When does Making Tax Digital start for you?
MTD for Income Tax is phased in by income. Enter your figures below and get your exact mandation date and first deadline — free, instant, and nothing is stored. Co-owners get a date each.
- Free to use
- Independent
- Includes free software
- Not affiliated with HMRC
In plain English
- Qualifying income
- — share of rents
- — self-employment
- Threshold band
- First update due
Estimate only, based on the qualifying-income thresholds (over £50k → 2026, over £30k → 2027, over £20k → 2028). Qualifying income is gross rental income plus self-employment turnover, before expenses. Confirm your position on GOV.UK.
Enter your income above to see when MTD starts.
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The thresholds
-
2026
Over £50k
From 6 Apr 2026 — live
-
2027
Over £30k
From 6 Apr 2027
-
2028
Over £20k
From 6 Apr 2028
Qualifying income is gross rents (your share) plus self-employment turnover, before expenses. Last verified 16 Jul 2026.
Now find software that fits
Answer a few questions and we’ll show a primary pick, a runner-up and a free alternative — with a shareable link. Works for rental income, self-employment, or both.
Find your MTD software
/ answered
Worth knowing for your situation
This result has its own link — copy the address bar to share it, or check your exact mandation date.
Answer each question to see your primary pick, a runner-up and a free alternative.
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The software, compared
Every HMRC-recognised option that fits landlords and sole traders, with the columns that actually matter.
Independent comparison. These “Visit” links earn us nothing — there are no affiliate relationships in place. How this site is funded.
| Tool | From | Free tier | Joint splits | Bank feeds | Quarterly | Final decl. | Agent access | Platform | Best for | Visit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Xero Simple plan HMRC-recognised | £7 / month +VAT | — | Partial | Bank feeds | Quarterly updates | Final declaration | Agent access | Web + app | Landlords whose accountant already works in Xero — the most widely used platform in UK practices. | Visit |
| QuickBooks Sole Trader plan HMRC-recognised | £10 / month +VAT | — | Partial | Bank feeds | Quarterly updates | Final declaration | Agent access | Web + app | Phone-first bookkeeping with strong automation and AI categorisation. | Visit |
| FreeAgent Free via NatWest / Mettle HMRC-recognised | £0–£19.50 / month +VAT | Yes | Built-in | Bank feeds | Quarterly updates | Final declaration | Agent access | Web + app | Co-owning couples who bank with NatWest, RBS or Mettle — automatic ownership splitting from one free account. | Visit |
| Landlord Studio GO free / Pro HMRC-recognised | £0–£12 / month +VAT | Yes | Yes | Bank feeds | Quarterly updates | Final declaration | Agent access | Web + app | Self-managing landlords who want property-specific tools and strong iOS/Android apps. | Visit |
| RentalBux Free for 1 property HMRC-recognised | £0–£4.50 / month +VAT | Yes | Built-in | Bank feeds | Quarterly updates | Final declaration | Agent access | Web + app | Co-owning couples who want property and self-employment income handled together in one filing. | Visit |
| Hammock Basic plan, 1–3 properties HMRC-recognised | £8 / month +VAT | — | Built-in | Bank feeds | Quarterly updates | Final declaration | Agent access | Web + app | Landlords who want real-time, per-property tracking with an accountant portal — and co-owners who want each owner's share split and filed automatically. | Visit |
| ApariPro Whole tax return in one place HMRC-recognised | £12 / month | — | Check | Bank feeds | Quarterly updates | Final declaration | Agent access | Web | Landlords with messy, multi-source income who want the whole Self Assessment handled in one place — APARI was the first vendor ever to file an MTD Income Tax return to HMRC. | Visit |
| Bridging software 123 Sheets / VitalTax — keep your spreadsheet HMRC-recognised | ~£30–£36 / year | Yes | Manual | Bank feeds | Quarterly updates | Final declaration | Agent access | Web | Confident spreadsheet users who want the cheapest compliant route and don't want to learn new software. | Visit |
Prices are “from” figures and exclude VAT unless noted; free tiers and prices change often — always reconfirm on the provider’s site. Joint-split ratings: Built-in / Yes handle co-owners, Partial / Manual need more work. Last verified 16 July 2026.
Jointly owned property changes everything
One jointly owned property doesn’t mean one tax return. Under MTD the property is split into each owner’s share, and each of you becomes a separate taxpayer — with your own digital records, your own four quarterly updates, and your own year-end final declaration. There is no joint submission.
For married couples and civil partners the split defaults to 50/50, unless a Form 17 election reflects genuinely unequal beneficial ownership — and the real ownership has to change first; you can’t pick a split just to save tax. Because the threshold is tested per person, the two of you can be mandated in different years. That’s normal.
One easement helps: jointly-let owners can report income only each quarter and add expenses at the year end. You still have to keep digital records of those expenses as you go.
