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Compliance19 October 2026·14 min read

Jointly owned property and the Making Tax Digital threshold: how your share of income is counted

For Making Tax Digital for Income Tax, each joint owner is tested on their own share of the gross rent, added to any self-employment income, not on the property's total rent. This guide covers the £50,000, £30,000 and £20,000 stages, how couples and unequal owners are counted, which tax year HMRC tests, how to leave, and what co-owners must file.

Each joint owner is tested on their own share of the gross rent, not on what the property earns in total. That share is added to any other self-employment or property income the person has, and the total is compared with the qualifying income threshold for the year: £50,000, then £30,000, then £20,000. Expenses and mortgage interest do not reduce the figure. A couple can therefore end up with one partner inside Making Tax Digital for Income Tax (MTD) and the other outside it.

This is the part of the rules for landlords that catches co-owners out, so the sections below take it in order: the thresholds, how jointly owned properties are counted, what counts as qualifying income, how the tax year is chosen, and what you file once you are in.

Making Tax Digital for Income Tax: the three thresholds and start dates

HMRC's guidance on who needs to use MTD for Income Tax ties each income threshold to the income of an earlier tax year and to a start date. You need to use the service if you are a sole trader or a landlord registered for Self Assessment, you have income from self-employment or property (or both), and your qualifying income is above the threshold for the relevant year.

Qualifying income over Measured for the tax year You need to use MTD from
£50,000 2024 to 2025 6 April 2026
£30,000 2025 to 2026 6 April 2027
£20,000 2026 to 2027 6 April 2028

The first stage has already started. If your qualifying income for 2024-25 was over £50,000, HMRC's guidance says you should have started using MTD for Income Tax on 6 April 2026. You can still sign up, or sign up a client, if you have not already done so.

The next stage is close. Landlords with qualifying income over £30,000 for 2025-26 need to use MTD from April 2027, specifically 6 April 2027. The 2025-26 Self Assessment return is due by 31 January 2027, and that is the return HMRC looks at for this stage.

Partnerships are not in this timetable yet. HMRC says it will set out their timeline at a later date.

MTD from 6 April 2026: do you need to join?

You needed to be in MTD from 6 April 2026 if your qualifying income for 2024-25 was over £50,000. That is a test on your own figures, not on the property's. If you have a share in a let property and nothing else, check your share of the gross rent. If you also run a business as one of the sole traders in your household, add its turnover.

HMRC wrote to people it believed were affected. A letter is not a precondition, though. HMRC's guidance says that if you did not receive one, it is still your responsibility to check if and when you need to use MTD, and to be signed up and prepared. HMRC has an online tool for this, which can also be used on behalf of someone else. If you do not think you need to use MTD, HMRC says to contact it.

How jointly owned properties are counted for rental income

The test is applied to each person individually. Where a property is jointly owned, each individual's share of the income from that property counts towards their qualifying income, not the total rental income for the property. A married couple owning one property that produces £48,000 of gross rent count £24,000 each.

Two consequences follow.

  • Owning a property jointly does not by itself put anyone in MTD. A couple with £60,000 of gross rent from one jointly held property are each counting £30,000, or whatever their beneficial ownership split produces. Neither is brought in by that property alone.
  • Jointly owned property does not shelter your other income. Your share of rental income is added to everything else that counts. If one spouse also owns another property in their sole name with £25,000 of rent, that spouse is at £55,000 in total, which is over £50,000 and in scope.

So if you are asking whether a joint property spares you from MTD when your sole-name rents are already over a threshold, it does not. Your share of the joint rent only adds to the total.

Who owns what share

The share you count should be the share you are taxed on. The principle is that tax follows ownership, not convenience: you are taxed on your share of the property, not on who receives the rent or manages it. Even where all the rent is paid into one person's bank account, each owner reports their own share.

For married couples and civil partners, the default split of income is 50:50. A different split needs a Form 17 declaration with supporting evidence. For other joint property owners, the split follows ownership percentage, legal agreements and financial contribution. If you hold a property in unequal shares, your threshold figure uses your share on that basis.

What counts as qualifying income for a landlord

Qualifying income is broadly the total gross income from trading and property, as reported on the Self Assessment tax return. Three points matter in practice.

It is gross, not profit. The Association of Taxation Technicians (ATT) says the thresholds apply to gross trading and property income or turnover, not profit. Income means your total earnings before any allowable expenses; profit is what remains afterwards. Mortgage interest, agent fees, repairs and insurance do not bring the income threshold figure down. Take four flats at £1,100 a month each, producing £52,800 of gross rent. After mortgage interest and other costs the taxable profit is far lower, but the figure for the test is £52,800, so the landlord is above £50,000.

