It’s me again getting in a state about MTD?
I’ve been thrown into a flat spin once again after reading that those poor sods who are already caught up in the MTD sh*tsh*w are fast approaching their first submission date and, knowing that will be me too in 2027, I was reminded that I have done nothing about getting myself ready for it
I am a 73-year-old techno dinosaur, and knowing that I will need to abandon the method that has served us well for the past 20 years (that being several self-designed Excel sheets to accompany a folder containing our receipts etc that goes in once a year to the accountant) I am TERRIFIED about what is heading down the line at me
I spoke to my s-i-l, and he reckons I need to find something that will work with XERO, which he is familiar with, so that he can help me, and bearing that in mind I had a go with the free trial GO version of Landlord Studio this morning. After several frustrating hours, I had added our 4 properties, our tenants and their rental amounts and dates. I even managed, with some help, to add the two of us as owners and to allocate our different shared percentages (because only I will need to engage with MTD in 2027)
Then I watched their demo, which tbh lost me within 2 minutes, but what became very clear very quickly was that, with 4 properties rather than just 3, we would be paying for a whole mass of functions and additions we don’t need: we don’t need marketing tools, or tenant finding tools or online rent collection options for starters
I am perfectly capable of remembering, with the help of our diary, when certificates are due, etc and I really feel that all we need is what we are obliged to provide to HMRC, which, as far as I can see, is some kind of a super simple digital tool that will collate and evidence our income and expenses and nothing else?
Is there a really straightforward and simple product out there that will do just that with no additional frills or fripperies, that will cost as little as possible and which will then tie up with XERO to submit my MTD report to HMRC???
Many thanks
Denise
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Member Since October 2011 - Comments: 144
6:21 PM, 19th July 2026, About 3 weeks ago
Reply to the comment left by Mark Alexander – Founder of Property118 at 18/07/2026 – 20:48
Hi Mark – we find ourselves without an accountant once again and books that almost complete and will need to go in in January for 25/26. We need one who REALLY understands BTL and who could advise us about the above … which is news to us (and about which we are completely uninformed)
Member Since January 2011 - Comments: 12247 - Articles: 1457
7:56 PM, 19th July 2026, About 3 weeks ago
Reply to the comment left by Denise G at 19/07/2026 – 18:21
I’ve emailed you and a superb accountant to introduce you to each other.
Member Since July 2026 - Comments: 5
7:27 PM, 30th July 2026, About 2 weeks ago
Reply to the comment left by Denise G at 10/07/2026 – 19:00
Denise – on how long an exemption lasts: HMRC’s updated guidance says exemptions are either permanent (unless your circumstances change) or temporary (until April 2027 at the earliest) – decided case by case. Either way it’s not a yearly reapplication.
One caution before you send your letter: HMRC says it won’t accept an application where the only grounds are having filed paper before or being unfamiliar with the software – the bar is that age or health stops you using a computer at all. Worth wording it carefully.
Also: if your qualifying income (your share of gross rents plus any self-employment) is £20,000 or less for a tax year, you’re automatically exempt – no application needed.
That’s from the GOV.UK page “Find out if you can get an exemption from Making Tax Digital for Income Tax” (updated May) – general info, not advice, so worth reading in full before sending anything. (Full disclosure: I built a free checker that works out your start date from your share of income – landlordcompass.co.uk/mtd-checker.html – no signup.)
Member Since May 2014 - Comments: 214
9:10 AM, 31st July 2026, About 2 weeks ago
Reply to the comment left by at 30/07/2026 – 19:27
Thanks for that helpful info. I’ll be 80 years old when MTD becomes applicable to me, but my wife is 20 years younger than I am.
We both hold a 50/50 interest in our rental properties, and Mark suggests elsewhere, ‘why not form a partnership?’ I’m uncertain about the implications or the process involved. Can anyone help?
By the way, I’ve signed up for your MTD Checker – thank you
Member Since May 2014 - Comments: 214
11:42 AM, 1st August 2026, About 1 week ago
Reply to the comment left by Neilt at 31/07/2026 – 09:10
In answer to my own question, AI has given me this answer
You can register a partnership for Self Assessment with HMRC (it’s a normal admin step), but that usually will not create an “MTD exemption” for your Income Tax purposes in the way you’re hoping.
Why
Registering a partnership affects the partnership return / partnership reporting side of Self Assessment.
“MTD for Income Tax” is about whether individuals must use MTD for their qualifying income (and partnerships’ income is currently treated as not qualifying income when deciding whether individuals must use MTD).
If HMRC’s check says you are in scope, it’s because the rules classify you that way based on your circumstances—not because you failed to register the partnership.
Member Since May 2018 - Comments: 2354
4:41 PM, 6th August 2026, About 5 days ago
Reply to the comment left by Neilt at 01/08/2026 – 11:42
MTD is causing concern because it captures both property income and self-employment income and it is likely to result in landlords and the self-employed having to pay a lot of tax before they receive it. In fact, if in the previous year you had had to make a large investment in your property for example to comply with the new regulations for Electrical Installation Condition Reports or perhaps to make EPC improvements, then you might have to pay a lot of tax in a year when you made little or no profit. Under previous tax regimes if you had to make a large investment in your property (e.g. replace kitchen/bathroom) such that you made no profit in a year then you could carry the loss forward against future periods. Now with MTD you are just going to be hit with a big tax bill based on the previous year’s profits. The problem is far worse for small portfolio landlords who are not incorporated because if they have to raise finance to make such repairs they cannot offset these finance costs against rents.
At the moment a self-employed person has to make payments on account based on the previous year’s earnings, which can create cash flow problems, so there has always been a problem with cash flow in self-employed businesses. MTD isn’t going to make things better for the self-employed because it won’t help will cash flow problems and will increase the burden of admin they face in trying to run a business….bottom line is that they will be punished for making a profit which is hardly the signal you would send to the market place if you genuinely wanted economic growth.
Partnerships aren’t necessarily in scope. There’s a good summary of Making Tax Digital for partnerships here:
https://mtd.digital/mtd-income-tax/mtd-partnerships/
Do note that in addition to general partnerships there are other options such as Limited Partnerships and Limited Liability Partnerships.
Be careful if you have any self-employed income: Also, you may be better off finding a way to wipe out the profit from your non-incorporated rental business before you get within scope of MTD.