Making Tax Digital

Making Tax Digital (MTD) is HMRC's quarterly reporting for landlords. In Abodient you send each update from the Finance page: your rent and costs are already there, so each one is a check and a click.

The Tax estimate card has a Making Tax Digital strip along its foot. A property's Finance tab has the same strip. Select it and a panel opens on the right. It always covers all your personally held properties, whichever page you opened it from.

The Tax estimate card on the Finance page, with the Making Tax Digital strip along its foot reading Quarterly updates to HMRC, Connect when you're ready, and your Qualifying income figure

Connect to HMRC (once)

You'll need your National Insurance number and your Government Gateway sign-in. You also need to have signed up to MTD for Income Tax with HMRC. That is a one-off step on GOV.UK.

The panel opens on When updates are due and your Qualifying income, home by home, with the tax year it covers.

The Making Tax Digital panel before connecting: what Abodient sends, when updates are due, and Your qualifying income by property, with Connect to HMRC at the foot

Select Connect to HMRC.
Type your National Insurance number, then select Continue.

Connect to HMRC step 1 of 3: the National Insurance number box with a number typed in, and the Continue button

Answer Have you signed up to Making Tax Digital with HMRC? Select Yes, I've signed up. If you pick Not yet, use the Sign up on GOV.UK link first.

Connect to HMRC step 2 of 3: Have you signed up to Making Tax Digital with HMRC, with Sign up on GOV.UK, Not yet and Yes, I've signed up

Select Go to HMRC. Sign in there with your own Government Gateway details and allow access. You come straight back.

Connect to HMRC step 3 of 3: Sign in to HMRC as yourself, with the Go to HMRC button

The panel then finds your property business at HMRC and says HMRC found your property business. You're ready to file. We never see your password.

Each quarter

Updates are due 7 Aug, 7 Nov, 7 Feb and 7 May. When one is open, the panel says so: Q2 is ready to file, with the date it's due.

Select Review & file. Check your Q2 figures shows what HMRC will receive: your income and costs from 6 April, at your share. Selecting Review transactions takes you to the entries behind them.
Anything that needs a decision sits under For your review. A cost can be a Repair or an Improvement. A home with no mortgage type saved shows Add mortgage details.
Select Continue. Send your Q2 update shows the total once more.
Select File Q2 with HMRC. This sends the update.

When HMRC has it, the panel says HMRC has your Q2 update, with the time and HMRC's reference. An update is information, not a bill. Each one replaces the one before, so nothing is counted twice.

If your records change after you file, Send updated figures appears and sends the quarter again.

After the fourth update

The panel says All four updates are in. Finish the year gives you two downloads for your accountant: the SA105 tax pack and your Quarterly figures for the year. Your Final Declaration, due 31 January, is done separately. GOV.UK explains how.

Who has to join

HMRC decides, from your Self Assessment returns. It looks at income from an earlier tax year, including income outside property.

From April 2026: over £50,000.
From April 2027: over £30,000.
From April 2028: over £20,000.

HMRC writes to tell you when you're in. Your Qualifying income is your rent at your share, before costs. HMRC also counts self-employment turnover, which isn't in that figure. These are the dates HMRC has announced, and GOV.UK has the live position.

Good to know

A late update. In 2026/27 it earns no penalty point, but file it now. From 2027/28 it earns one.
The three dots at the top of the panel open When do I actually pay tax?, Your HMRC connection and Every figure HMRC holds. Payment dates don't change under MTD.
Renewing. HMRC asks you to renew every 18 months. The panel then says Needs renewing. Select Renew at HMRC, sign in and you're back in about 30 seconds. Your figures and history are untouched.
A company's property is left out of MTD, because a company's rent is the company's income. A home you manage for its owner is left out too.
To stop sending updates, remove Abodient's permission in your HMRC account. Your HMRC connection has a Manage at HMRC link.

If something's not right

"HMRC won't let this sign-in use Making Tax Digital yet." Nearly always you haven't signed up yet. Use Sign up on GOV.UK, then select Try again. You don't need to connect again.
We couldn't finish setting up. Select Try again, or Wrong National Insurance number? to retype it.
HMRC isn't responding at the moment. Nothing was sent and your figures are unchanged. Select Try again in a few minutes.
Qualifying income looks low? Only personally held properties count, at your share. Check the ownership on each property and that its rent is recorded.
Can't find the strip? It sits on the personal Tax estimate card. A team member whose role can't change Finance doesn't see it.