Self-employment and property are added together. The sources of income are considered in combination, not stream by stream. £25,000 of self-employment income and £30,000 of rent makes £55,000 and puts the person in the first wave. The ATT's example is £16,000 of rent and £37,000 of sole trader sales, which exceeds £50,000.

Only some income counts. Dividends, interest and pensions are not part of the test, although they still appear in the digital tax return. Income from your own limited company, whether dividends or salary, is excluded, and brought-forward property losses do not reduce the figure.

UK property and foreign property

The ATT lists the boxes on the Self Assessment return that HMRC has indicated it will look at, and the totals are combined:

  • self-employment turnover and other self-employment income
  • UK property income (box 20 of the SA105, or box 6.1 of the SA200)
  • other UK property income, such as the grant of a lease and reverse premiums (SA105 boxes 22 and 23)
  • furnished holiday let income (SA105 box 5), for 2024-25 only
  • foreign property gross income and premiums (SA106 boxes 14 and 16)

The furnished holiday let line is for 2024-25 only because the regime ended on 6 April 2025. From 2025-26, short-stay lets such as holiday cottages and Airbnb fall within ordinary property income and count in the same way.

Income that is not on the return does not count

The ATT is clear that income not declared on the return is not taken into account. Rent-a-room receipts under the £7,500 limit, and trading or property income of £1,000 or less where the allowance is claimed, do not count towards the threshold provided they are not on the return. Its example is a person with £19,000 of trading income and £5,000 of rent-a-room income: they are not mandated, because the rent-a-room receipts are ignored.

There is a catch. If you do have to join MTD because of your other income, you then report quarterly on all your property and self-employment sources, including the ones that were ignored for the threshold test.

When a co-owner reports the share net of expenses

Some joint owners only receive notice of their share of the property income after expenses have been deducted, for example from an agent's statement. In that case an existing concession lets them report the net amount on their Self Assessment return. HMRC has confirmed that qualifying income only looks at what is reported on the return, so owners who benefit from the concession may have a lower qualifying income for MTD purposes than the gross rent would suggest.

HMRC's guidance has a section on how it assesses qualifying income in this situation. If you are near a threshold and your figures come to you net, check how your share will be treated before you assume you are in or out.

Worked examples for co-owners

These use the thresholds above and the share-based approach. The figures are illustrations, not tax advice for your own position.

Example 1: a couple, 50:50, no other income. A property produces £48,000 of gross rent a year. Each owner counts £24,000. Neither is over £50,000 or £30,000. If the rent stays the same, both would be over £20,000 at the last stage, which is tested on 2026-27 income and starts on 6 April 2028.

Example 2: unequal shares. Two owners hold a property 70:30, with £60,000 of gross rent. The 70% owner counts £42,000. The 30% owner counts £18,000. For the 2025-26 test of £30,000, the first is over and the second is under. Whichever split is correct for tax is the one that decides this, which is why the ownership position needs to be settled before the threshold is tested.

Example 3: one owner has another business. A spouse's 50% share of joint rent is £24,000. They also have £28,000 of self-employment turnover. Together that is £52,000, over the £50,000 stage that tested 2024-25. Their partner, with only the £24,000, is not. One is in MTD, the other is not.

Example 4: a joint share plus a sole-name property. A couple's joint property produces £60,000, so each counts £30,000. One of them also has a property in their own name producing £25,000. That owner's total is £55,000 and they are in scope. Their partner is not, on those figures alone.

Which tax year HMRC tests, and what happens if income falls

HMRC reviews your Self Assessment return and checks your qualifying income each tax year. If it is above the relevant threshold, HMRC writes to confirm you must start using MTD by the start of the following tax year. For the April 2026 start, HMRC reviewed the 2024-25 return.

The ATT explains the rule: HMRC looks at the return whose filing deadline fell just before the start of the tax year. So 2026-27 is decided by the 2024-25 return (due 31 January 2026), and 2027-28 by the 2025-26 return (due 31 January 2027). The ATT's example has £45,000 of qualifying income in 2024-25 and £52,000 in 2025-26. That person is not mandated from April 2026, because £45,000 is under £50,000, but is mandated from April 2027, because £52,000 is over £30,000.

A later fall in income does not undo the mandate. If your 2024-25 qualifying income was over £50,000, you are in from 6 April 2026 even if 2025-26 was lower. To leave, your qualifying income has to be below the relevant threshold for three consecutive tax years while you are within MTD. The ATT's example has income of £52,000, £35,000, £15,000, £15,000 and £5,000 over 2024-25 to 2028-29. That person is mandated from April 2026 and would not become exempt until 2029-30.

