MTD ITSA - UK - 2026 rules - All guides
Making Tax Digital for Income Tax: Self-Employed Landlords (Dual Income)
If you are both self-employed and a landlord, Making Tax Digital for Income Tax combines your two income sources to decide whether you are in scope. This is the trap that catches many people who assume each source is tested separately.
MTD ITSA tests self-employment and UK property income together, so anyone with both adds the two gross amounts to check against the threshold — over £50,000 combined from 6 April 2026, over £30,000 from 6 April 2027, and over £20,000 from 6 April 2028.
Does it apply to you?
This is the situation people most often get wrong. MTD ITSA does not test your self-employment and your property income separately — it adds them together. So if you earn £30,000 from self-employment and £25,000 from rent, your qualifying income is £55,000, which puts you over the £50,000 threshold and into MTD ITSA from 6 April 2026, even though neither source alone reaches £50,000. The same combined test applies at the £30,000 phase from April 2027 and the £20,000 phase from April 2028.
The thresholds and dates
What counts toward your threshold
Both figures are gross — your total self-employment turnover before expenses, plus your total rent received before costs, added together. A consultant earning £35,000 in fees with a rental property bringing in £20,000 has £55,000 of qualifying income and is in scope, regardless of the profit left after expenses on either. PAYE wages, dividends, pensions and savings interest are still excluded; only the self-employment and property totals combine.
What you will need to do
Once mandated you report both income sources under MTD ITSA. You keep digital records for each, use MTD-compatible software, and submit quarterly updates — HMRC treats self-employment and property as separate businesses within your return, so you provide figures for each, four times a year, plus a Final Declaration that brings everything together.
Common questions
Neither my self-employment nor my rent reaches £50,000 on its own — am I exempt?
Not necessarily. MTD ITSA adds the two together. If your combined gross self-employment and property income exceeds the threshold, you are in scope even though neither source alone does.
Do I report self-employment and property separately?
Yes. HMRC treats them as separate businesses within MTD ITSA, so you keep records and submit figures for each, but the threshold test combines them.
How is the combined threshold actually calculated?
Add your gross self-employment turnover (before expenses) to your gross rental income (before costs). If that total is over the threshold for the phase, you are mandated.
I am also employed — does my salary get added in too?
No. Only self-employment and property income combine. PAYE employment income, dividends, pensions and savings are all excluded from the threshold test.
When do I start if my combined income is over £50,000?
From 6 April 2026, identified from your 2024/25 Self Assessment return. The £30,000 combined phase starts April 2027 and the £20,000 phase April 2028.
Never miss a quarterly MTD deadline
AdminShield tracks your MTD ITSA quarterly updates and Final Declaration, reminds you before each falls due, and keeps your records organised - built for UK self-employed landlords (dual income) and the accountants who support them.
Start free - no card requiredThis guide is general information about Making Tax Digital for Income Tax based on current HMRC rules and is not tax advice. Thresholds and dates may change; check your own circumstances with HMRC or a qualified accountant.