Making Tax Digital for Joint Landlords: Your Essential Guide to Compliance in 2026
Owning property jointly is extremely common in the UK. Many landlords build portfolios with spouses, civil partners, family members, or long-term business partners, sharing both the income and the responsibilities that come with property ownership. With Making Tax Digital (MTD) for Income Tax arriving from April 2026, joint landlords are now facing an important question: how does this new system work when rental income is split between more than one person?
This is not a niche concern. Thousands of joint landlords will fall into scope during the first phase of MTD, and many more will follow as income thresholds drop in later years. The challenge is not just understanding whether MTD applies, but knowing how quarterly reporting works in practice, how income shares are handled, and what HMRC actually expects from each individual owner.
This guide is designed to walk you through the rules in a practical, easy-to-follow way. It explains when joint landlords must comply, how reporting works when income is shared, what records you need to keep, and how to avoid common mistakes. The aim is not just compliance, but confidence, so you know exactly where you stand well before April 2026.
Does Making Tax Digital Apply to Joint Landlords?
The starting point is understanding whether MTD applies to you personally. Under MTD for Income Tax, HMRC looks at your individual share of qualifying income, not the total income of the property itself.
From 6 April 2026, landlords must comply with MTD if their combined income from property and self-employment exceeds £50,000. Importantly, this figure is assessed per person. If you own property jointly, only your share of the rental income counts towards your threshold.
For example, if a property generates £80,000 in gross rent and you own 50 percent, HMRC treats your income as £40,000. On its own, that would keep you below the 2026 threshold. However, if you also own another property, or have self-employment income, those amounts are added together. HMRC aggregates all qualifying income across UK property, overseas property, and self-employment.
Employment income, pensions, and savings interest are ignored for MTD threshold purposes. The focus is strictly on rental and trading income reported through Self Assessment.
HMRC uses a look-back method known as the “current year minus two” rule. This means your 2024/25 Self Assessment return, filed by 31 January 2026, determines whether you are mandated into MTD from April 2026. If your share of qualifying income on that return exceeds £50,000, MTD applies to you even if your income later drops.
The threshold then reduces to £30,000 in April 2027 and £20,000 in April 2028. Many joint landlords who fall outside the first phase will still be brought into scope in later years.
How Joint Ownership Changes Your MTD Responsibilities
Joint ownership does not remove your obligation to comply with MTD, but it does change how records and reports are handled. HMRC recognises that multiple owners should not be forced into duplicating the same records unnecessarily.
Each joint landlord is responsible only for their own share of income and expenses. You do not submit joint quarterly updates, and you do not file on behalf of your co-owner. Instead, each person keeps digital records that reflect their portion of the property business.
In practice, this often means maintaining a single digital record for each property that clearly shows how income and costs are split. For quarterly updates, you can report your share of gross rental income and basic expenses without needing to break down every adjustment immediately. More detailed calculations are completed later in the year-end final declaration.
For married couples and civil partners, income is usually split 50:50 by default, unless a different ownership structure has been formally declared to HMRC. Unmarried joint owners, or those with unequal ownership shares, must follow the actual legal split of the property.
The key principle is consistency. As long as income and expenses are allocated in line with ownership and recorded digitally, HMRC’s system is designed to accept joint landlord reporting without unnecessary friction.
Understanding the Quarterly Reporting Cycle
One of the biggest adjustments under MTD is moving away from a single annual tax return to regular in-year updates. Joint landlords will follow the same timetable as all other landlords who fall within scope.
Each tax year is broken into four quarterly periods. After each period ends, you have roughly one month to submit a digital update to HMRC. These updates are summaries, not full tax calculations. They show income received and expenses incurred during the period, based on your digital records.
For example, the first MTD quarter runs from 6 April to 5 July 2026, with the update due by 7 August. The pattern continues throughout the year, ending with the final quarter to 5 April, due by 7 May.
