Once your qualifying income passes £50,000, your property business sends HMRC an update every quarter with your income and expense totals. Each one is due by the 7th of the month after the quarter ends. The first mandatory year is 2026/27 — and the Q2 update, covering 6 July to 5 October 2026, is due by 7 November 2026.
The quarters follow the tax year, not the calendar year, so Q1 always starts on 6 April. Miss a deadline and HMRC's points-based penalties can follow, so the 7ths matter.
Every transaction in the quarter needs a date, an amount and a category. Get those right as you go and the update is a five-minute job instead of a weekend of catch-up. Your letting agent's statement is a useful source, but the records are your responsibility.
Property income and self-employment are separate businesses under MTD. If you have both — say two flats plus work as a freelance builder — you send two updates each quarter: one for the property business, one for the trade. Both fall on the same deadline. Both incomes count towards the £50,000 test combined, but you cannot merge them into one update.
The year is closed off with one final declaration, which replaces the Self Assessment return and the SA105 property pages. For 2026/27 it is due by 31 January 2028. The quarterly figures you have already sent carry into it, and you can correct earlier updates there if you need to. By the time January comes, most of the work is already done.
Honest small print: a spreadsheet is perfectly acceptable as your digital record, but no spreadsheet alone can submit a quarterly update. Submission needs recognised software — bridging tools exist that connect a spreadsheet to HMRC.
See also: the full landlord MTD guide and Rent a Room and the £7,500 allowance.
See each quarter's totals as the deadline approaches — the 7th never surprises you again.
Landlord MTD Tracker — £12