MTD £30,000 Threshold for Landlords: 2027 Entry Guide
Last updated 24 June 2026 · 9 min read · By the LandlordTaxAi Editorial Team
The short answer
Landlords must use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax from 6 April 2027 if their 2025/26 qualifying income is over £30,000. Qualifying income means gross property and self-employment income before expenses, not rental profit. If your qualifying income is exactly £30,000, you are not in the 2027 wave, but you may enter from 6 April 2028 if your 2026/27 qualifying income is over £20,000.
The £30,000 MTD threshold is the second Making Tax Digital wave for individual landlords. It catches landlords who were below the first £50,000 threshold for April 2026, but whose gross property and self-employment income for 2025/26 is over £30,000.
The important point is that HMRC tests income before expenses. A landlord with £31,000 of rent and £9,000 of allowable costs can still be inside MTD from 6 April 2027. If you are unsure which income counts, start with our MTD qualifying income guide or use the MTD threshold calculator for landlords.
This guide explains who joins in 2027, how the £30,000 test works, what deadlines apply in the first MTD year, and what to do now if your rental income is close to the line.
What is the MTD £30,000 threshold for landlords?
The £30,000 threshold applies to individual landlords and sole traders who are registered for Self Assessment and receive property income, self-employment income, or both.
For the 2027 wave, HMRC looks at your qualifying income for the 2025/26 tax year. If that figure is over £30,000, you must follow MTD for Income Tax from 6 April 2027.
The test is not based on profit. It is based on gross income before deducting mortgage interest, repairs, letting agent fees, insurance, service charges or other landlord expenses.
| MTD start date | Tax year HMRC checks | Qualifying income threshold |
|---|---|---|
| 6 April 2026 | 2024/25 | Over £50,000 |
| 6 April 2027 | 2025/26 | Over £30,000 |
| 6 April 2028 | 2026/27 | Over £20,000 |
The legal trigger is over £30,000, not £30,000 or more. A 2025/26 qualifying income of exactly £30,000 does not put you into the April 2027 wave.
What income counts towards the £30,000 test?
Qualifying income is the total income you receive in a tax year from self-employment and property. For landlords, this means the rent and other taxable property income shown before expenses.
If you also have a sole trade, you add the gross self-employment income to your gross property income. This can pull in landlords with only one modest rental property if they also have freelance or trade income.
HMRC says employment income, PAYE wages, dividends, State Pension, private pensions and an individual partner’s share of partnership profit do not count towards qualifying income for MTD.
- Count gross rent before deducting expenses.
- Count gross self-employment income if you also trade as a sole trader.
- Do not count PAYE salary, dividends or pensions.
- Do not reduce the threshold figure for repairs, insurance, agent fees or mortgage interest.
- If an income source has ceased but you still have another continuing property or self-employment source, the ceased source may still count in HMRC’s threshold check.
A landlord with £28,000 of rent and £3,500 of sole-trader income has qualifying income of £31,500, so they are in the 2027 MTD wave.
Who is in, out or borderline for April 2027?
You are in the April 2027 wave if you are an individual landlord registered for Self Assessment, you have property income or self-employment income, and your 2025/26 qualifying income is over £30,000.
You are not in the April 2027 wave if your 2025/26 qualifying income is £30,000 or less, although the lower £20,000 threshold can bring you in from 6 April 2028. For landlords below the threshold, see our MTD property income below threshold guide.
You do not have to start using MTD until after you have submitted your first Self Assessment tax return. Partnerships will also come into MTD in future, but HMRC has not set out the full partnership timetable.
| 2025/26 position | MTD result |
|---|---|
| £29,950 gross rent only | Not in 2027 wave |
| £30,000 qualifying income | Not in 2027 wave |
| £30,001 qualifying income | MTD from 6 April 2027 |
| £24,000 rent + £8,000 sole trade | MTD from 6 April 2027 |
| PAYE salary + £25,000 rent | Not in 2027 wave |
Do not use rental profit as your test. A high-expense landlord can have a small taxable profit but still exceed the £30,000 MTD threshold.
What changes from 6 April 2027 if you are over the threshold?
From 6 April 2027, you must keep digital records of your property and self-employment income and expenses using MTD-compatible software. You or your agent must then use compatible software to send quarterly updates to HMRC.
Quarterly updates are summaries of income and expense totals. HMRC does not receive each receipt, invoice or bank transaction in the quarterly update, but you still need to keep the underlying records as you normally would for Self Assessment.
You must also submit your tax return through MTD software and pay any tax due by 31 January after the end of the tax year. For the 2027/28 MTD year, that tax return and payment deadline is 31 January 2029.
- Create and store digital records for rental income and expenses.
- Send quarterly updates every 3 months for each relevant business.
- Use the same income and expense categories as Self Assessment.
- Make year-end adjustments before the final tax return.
- Submit the final tax return through MTD-compatible software.
If you already keep clean digital records with bank feeds, the 2027 change is mainly about connecting those records to HMRC through recognised software.
The first MTD deadlines for landlords joining in 2027
If you enter MTD from 6 April 2027, your first MTD tax year is 2027/28. HMRC’s quarterly update deadlines are 7 August, 7 November, 7 February and 7 May.
Each quarterly update covers the tax year to date up to the end of the relevant update period. If there is no income or expense movement in a quarter, you still need to send an update.
