Making Tax Digital for jointly owned property
If you own a rental property with someone else, only your own share of the income counts towards the Making Tax Digital (MTD) threshold, and each owner is assessed separately. If you need MTD, you record just your share, and HMRC gives joint landlords two easements: simpler records, and the option to leave joint expenses out of quarterly updates until after the year ends.
Does joint property count towards the threshold?
MTD for Income Tax applies if your qualifying income is over £50,000 for 2024 to 2025 (start 6 April 2026), over £30,000 for 2025 to 2026 (start 6 April 2027) or over £20,000 for 2026 to 2027 (start 6 April 2028). Qualifying income is your self-employment and property income before expenses.
For jointly owned property, your share of the income counts. HMRC's example is a property bringing in £50,000 a year, shared equally with a sibling, where neither has self-employment income: each has qualifying income of £25,000.
If you are only told your share after expenses have been taken off, HMRC uses that figure as your qualifying income.
Example: Priya and Tom co-own two flats that brought in £70,000 of rent in 2024 to 2025, split 50:50. Priya also earned £20,000 from freelance work, so her qualifying income was £55,000 and she needed MTD from April 2026. Tom only has a salary, which does not count, so his was £35,000. If his share is similar in 2025 to 2026, he will need MTD from April 2027.
Our free MTD checker works out a likely start date, and what counts as qualifying income has more detail.
Each owner signs up separately
MTD is worked out person by person, not property by property. To sign up you must be registered for Self Assessment yourself, and HMRC looks at your own tax return when deciding whether you need to start.
So each co-owner who needs MTD signs up in their own right, and one owner may need it while the other does not. Agents also have to sign up each client individually. GOV.UK does not describe any joint sign-up for co-owners. See how to sign up.
Your share of jointly let UK property forms part of your one UK property business, alongside anything you let on your own, and goes into the same quarterly update. Your share of jointly let foreign property belongs to your separate foreign property business.
What you record: your share only
You only create digital records for your share of the income and expenses from jointly let property. Each record needs the amount, the date and the category.
You do not need to link your records to your co-owner's records. In practice you will still want to agree the joint figures with each other, so that your shares add up.
Easement 1: fewer, less detailed records
For jointly let property, you can keep one record per income category for each update period, and one record per expense category for the whole tax year, instead of an entry for every payment.
HMRC's example: rather than three records of £1,000 rent, one for each month, you can make one record of £3,000 for the quarter.
Example: Priya's share of the joint rent is £2,900 a month. She records one 'total rent' figure of £8,700 for each quarter, and one figure for her share of each type of expense for the year.
Easement 2: income only in your updates
You can choose to leave expenses for jointly let property out of your quarterly updates, and send only the income. You then add those expenses after the tax year ends and before you submit your tax return, either by resending your fourth quarterly update or by adjusting the category totals in your software.
This only applies to joint property. For any property you own outright, every update must include both income and expenses.
Example: Priya also owns a house on her own. Her updates show rent from that house plus her share of the joint rent, but only the expenses for the house. After 5 April she adds her share of the joint expenses before submitting her return.
You can use either easement, both, or neither. The quarterly update deadlines are the same as for everyone else: see what an MTD quarterly update is.
Simpler categories and mortgage interest
If your UK property turnover is under £90,000, you can simply mark each record as income or expense instead of using the full categories. Residential landlords must still record finance costs, such as mortgage interest, separately.
Interest on a joint residential mortgage still only gets basic rate relief as a tax reduction. Our guide to landlord allowable expenses explains how that works.
Allowances when you share rental income
Each joint owner can use the £1,000 property allowance against their own share of the gross rent, instead of claiming actual expenses.
If you let a furnished room in your home and share that income with someone else, the Rent-a-Room threshold of £7,500 a year is halved to £3,750. How Rent-a-Room income is recorded under MTD is covered in our guide to Making Tax Digital for landlords.
HMRC's MTD guidance does not say anything specific about married couples or civil partners who let property together. GOV.UK's rental income guidance explains how jointly owned rental income is usually split for tax.
Late updates
For 2026 to 2027 there are no penalty points for late quarterly updates, but every update must be sent before you can submit your tax return. From 2027 to 2028 each missed deadline earns a point, and 4 points brings a £200 penalty. See MTD penalties.
Keeping the records with Snapfile
Snapfile lets each owner send their own receipts, invoices and bills to a WhatsApp number. It records each one, sorts it into the Self Assessment expense categories, tracks the tax year and quarter, sends deadline reminders and exports a CSV. It does not submit anything to HMRC. It is free during early access.
Common questions
Do both joint owners need to sign up for Making Tax Digital?
Only owners whose own qualifying income is over the threshold. Each one is assessed and signs up separately, so one co-owner may need MTD while the other does not.
Does jointly owned property count towards the MTD threshold?
Yes, but only your share of the income before expenses. If you are only told your share after expenses, HMRC uses that figure.
Do joint landlords have to include expenses in quarterly updates?
No. You can send income only for jointly let property and add your share of the expenses after the year ends, before your tax return. Properties you own outright still need income and expenses in every update.
Do I need to share my MTD records with my co-owner?
No. GOV.UK says you only record your own share, and you do not need to link your records to the other landlord's.
Sources: GOV.UK: Work out your qualifying income for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax; GOV.UK: Find out if and when you need to use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax; GOV.UK: Sign up for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax; GOV.UK: Check what to do if HMRC has signed you up for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax; GOV.UK: Sign up your client for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax; GOV.UK: Use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax: Create digital records; GOV.UK: Use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax: Send quarterly updates; GOV.UK: Making Tax Digital for Income Tax: digital record-keeping direction; GOV.UK: Making Tax Digital for Income Tax: Quarterly update direction; GOV.UK: Tax-free allowances on property and trading income; GOV.UK: Rent a room in your home: the Rent a Room Scheme; GOV.UK: Work out your rental income when you let property; GOV.UK: Penalties for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax. This is general information, not tax advice; check GOV.UK or an accountant for your situation.
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