — “If you are not authorised by your clients, you cannot sign them up for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax.” Source
• HMRC, authorise an agent to deal with certain tax services for you — “The link will expire after 21 days.” Source