As a joint landlord, you only report your share of income and expenses in each update. If rent is paid into a joint account, your records should clearly show how much belongs to you. If expenses are shared, they should be apportioned according to ownership.
The final step is the year-end final declaration, due by 31 January following the tax year. This replaces the traditional Self Assessment return and is where adjustments, reliefs, and allowances are applied.
Keeping Digital Records as a Joint Landlord
MTD requires landlords to keep digital records throughout the year. For joint landlords, this is where early planning makes a significant difference.
Your digital records must show the date, amount, and category of each transaction, along with a brief description. Income typically includes rent, service charges, and any additional property-related receipts. Expenses include repairs, agent fees, insurance, and other allowable costs.
Joint landlords should agree early on how expenses are split. Some costs, such as insurance or agent fees, are usually divided according to ownership share. Others, like repairs paid by one owner, may need manual adjustment to reflect the correct allocation.
The aim is not perfection at the quarterly stage, but accuracy over the full year. Keeping records up to date monthly makes quarterly updates straightforward and reduces the risk of errors building up.
Using RentalBux for Joint Landlord Compliance
Choosing the right software is a critical part of MTD preparation, especially for joint landlords with shared income streams. HMRC requires that records and submissions are made using compatible software, and spreadsheets alone are no longer sufficient without digital links.
RentalBux is fully authorised by HMRC for all MTD components, including UK property income, overseas property income, and self-employment. For joint landlords, it offers clear ownership splits, digital audit trails, and automated quarterly updates that reflect each individual’s share accurately.
Because RentalBux is designed with property businesses in mind, it simplifies tasks like allocating shared expenses, tracking income across multiple properties, and preparing year-end declarations without duplicating work between owners.
Having the right system in place early allows joint landlords to test their processes before the mandate comes into effect, rather than scrambling once deadlines become legally binding.
Common Challenges Joint Landlords Face Under MTD
Joint landlords often run into issues that solo landlords do not. Disagreements over expense allocation, incomplete records from letting agents, and confusion around overseas income are all common pain points.
MTD makes these issues more visible because reporting happens throughout the year. While this may feel uncomfortable at first, it often leads to better communication between co-owners and cleaner financial records overall.
Another frequent concern is assuming that letting agents handle MTD obligations. While agents may collect rent and provide statements, the legal responsibility for MTD reporting always rests with the landlord or their appointed tax adviser.
Expenses, Reliefs, and What Still Applies
MTD does not change what joint landlords can claim. It changes when and how those claims are reported.
You can still deduct your share of allowable expenses, including repairs, insurance, management fees, and professional costs. Mortgage interest continues to be given as a basic rate tax credit rather than a deduction, and this adjustment is applied at the year-end stage rather than during quarterly updates.
The advantage of digital record-keeping is that claims are easier to evidence if HMRC raises questions. A clear digital trail often reduces the likelihood of disputes or prolonged enquiries.
Avoiding Penalties and Staying Compliant
HMRC’s new penalty system operates on a points basis. Missing deadlines repeatedly leads to financial penalties, even if tax is ultimately paid on time. For joint landlords, this means each individual must stay on top of their own submissions.
Setting reminders, reviewing records monthly, and working with an adviser where needed can prevent problems before they arise. HMRC does allow exemptions in limited cases, such as digital exclusion, but these require formal applications and supporting evidence.
Conclusion
Making Tax Digital represents a fundamental shift in how landlords interact with HMRC. For joint landlords, the key is understanding that compliance is individual, even when ownership is shared.
Those who prepare early by understanding their income position, agreeing on record-keeping methods, and adopting suitable software will find the transition far smoother. While MTD introduces more frequent reporting, it also encourages better financial oversight and fewer last-minute surprises.
Joint landlording has always required coordination and trust. Under MTD, those qualities become even more valuable. With the right preparation, MTD does not have to be a burden. It can simply become part of running your property portfolio in a more structured and informed way.
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