Two taxpayers · two sets of records · two sets of deadlines
Which tools handle the split properly
Verified to record each owner’s share and let each co-owner file separately from one account.
FreeAgent
Built-inSet ownership percentages per property and FreeAgent splits income and expenses automatically; each co-owner files their own quarterly updates and final declaration from a single shared licence. A dedicated 'FreeAgent for Landlords' product exists.
Landlord Studio
YesSet ownership percentages and the system splits income and expenses by owner; co-owners can make separate MTD submissions for their share from one account.
RentalBux
Built-inBuilt around co-owning couples: records property-level income and expenses once and auto-splits each owner's share by ownership percentage, with each co-owner filing independently from one shared account. Includes a chart of accounts designed for jointly owned property.
Hammock
Built-inAllocates the right percentage of rental income and expenses to each owner automatically, based on their ownership percentage, and generates separate MTD quarterly submissions per owner under one licence — so co-owners file individually from one account.
Free routes, honestly
Plenty of landlords and sole traders won’t need to pay anything. Here are the genuinely free paths, who each one fits, and — just as importantly — who it doesn’t. Recommending these is exactly why the paid picks are worth trusting.
HMRC's own free tool
£0- Good for
- Good for: A single, simple income source with modest transaction volumes.
- Skip if
- Skip if: You need bank feeds, invoicing, accountant access, detailed reporting or joint-ownership splitting.
Free landlord tiers (Landlord Studio GO, RentalBux)
£0- Good for
- Good for: One to three properties with light bookkeeping; both handle ownership splits.
- Skip if
- Skip if: You want automatic bank feeds or several income streams (note Landlord Studio GO charges ~£5 per submission).
Free with your bank (FreeAgent, Coconut, Tide, Monzo, Starling)
£0- Good for
- Good for: Anyone happy to bank where the free software lives — FreeAgent via NatWest/RBS/Mettle; Coconut free for ~2 years with a Zempler account; Tide, Monzo and Starling bundle MTD tools with their business accounts.
- Skip if
- Skip if: You don't want to move or open a bank account to get it.
Other free tiers (Zoho Books, Clear Books, QuickFile, Untied)
£0 (with limits)- Good for
- Good for: Simple affairs: Zoho Books Free under £35k turnover; QuickFile free under 1,000 transactions/yr; Clear Books and Untied free tiers for basic self-employed/single-source cases.
- Skip if
- Skip if: You have multiple income sources or need accountant collaboration on a free tier.
Free tiers and their conditions change frequently — always confirm current terms on the provider’s own site. Last verified 16 July 2026.
MTD questions people actually ask
When does Making Tax Digital for Income Tax actually start?
It is phased by qualifying income. If your qualifying income is over £50,000 you are mandated from 6 April 2026; over £30,000 from 6 April 2027; and over £20,000 from 6 April 2028. Below £20,000 there is no confirmed start date yet.
How is the income threshold measured?
Qualifying income is your gross income before expenses, and it combines rental income with any self-employment turnover. HMRC reads it from your latest Self Assessment return. For jointly owned property it is your individual share that counts, not the whole property total.
Which year’s income decides my start date?
HMRC looks back at the qualifying income on your most recent finalised Self Assessment return — in practice the current year minus about two. So the return you file for 2024/25 is the one tested for the April 2026 start.
We own our property jointly — do we file one joint return?
No. There is no joint submission. Each co-owner keeps their own digital records and files their own quarterly updates and final declaration for their share, with their own deadlines. Because the threshold applies per person, two co-owners can be mandated in different tax years.
When are the quarterly deadlines?
Standard quarters end on 5 July, 5 October, 5 January and 5 April, with each update due one month and seven days later — 7 August, 7 November, 7 February and 7 May. The first-ever quarterly deadline, for the April 2026 cohort, is 7 August 2026.
Is there a penalty grace period in the first year?
HMRC has said it will take a lighter-touch approach to late quarterly updates in the first year as people adjust. After that, missed updates accrue penalty points that lead to fines, and interest runs on any tax paid late. Always confirm the current penalty detail on GOV.UK.
Can I keep using my spreadsheet?
Yes — but only if the spreadsheet is digitally linked to bridging software that submits the figures to HMRC for you. You cannot simply retype numbers into a portal by hand. You still have to keep digital records and maintain the digital link throughout.
What happens if I do nothing?
Once you are mandated it is a legal requirement to keep digital records and send quarterly updates through recognised software; ignoring it risks penalty points and interest. If you are not yet in scope, the cheapest move is to join the list, keep good digital records and choose software before your window.
Still unsure of your date? Run the two-minute calculator.
Almost there — check your inbox
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The 10-minute MTD prep checklist
Records to gather, bank-account hygiene, how to document an ownership split, and a software shortlist by situation. One tidy checklist — genuinely useful, no fluff.