HM Revenue and Customs has sent a reminder to landlords earning over £30,000 about Making Tax Digital for Income Tax (MTD).

There are six months to go until landlords with a turnover of more than £30,000 will be required to use MTD and HMRC says the affected landlords should prepare now. 

It wants them to check whether they meet the threshold, as turnover includes gross income from self-employment and property before any tax allowances or expenses are deducted.

And it claims that signing up early means customers can make sure their MTD details are correct from the start and have time to choose the software that they have to buy to meet the government’s demands.

From April 6 2027, around 1,077,000 more sole traders and landlords will need to create digital records and use compatible software to send HMRC quarterly updates of their income and expenses and to complete their tax return, in addition to those already using the service.

The quarterly updates are not additional tax returns, but short summaries.

HNRC also claims that by creating digital records throughout the year, sole traders and landlords can save hours previously spent gathering information at tax return time, “helping them spend more time focusing on their business and avoiding the last-minute rush every January.”

Craig Ogilvie, HMRC’s director of Making Tax Digital, says: “Hundreds of thousands of sole traders and landlords are already successfully using Making Tax Digital and now it’s time for the next group to get ready.

“Signing up now means you can prepare and familiarise yourself with the process before it becomes mandatory next April.”

The threshold will decrease further to £20,000 from April 2028, bringing MTD for Income Tax to an even wider group of sole traders and landlords.