The first cohort in 2026/27 has a soft landing for quarterly update penalty points. For tax years after 2026/27, the points-based late submission penalty system applies: a missed quarterly update or tax return deadline can give a penalty point, and reaching 4 points can trigger a £200 penalty.
| 2027/28 update | Standard period | Deadline |
|---|---|---|
| Quarter 1 | 6 Apr 2027 to 5 Jul 2027 | 7 Aug 2027 |
| Quarter 2 | 6 Apr 2027 to 5 Oct 2027 | 7 Nov 2027 |
| Quarter 3 | 6 Apr 2027 to 5 Jan 2028 | 7 Feb 2028 |
| Quarter 4 | 6 Apr 2027 to 5 Apr 2028 | 7 May 2028 |
| Tax return and payment | 2027/28 final position | 31 Jan 2029 |
Quarterly updates are not quarterly tax payments. Your Income Tax payment deadline remains 31 January, with payments on account where they apply.
How to prepare if you are between £30,000 and £50,000
The landlords most affected in 2027 are those with gross qualifying income between £30,000 and £50,000. They avoided the first April 2026 wave but have less than one tax year to move from annual record-keeping to live digital records.
Start by checking your 2025/26 Self Assessment property pages and any sole-trader figures. Then choose software that supports landlords, not just generic sole traders. Our MTD software for landlords guide explains what to look for.
If you use an accountant, agree who is doing each task: daily record capture, quarterly review, quarterly submission, year-end adjustments and the final tax return. MTD does not remove the need for tax judgement, but it does change the workflow.
- Separate rental bank transactions from personal spending where possible.
- Move receipts, invoices and statements into a consistent digital process.
- Map common costs such as repairs, insurance, service charges and agent fees to the correct categories.
- Check whether your software can handle jointly owned property, foreign property or multiple properties if relevant.
- Do a trial quarter before 6 April 2027 if your records are currently spreadsheet-based.
Spreadsheets can still be used if connected through bridging software, but all-in-one landlord software is usually easier where you want bank feeds, receipt capture and deadline reminders.
Free calculator · no sign-up
MTD eligibility checker
Find out if and when MTD for Income Tax applies to you
Result
- Total qualifying income
- £28,000
- You must use MTD for Income Tax
- From 6 April 2028
Estimate based on verified 2026/27 UK rates. Informational only — not personal tax advice.
Get ready for the 2027 MTD threshold without rebuilding your records
LandlordTaxAi helps landlords track qualifying income, keep digital property records and prepare MTD-ready submissions from one place.
See how it worksStep by step
- 1
Check your 2025/26 gross rental income
Use the rent received or receivable before deducting repairs, mortgage interest, agent fees or other property expenses.
- 2
Add any sole-trader income
If you also have self-employment income, add the gross trading income to your gross property income.
- 3
Ignore non-qualifying income
Do not include PAYE salary, dividends, State Pension, private pensions or an individual partner’s share of partnership profit in the MTD threshold test.
- 4
Compare the total with £30,000
If the 2025/26 qualifying income total is over £30,000, prepare to use MTD from 6 April 2027. If it is exactly £30,000 or less, check the 2028 £20,000 threshold next.
- 5
Choose and authorise compatible software
Use software that works with Making Tax Digital for Income Tax, then sign up and authorise the software before your first MTD obligations are due.
A worked example
A landlord has one buy-to-let and a small weekend sole-trader business in 2025/26. They want to know whether they enter MTD from 6 April 2027.
| Gross rent received | £26,400 |
| Gross sole-trader income | £5,200 |
| Repairs, insurance and agent fees | £7,800 ignored for threshold |
| Qualifying income | £31,600 |
| Amount over £30,000 threshold | £1,600 |
The landlord joins MTD from 6 April 2027 because qualifying income is measured before expenses and is over £30,000.
Frequently asked questions
Does the MTD £30,000 threshold mean rent or profit?
It means gross qualifying income before expenses. For landlords, that usually means rent and other property income before deducting costs. A landlord with £32,000 of rent and £12,000 of expenses is still over the £30,000 threshold.
Do I join MTD in 2027 if my income is exactly £30,000?
No. HMRC’s threshold is over £30,000 for the 2025/26 tax year. Exactly £30,000 does not put you into the 6 April 2027 wave, although you should check the later £20,000 threshold for 2028.
Which tax year decides whether I join MTD from 6 April 2027?
The key year is 2025/26. If your qualifying income for 2025/26 is over £30,000, you need to use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax from 6 April 2027.
Does my PAYE salary count towards the landlord MTD threshold?
No. PAYE employment income does not count towards qualifying income for MTD. The test is based on income from property and self-employment, so a landlord with a salary and £25,000 of rent is not over the 2027 threshold unless they also have enough self-employment or other qualifying property income.
Will I have to pay tax four times a year under MTD?
No. MTD requires quarterly updates, not quarterly Income Tax payments. Your tax return and payment deadline remains 31 January after the end of the tax year, with payments on account where they apply.
What happens if my income later drops below the threshold?
Once you are in MTD, HMRC says you can choose to opt out if your qualifying income drops below the relevant threshold for 3 tax years in a row. Until then, you should expect to keep digital records and continue MTD submissions.
Written and reviewed by the LandlordTaxAi Editorial Team. Our guides are reviewed against current HMRC guidance and updated when the rules change. Operated by LandlordTaxAi, United Kingdom. Follow us on LinkedIn.
Last reviewed: 24 June 2026 · Researched against primary UK sources for the 2026/27 tax year: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/find-out-if-and-when-you-need-to-use-making-tax-digital-for-income-tax; https://www.gov.uk/guidance/work-out-your-qualifying-income-for-making-tax-digital-for-income-tax; https://www.gov.uk/guidance/use-making-tax-digital-for-income-tax/send-quarterly-updates; https://www.gov.uk/guidance/penalties-for-making-tax-digital-for-income-tax; https://www.gov.uk/guidance/sign-up-for-making-tax-digital-for-income-tax; https://www.gov.uk/guidance/find-software-that-works-with-making-tax-digital-for-income-tax. This article is informational only and does not constitute tax advice. Check the latest details on GOV.UK or with a qualified accountant.