Making Tax Digital for Landlords: What’s Changing and What to Do Now
This is coming, whether you’ve looked at it or not
Making Tax Digital (MTD) has been talked about for years – but for landlords, it’s now moving from “something in the future” to something that will directly affect how income is reported.
Some landlords are not prepared. Some may not even be aware it’s happening.
That’s not unusual. But it does mean now is the right time to get on board, work out what’s changing and understand exactly what has to happen next.
What’s actually changing for Landlords
Making Tax Digital for Income Tax Self Assessment is being extended to landlords.
It introduces a shift away from annual reporting toward a more regular, digital system.
In simple terms, that means:
- Income and expenses must be recorded digitally.
- Updates must be submitted to HMRC throughout the year.
- A final declaration replaces the traditional annual return.
The key thresholds are:
- From April 2026: landlords earning more than £50,000 in tax year 24/25.
- From April 2027: landlords earning more than £30,000 in tax year 25/26.
- From April 2028: landlords earning more than £20,000 in tax year 26/27.
If you fall into those categories, this will apply to you.
Why this is catching landlords off guard
For many landlords, the current system works. Records may be kept manually, handled once a year and passed to an accountant at the end of the tax period.
Making Tax Digital changes that rhythm completely. Instead of one annual process, it becomes ongoing, structured and digital by default.
That shift is where most landlords will feel the friction, not the tax itself.
What this means in practice
This changes how information is recorded, how often it is reported and how organised records need to be.
In practice, landlords will need a digital way of tracking income and expenses, regular updates rather than annual summaries and clearer, more consistent record keeping.
For some, that will be a small adjustment. For others, especially those used to a once-a-year process, it will feel like a much bigger change.
Where landlords may run into difficulty
Common issues are likely to be relying on spreadsheets or paper records, leaving everything until year end, unclear or incomplete expense tracking and lack of visibility on income across the year.
None of these are problems today but under MTD, they become harder to manage.
What a smoother approach looks like
The landlords who will find this easiest are those who already have clear records, regular visibility of income and structured reporting
It is easy to see MTD as another administrative burden but there is a practical upside.
Better visibility of income and costs means fewer surprises at year end, clearer understanding of performance and more informed decisions about rent and investment.
For landlords managing property as an investment, that level of clarity is really valuable.
Why this is easier when your data is already organised
For landlords working with Clan Gordon, a lot of the underlying data is already organised.
You already receive:
- Clear statements
- Regular income summaries
- Access to property-level financial information via the landlord login
That does not remove the need for MTD reporting, but it does mean you are starting from a much stronger position.
To make this even simpler, we are introducing a partnership with Nexus by Landlord Studio.
This is a landlord-focused platform designed specifically for MTD and ongoing record keeping.
It allows you to:
- Pull rental income data directly from Clan Gordon
- Keep digital, HMRC-compliant records from day one
- Review and submit updates in one place when required
- Access property-specific reporting, not just bank-level data
Open banking and additional reporting features are also being added, giving you a clearer, more structured view of your property finances over time.
Importantly, nothing changes about how we manage your property.
This simply builds on the data you already have, making it easier to stay organised as requirements tighten.
What to do now
There is no need to rush into new systems immediately.
But it is worth getting ahead of it by asking:
- How am I currently tracking income and expenses?
- Do I have clear visibility across the year?
- Would my records be easy to update regularly rather than annually?
If the answer is “not really”, it is worth starting to shift now.
Small changes early will make this much easier later.
Making Tax Digital changes how you manage and report what you owe. For landlords who are already organised, this will feel manageable but for those who need help in that regard, it is a prompt to put better structure in place.
And like most changes in the rental market, those who adapt early tend to find things simpler over time.
If you want to know more about your financial obligations as a landlord, get in touch with our team anytime.
