MTD Deadlines & Thresholds for 2026, 2027 and 2028

Making Tax Digital for Income Tax isn't switching on for every landlord at once. HMRC is phasing it in over three years, based on how much qualifying income you have. This page is the canonical reference for those thresholds: the exact income bands, the exact dates, and what "qualifying income" actually means when HMRC works it out.

The three thresholds

How "qualifying income" is worked out

Qualifying income is your gross self-employment income plus your gross property income, added together — before you deduct any expenses. It's not profit, and it's not just rent; if you also run a side business alongside your properties, that income counts toward the same total. A landlord with £35,000 of gross rent and a small side consultancy earning £20,000 has £55,000 of qualifying income — over the first threshold, even though the rental income alone wouldn't have been.

HMRC decides which threshold applies to you by looking at the Self Assessment return for the year noted in the "assessed on" column above. So whether you're mandated from 6 April 2026 depends on the qualifying income you reported for 2024-25 — not your income in the current tax year, and not a projection of what you expect to earn. That backward-looking design means you can usually see a wave coming a full year ahead: once you know your qualifying income for the assessment year, you know exactly which threshold you land in, and exactly when the obligation starts.

It's also worth being precise about what "gross" means here: it's the income before any deductions at all, not just before tax. Mortgage interest, letting agent fees, repairs, insurance — none of that reduces the qualifying-income figure HMRC uses to decide your threshold. Those costs still reduce your actual profit and tax bill later, at the final declaration; they just don't change which wave you're mandated into.

Which wave are you in?

If your qualifying income is already over £50,000, you're in the first wave, and MTD starts for you on 6 April 2026. If you're between £30,000 and £50,000, you join a year later, on 6 April 2027. The £20,000 threshold, added at the Spring Statement 2025, brings in a third wave of smaller landlords from 6 April 2028.

If your qualifying income currently sits below £20,000, MTD for Income Tax doesn't apply to you yet under any announced wave — though HMRC has been clear this is a phased rollout, not a ceiling, so it's worth checking back as thresholds evolve.

Joint ownership counts your share only

If you co-own a property, only your share of the rental income counts toward your qualifying income — not the full amount going through the property. Two landlords splitting a portfolio 50/50 each measure their own half against the thresholds above, so one owner can be mandated into MTD before the other, even on the same properties, if one of them also has separate rental or self-employment income elsewhere. We go into more detail, with worked examples for couples and business partners, in our complete guide for landlords.

Why there's a third wave

MTD for Income Tax was originally announced with just two waves — £50,000 and £30,000. The £20,000 threshold above was added later, at the Spring Statement 2025, extending mandation to a much larger group of smaller landlords and sole traders from 6 April 2028. If you've seen older articles online mentioning only two thresholds, that's why — this page reflects the current, three-wave rollout as confirmed by HMRC.

What you'll actually be doing once you're in

Once a threshold applies to you, the day-to-day obligation is a quarterly update — a running summary of income and expenses sent to HMRC four times a year — followed by a final declaration once the tax year ends. We cover the exact deadlines, the calendar-election option, and the cumulative-update rule almost everyone gets wrong in our quarterly filing dates guide.

Penalties: less scary than you'd think, for now

There are no penalties for missing a quarterly update deadline in the 2026 to 2027 tax year — HMRC calls this a "soft landing" while everyone adjusts to the new rhythm. You still need to send your updates and file your final declaration on time, but a late quarterly update in that first year won't cost you anything directly. From later years, missed deadlines build toward points rather than an instant fine: four points earns a £200 penalty, and points expire after 24 months if you stay on top of things.

That's the full threshold picture. For exactly what you submit and when, see MTD quarterly filing dates, or start with what Making Tax Digital for Income Tax actually is. And if HMOs or holiday lets are part of your portfolio, see how furnished holiday letting income now counts toward these same thresholds in our HMO & holiday-let landlords guide.