If your income is near a threshold, the practical advice is to set up MTD-compatible software anyway. Switching back and forth costs more than staying compliant.

Quarterly reporting for joint owners

Once you are mandated, you keep digital records and submit quarterly updates using third-party MTD-compatible software. HMRC's guidance also says you will need to choose and authorise your software, or decide how your agent will act for you. To sign up you must be registered for Self Assessment and have submitted a tax return in the last two years. You still need to submit a Self Assessment return for the tax year before you start.

For joint property, each owner has to keep their own digital records and submit their own quarterly returns for their share. There is no combined submission. The quarters and deadlines for a normal 6 April to 5 April tax year are:

Quarter Period covered Submission deadline
Q1 6 April to 5 July 7 August
Q2 6 July to 5 October 7 November
Q3 6 October to 5 January 7 February
Q4 6 January to 5 April 7 May
Final declaration Full tax year 31 January following the tax year

Our guide to the quarterly updates for landlords covers what goes into each one.

The easement for jointly owned property

HMRC has relaxed the quarterly reporting requirement for jointly owned property. An owner who chooses it can report only their share of gross income on the quarterly updates and give the full income and expense detail on the annual return. If you also own property on your own, the expenses for the solely owned property still go on your quarterly updates.

Keep the owners' figures consistent

Because each owner files separately, HMRC receives more than one submission linked to the same property. A simple routine works: confirm the ownership split, record income on that split, allocate expenses in the same ratio, keep separate digital records, and make sure both owners file consistent figures. Take a 60:40 property with £1,000 of monthly rent: £600 and £400 of income, and £200 of property income and expenses allocated as £120 and £80. The safest working approach is that each owner's share of income and expenses follows the same ratio, regardless of who paid. Agree that with the other owner and your accountant, because mismatched figures between owners are easy for HMRC to see.

Spreadsheets can still be used, but only if they are combined with bridging software that submits to HMRC. Manual records on their own are not enough.

Rules for landlords who are exempt or outside MTD

Several groups fall outside the rules, or can apply for an exemption.

  • Landlords below the threshold. If your qualifying income is below the threshold for the year, you are not required to join. The ATT puts it as an automatic exemption: below £50,000 for 2026-27, below £30,000 for 2027-28, and below £20,000 from 2028-29.
  • Digitally excluded individuals. HMRC says you could be exempt if you are digitally excluded. Exempt people do not use MTD but must continue to report their income and gains on a Self Assessment return. HMRC has a separate page on which exemptions are automatic and which you need to apply for.
  • Partnerships, for now. Partnerships will need to use MTD for Income Tax in future, with the timeline to be set later. Rent shown on a partnership tax return, such as a GP practice receiving pharmacy rent, and not on the land and property pages of a personal Self Assessment return, is outside MTD for Income Tax at present.
  • Limited company property income. This goes through the company's corporation tax return and is not part of the personal threshold test.
  • Non-UK residents. Those with a National Insurance number are mandated only from April 2027. Overseas landlords without a National Insurance number are outside MTD and continue with their annual UK return.

Frequently Asked Questions

How is the MTD threshold calculated for jointly owned property?

Take your own share of the gross rental income from the property, add your other self-employment and property income that is on your return, and compare the total with the threshold for the relevant tax year.

Is it gross rent or profit?

Gross. Expenses and mortgage interest do not reduce the figure used for the threshold. A landlord with a small profit can still be well over a threshold.

If a property is jointly owned, do both owners need to report under MTD?

Only if each is over the threshold on their own figures. Where an owner is mandated, they file their own quarterly updates for their share. Owners can use the easement to report only their share of gross income quarterly, with full detail on the annual return.

Do I need to join MTD in April 2026?

Only if your qualifying income for 2024-25 was over £50,000. If it was not, the next question is whether your 2025-26 qualifying income was over £30,000, which would start you on 6 April 2027.

Do partnerships count towards the MTD thresholds?

Not currently. HMRC has said partnerships will need to use MTD for Income Tax in future and will set out the timeline later.

What if my income falls after I join?

You stay in until your qualifying income has been below the relevant threshold for three consecutive tax years.

Where this leaves you

Work out your own share of gross rent first, add self-employment and any other property income that is on your return, and compare the total with the £30,000 and £20,000 stages that are still to come. Settle the ownership split with your co-owner before you do it. Deplexify prepares accounts and tax for UK landlords, among others, and the property page sets out what that covers. If you are weighing up the cost of the extra work, we have also written about whether your accountant will charge more for MTD.

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