Making Tax Digital for Landlords: What Property Owners in Gravesend Need to Prepare For

Making Tax Digital for Income Tax is not just for sole traders. If you are a landlord receiving rental income from property in Gravesend or anywhere in Kent, MTD for ITSA will apply to you in exactly the same way. With the property market in Gravesend continuing to attract buy-to-let investors and long-term landlords alike, many local property owners will be brought into the new regime from April 2026.

At MCC Partners, we work with numerous landlords across the area and want to make sure every property owner understands what is coming and how to prepare.

How MTD Applies to Rental Income

Under MTD for ITSA, your gross rental income counts as qualifying income when determining whether you meet the thresholds. If your total gross income from self-employment and property exceeds £50,000, you are mandated into MTD from April 2026. This applies whether you rent out a single property or manage a portfolio.

It is the gross rental receipts that matter, not your profit after expenses. So if you receive £55,000 in rent but have £20,000 in allowable expenses including mortgage interest, repairs, and management fees, your qualifying income is still £55,000.

For joint property owners, only your share of the gross rental income is counted. If you and your spouse own a property equally and it generates £80,000 in gross rent, your qualifying income from that property is £40,000.

Quarterly Reporting for Property Income

Just like sole traders, landlords will need to submit quarterly updates of their rental income and expenses through MTD-compatible software. Each quarter, you will provide a summary of the rent received and the expenses incurred during that period.

If you are both a sole trader and a landlord, you will need to submit separate quarterly updates for each income source. That means eight quarterly submissions per year, four for your trade and four for your property business.

What Expenses Can You Claim?

The types of expenses you can claim against your rental income are not changing under MTD. You can still deduct costs such as letting agent fees, repairs and maintenance, insurance, ground rent and service charges, accountancy fees, and the finance cost restriction for mortgage interest. What changes is that these need to be recorded digitally and reported quarterly rather than gathered up once a year for your Self Assessment return.

Digital Record Keeping for Landlords

Many landlords in Gravesend currently keep relatively informal records, perhaps a spreadsheet tracking rent received and a folder of invoices for repairs. Under MTD, your records need to be held in MTD-compatible software with a digital connection to HMRC.

The good news is that modern accounting software makes this straightforward. You can set up your rental properties within the software, record income and expenses against each one, and generate your quarterly updates with minimal effort. Some landlord-specific software packages are also being developed for MTD compliance.

Furnished Holiday Lettings

If you operate furnished holiday lettings, be aware that the special tax regime for furnished holiday lets was abolished from April 2025. This means your holiday letting income is now treated as ordinary property income for tax purposes, and it will count towards your MTD qualifying income in the same way as standard rental income.

Getting Prepared as a Landlord

The key steps for landlords are the same as for sole traders: check whether your income exceeds the relevant threshold, choose MTD-compatible software, start keeping digital records, and work with your accountant to establish a quarterly reporting routine.

If you have not previously used accounting software for your rental income, now is the ideal time to start. You have several months before April 2026 to get comfortable with the system, and every month of practice makes the transition easier.

How MCC Partners Can Help

At MCC Partners in Gravesend, we have extensive experience working with landlords across Kent on their property tax affairs. Whether you own a single buy-to-let in Gravesend or a portfolio of properties across the county, we can help you set up the right systems for MTD compliance, manage your quarterly submissions, and ensure you are claiming all the expenses you are entitled to.

Contact our team at Saddington Street today to discuss your property income and get prepared for Making Tax Digital. The sooner you start, the more straightforward the transition will be.