For a long time, Making Tax Digital has felt like a distant deadline, something that was always “coming soon”, but never close enough to worry about. After all, it was first announced back in 2015! But finally, the deadline is just around the corner! Are you ready?
From 6 April 2026, Making Tax Digital for Income Tax Self-Assessment will apply to thousands of landlords across the UK. If you haven’t yet gone digital, now could be the time to do so. Making Tax Digital is set to digitise the tax system for landlords and sole traders, with new tax reporting rules, submission deadlines, and record-keeping all starting this April for those who meet the revenue thresholds.
If you’re not used to digital recordkeeping, it might sound like a big jump. But once you’re up and running, it should make managing your finances faster, simpler, and more efficient than ever before.
PaTMa is an HMRC-recognised, MTD-compliant software. Our Property Manager software makes it easy to get set up with keeping digital accounts and submitting quarterly and annual summaries to HMRC.
In this article, we’ll take you through a step-by-step checklist of everything you need to tick off ahead of 6 April to make sure you’re ready to hit the ground running when MTD goes live.
Check if MTD applies to you from 6 April 2026
Before setting anything up, check that MTD will definitely apply to you this year.
This year, MTD only applies to landlords whose gross annual rental income is £50,000 or more, based on their 2024/25 Self Assessment tax return.
Remember, your gross income is the amount you earn before expenses, tax, or mortgage interest. The threshold refers to all of your rental income; it is not per property. So, if you own more than one rental property, your income from all of them is lumped together and treated as one rental business. If you own property jointly, check if the threshold applies to your share of the income.
If your rental income is less than £50,000, then you have a little longer to prepare. A £30,000 threshold will apply from April 2027, and a £20,000 threshold will apply from April 2028. Even if your rental income doesn’t yet exceed this year’s threshold, there are plenty of benefits to be gained from digitising your accounts and tax returns now rather than waiting.
A very small number of landlords may also be exempt from Making Tax Digital, including those who are digitally excluded and those who do not have a National Insurance number. You can read the full list of exemptions on the Gov.UK website here.
Understand the new MTD process
Before getting set up for MTD, make sure you’ve read up on and understood exactly what Making Tax Digital is and what it means for you and your property rental business.
Under MTD, landlords must:
- Keep digital records of income and expenses.
- Submit quarterly updates to HMRC.
- Submit a digital final year-end declaration.
Remember, the quarterly submissions are updates, not payments, you are not required to pay tax four times a year, this is a common misconception!
Sign up for Making Tax Digital with HMRC
You will not be automatically registered for MTD. If MTD applies to you from 6 April 2026, you need to sign up for MTD here on the HMRC government website.
When registering, you’ll need to use the same user ID and password that you use for Self Assessment. You’ll also need to know your business start date or the year you started receiving property income (if this is within the last 2 tax years). You may also be asked to provide further proof of identity.
Sign up for MTD compatible software
To send digital tax updates to HMRC, you will need to use an HMRC-approved, MTD-compatible software. You cannot just make the submissions through the HMRC website.
Not all accounting and property management software is compatible with Making Tax Digital yet. If you already use software, do your research and make sure that it is compatible, officially recognised and verified by HMRC, and can send quarterly updates.
If you don’t use software yet, you’ll need to sign up for an MTD-compliant and HMRC-approved software like PaTMa’s Property Manager. In addition to keeping digital financial records and submitting quarterly updates to HMRC, PaTMa also helps landlords to digitise and streamline other areas of property management like tenant communications, task management, and inventories.
Separate your property rental finances
If you don’t already have a separate bank account for your property rental business, now is the perfect time to set one up. Many landlord software solutions, including PaTMa, feature an open banking integration, allowing the software to automatically access, record, and categorise your income and expenses in real-time. If your rental finances are mixed up with personal or other self-employed finances, then this complicates things unnecessarily.
Make sure all your records are digital
If you’re not used to recording everything digitally, you’ll need a system for doing so going forward. MTD requires you to keep transaction level data, rather than just a summary of how much things cost. Say goodbye to spreadsheets and boxes bursting with receipts; we promise you won’t miss them one bit once you’re up and running.
Landlord software like PaTMa helps you to store all your property management information and data securely in one organised, central location, making it easier to order, search for, and retrieve the information you’re looking for.
Speak to your accountant about MTD
If you use an accountant, speak to them ahead of the MTD deadline to make sure everything is set up and ready to go. It’s worth just checking with them whether you need to do anything differently from now on to avoid future confusion.
Set reminders for the new MTD deadlines
Remember, you’ll be making quarterly submissions now, as well as a final declaration.
Deadline dates for your first MTD submissions are:
- First quarterly submission (6 April – 5 July 2026): 7 August 2026
- Second quarterly submission (6 July – 5 October 2026): 7 November 2026
- Third quarterly submission (6 October – 5 January 2027): 7 February 2027
- Fourth quarterly submission (6 January 2027 – 5 April 2027): 7 May 2027
- Final declaration for 2026/27: 31 January 2028
With PaTMa Property Manager you’ll get a notification reminding you when to do your quarterly submission and your annual submission so you don’t miss any important deadlines.
Final checklist: Are you ready for MTD?
That’s a lot of information to take in. So let’s break it down into a handy checklist for you to tick off.
Before April 2026, you need to:
- Check whether your rental income meets the 2026 MTD threshold.
- Sign up for MTD with HMRC.
- Choose and register for HMRC-approved MTD software.
- Make sure you are using a dedicated bank account for your rental business.
- Make all your records digital.
- Speak to your accountant.
- Set reminders for your quarterly tax submission deadlines.
Sign up for PaTMa to get MTD-ready
PaTMa’s Property Manager software is built specifically for landlords. Its intuitive interface makes it easy to pick up and start using straight away. It is designed to make MTD compliance simple, helping you to seamlessly switch to digital record keeping and quarterly submissions.
Beyond MTD, PaTMa also supports landlords with other areas of property management, from task management to performance reporting and inventory tracking. PaTMa brings everything together in one place, streamlining day-to-day admin and helping you run a more efficient property portfolio.
Sign up for a 14-day free trial or book a demo to see how PaTMa works and get ready for digital tax submissions ahead of the MTD deadline this April.
