MTD for jointly owned property

Written by the Quidtrail team · Facts last checked 18 October 2026

The short answer: if you own a rental property with someone else, only your share of the rent counts towards your Making Tax Digital threshold, and each owner is assessed separately. If you're in MTD, you only keep records of your share. You can keep simpler records, and you can choose to leave joint-property expenses out of your quarterly updates and add them at the year end (GOV.UK: qualifying income; GOV.UK: digital records).

Does a joint property put me over the threshold?

Your share of the gross rent, before expenses, is added to any other self-employment or property income you have. That total is your qualifying income (GOV.UK).

HMRC's example: you and your sibling own a property that brings in £50,000, split equally. You have no self-employment income, so your qualifying income is £25,000 (GOV.UK).

Measured against the thresholds (GOV.UK):

So in HMRC's example, a £25,000 share would bring you into MTD from 6 April 2028, if it's the same in your 2026 to 2027 return. The other owner is assessed on their own share and their own other income.

If you're only told your share after expenses: some joint owners, for example where an agent or co-owner runs the property, only ever see a net figure. For working out qualifying income, HMRC says it will use that net figure (GOV.UK). For digital records, though, HMRC says to ask for the full gross income, then record the gross income and the expenses separately (GOV.UK).

Record-keeping for joint landlords

All your UK properties, including your share of joint lets, make up one UK property business (GOV.UK). For your joint properties, HMRC lets you:

1. Record only your share of the income and expenses.
2. Keep less detailed records: one digital record per income category for each update period, and one record per expense category for the year. For example, one record of £3,000 rent for the quarter instead of three records of £1,000.
3. Leave joint-property expenses out of your quarterly updates, and add them after the year ends (see below).
4. Not link your records with the other owner's records.

You can use any or all of options 2 and 3 (GOV.UK).

Simpler categorisation: if your total UK property turnover, including joint lets, is under £90,000, you can categorise more simply. For residential property you still have to mark each item as income or expense and flag restricted finance costs, such as mortgage interest (GOV.UK).

Quarterly updates for joint lets

For jointly let properties you can include either income and expenses or income only in each quarterly update (GOV.UK).

If you leave expenses out during the year, you have to add them before you submit your tax return. You can either:

• resend your fourth quarterly update with the expenses included, or
• adjust the category total in your software and update your digital records

Source: GOV.UK.

If you also own properties outright, you have to include both income and expenses for those properties every quarter (GOV.UK).

Quarterly deadlines are the same as for everyone: 7 August, 7 November, 7 February and 7 May. See MTD quarterly deadlines.

Foreign jointly let property

For foreign property, you need separate digital records for each property, including your share of joint lets. All your foreign properties are still reported as one foreign property business (GOV.UK).

HMRC's guidance doesn't say whether the option to leave expenses out of quarterly updates applies to foreign joint lets as well as UK ones. Check with HMRC, your agent or your software provider before relying on it for foreign property. See MTD for foreign property.

Choosing software if you co-own

HMRC says your software must support all your income sources (GOV.UK). If you co-own, ask each provider:

• Can I record only my share of a joint property?
• Does it support income-only quarterly updates for joint lets, and adding expenses by resending the fourth update?
• Can it handle sole and joint properties together in one UK property business?
• Does it cover foreign jointly let property, if you have any?

Start with HMRC's software finder. We haven't tested any of these products.

What some providers say about joint ownership

These are the providers' own statements, as published on their official sites when we checked on 18 October 2026. Products are in alphabetical order. This is not a ranking and we haven't tested them. Features change, so check the provider's current help pages before you sign up. All three products were listed on HMRC's software finder when we checked on 18 October 2026 (as "My Tax Digital (Free)", "Sage Sole Trader & Landlord" and "VitalTax"). The finder doesn't say how each product handles joint ownership.

The Sage example shows why the "different shares in different properties" question matters. HMRC treats all your UK properties as one UK property business (GOV.UK), so if you own 100% of one flat and 50% of another, check that your software can record a different share for each property.

If you're married or in a civil partnership

If you live with your spouse or civil partner, income from jointly owned property is normally taxed 50:50, whatever your actual shares (GOV.UK; HMRC manual PIM1035). To be taxed on your actual unequal shares, you both sign Form 17 and send evidence that your beneficial interests are unequal. HMRC must receive the declaration within 60 days of the date it's signed. It applies only to income arising from that date (legislation.gov.uk, ITA 2007 s837; HMRC manual TSEM9860). Your MTD share and your software's ownership percentage should match the split you're taxed on.

Related: MTD for Income Tax guide · MTD for landlords · Qualifying income · Do I need MTD? · MTD quarterly deadlines

Last checked against GOV.UK on 18 October 2026. Not tax advice.