MTD No Rental Income Quarter: What Landlords Must Submit in 2026/27

Do you submit an MTD update if there is no rent in the quarter?

Yes. HMRC says that if you have not received any income or incurred any expenses during the last update period, you must still send your quarterly update to tell HMRC. The update is a summary, not a tax return.

This matters for landlords because rent rarely arrives in neat tax quarters. A void from July to September, for example, does not pause your MTD obligation if your property business is already within MTD.

For the wider quarterly update rules, see MTD quarterly updates for landlords. If you are not sure whether you are in scope at all, start with do I need MTD for rental income?.

• If rent is £0 but you paid expenses, record the expenses and submit the update.
• If rent is £0 and expenses are £0, submit a nil update.
• If rent is unpaid, check whether you use the cash basis or traditional accounting before deciding whether it is income for that period.
• Do not wait until the property is profitable before sending updates.

Who is affected in 2026/27?

MTD for Income Tax starts from 6 April 2026 for individuals registered for Self Assessment with qualifying income from self-employment and property of more than £50,000, based on the 2024/25 tax return.

The threshold then falls to more than £30,000 from 6 April 2027, based on the 2025/26 tax year, and more than £20,000 from 6 April 2028, based on the 2026/27 tax year.

Qualifying income means gross turnover from self-employment and property before expenses. PAYE employment income, dividends, pensions and partnership profit shares do not count towards the MTD qualifying income test.

2026/27 quarterly update deadlines for nil or low-rent quarters

For standard tax-year quarters in 2026/27, the quarterly update deadlines are fixed. The first update is due by 7 August 2026 and the fourth by 7 May 2027.

HMRC guidance now explains that each quarterly update is worked out by your software from the start of the tax year to the end of the update period. In practice, keep your records up to date for each quarter and check the cumulative totals before submitting.

The quarterly updates must be sent before you can submit your 2026/27 MTD tax return, which is due by 31 January 2028.

What to put in the update when rent is £0 but expenses exist

Enter the actual digital records for the quarter. If there was no rent, the income total can be £0. If you paid property costs during the void period, record them in the right expense category.

Common void-period expenses include council tax where the landlord is responsible, utilities, insurance, letting agent re-listing fees, safety checks, repairs and cleaning. The usual tax rule still applies: the cost must be for the property business and not capital expenditure.

For a full list of claimable categories, see allowable expenses for landlords in 2026. For void-specific bills, see council tax and utilities during voids.

• Use £0 for rent if no rent was received and you are using the cash basis.
• Keep receipts, invoices and bank evidence as you would under Self Assessment.
• Do not include private costs, such as using the property for your own family between tenants.
• Do not claim capital improvements as normal repairs in the quarterly update.
• Correct digital records when you become aware of an error.

Void periods, unpaid rent and cash basis timing

Cash basis is the default accounting method for self-employment and property income. Under the cash basis, rental income is normally recorded when you receive it, not when it was due.

That means a tenant who should have paid £1,200 on 30 September 2026 but actually pays on 10 October 2026 will usually create income in the later period, not the earlier one, if you are using cash basis.

If you use traditional accounting, rent due may be recognised even if it has not been paid, with bad debt rules considered separately if recovery becomes doubtful. For that scenario, see bad debts and unpaid rent tax relief.

Newly acquired properties with no rent yet

If you already have a UK property business and buy another UK rental property, HMRC says starting to rent out another UK property is not treated as a new income source. It is part of the same UK property business, so include the records in your existing MTD property updates.

If you have no existing property income source and you start a new property income source while already using MTD for another reason, HMRC says you do not normally need to keep digital records or send quarterly updates for that new source until after you have submitted the tax return that includes it for the first time. You can choose to start reporting it through MTD from when the income source starts.

Pre-letting expenses can be deductible once the property business starts if they meet the statutory conditions, including that they were incurred within 7 years before the property business began and would have been allowable if incurred after it began.

• Existing UK landlord buys another UK buy-to-let: include it in the same UK property business.
• First rental property while already in MTD for self-employment: check the new income source rules.
• Repairs before first letting may be deductible if they are revenue repairs and meet the pre-trading expense rules.
• Improvements that add value are normally capital, not quarterly rental expenses.

Step by step

1. 1

   Check whether you are in MTD for 2026/27

   Confirm whether your qualifying income from property and self-employment on the relevant tax return is over £50,000 for the 6 April 2026 start date.

2. 2

   Keep digital records even during the void

   Record rent as £0 if none was received, and enter any property business expenses in MTD-compatible software.

3. 3

   Review whether the property is still part of your rental business

   A temporary void between commercial lets is different from personal use or a property business that has permanently ceased.

4. 4

   Submit the quarterly update by the deadline

   Send the update by 7 August, 7 November, 7 February or 7 May, depending on the quarter.

5. 5

   Correct errors before the tax return

   If you later spot a missing expense, wrong category or late rent receipt, correct the digital record and make any year-end adjustments before submitting the MTD tax return.

A worked example

A landlord is in MTD from 6 April 2026. Their property is empty from 6 July to 5 October 2026 while they find a new tenant. No rent is received in that quarter, but they still pay property costs.

The landlord still sends the second quarterly update by 7 November 2026. The update shows no rent for the void period but includes £1,470 of recorded property expenses, subject to the normal allowability rules.

Frequently asked questions