Joint owners and Making Tax Digital from April 2027: who signs up, and when

By Patrick Roper ACA, ICAEW chartered accountant. Last reviewed 1 November 2026. Figures next checked by 1 December 2026.

Each joint owner is tested on their own share. A couple letting £50,000 a year at 50/50 has £25,000 each, which is under the £30,000 line, so neither joins in 6 April 2027; both join in 6 April 2028 if their shares stay over £20,000. Where a share is over £30,000, that owner signs up and files their own quarterly updates. HMRC lets joint owners report only their share of the gross rent each quarter and leave the expenses to the year end.

The rule

HMRC tests each person on their qualifying income: gross rent plus gross self-employed income, before expenses, for the tax year two years before the start date. For jointly owned property, only your share of the income counts. HMRC's own example is a property owned with a sibling that makes £50,000 a year, shared equally. Each owner's qualifying income is £25,000.

The thresholds are over £50,000 in 2024/25 for a start in April 2026, over £30,000 in 2025/26 for a start on 6 April 2027, and over £20,000 in 2026/27 for a start on 6 April 2028.

Four worked examples

The split follows the beneficial ownership. Married couples and civil partners are taxed 50/50 on jointly held property unless they have told HMRC otherwise on form 17, and that declared split is the one that counts here.

What joint owners can leave out of a quarterly update

Keeping records of a jointly let property usually falls to one person, so HMRC published an easement in its digital record keeping notice. A joint owner can choose to record and report a single figure for their share of each income category every quarter, and leave the expenses until the year-end return. LITRG and the ATT both describe the same relaxation.

• It applies to the jointly owned property only. Sole-name property goes in each quarter in full, income and expenses.
• Both owners can use it, or one can and the other not. It is a choice per person.
• Mortgage interest on a jointly held buy-to-let is split in the same shares and claimed at the year end as a finance-cost credit.

What this costs here

Two owners who both need filing are quoted as one job at £699 a year, which covers both sets of quarterly updates and both year-end declarations. Where only one owner crosses the line, that owner is £399 a year for up to three properties and the other carries on with an annual return. If the shares put both of you under the threshold, there is nothing to buy until 2028, and you will be told so.

Before April 2027

1. Agree the share you each report and check it matches the last tax return.
2. Add up each person's gross rent for 2025/26, before fees and before interest.
3. Anyone over £30,000 signs up with HMRC and authorises software, or an agent, before 6 April 2027.
4. Ask the letting agent for quarterly statements now; an annual one arrives too late for the first update on 7 August 2027.