Do UK landlords need to use MTD software?

Yes, from April 2026 if your rental income exceeds £50,000 per year, and from April 2027 if it exceeds £30,000. You must keep digital records and submit quarterly updates to HMRC using MTD-compatible software. Margin is MTD ITSA compatible.

What allowable expenses can landlords claim?

Landlords can claim allowable expenses including: mortgage interest (restricted to basic rate tax relief), letting agent fees, property maintenance and repairs, insurance, council tax (if paid by the landlord), utility bills, and professional fees. Margin categorises transactions against HMRC's property expense categories automatically.

Can I use Margin for multiple rental properties?

Yes. Margin's multi-property cockpit lets you track income and expenses per property, and reports rental profit across your entire portfolio. All property income feeds into a single MTD ITSA quarterly submission.

For Landlords

Landlord accounting software
built for MTD ITSA

Track rental income across every property, claim all your allowable expenses, and submit quarterly updates directly to HMRC — all from one place. MTD is already mandatory for landlords earning over £50,000.

Start free — no credit card

From £14.99/month · 14-day free trial · Cancel any time

MTD mandate for landlords

MTD ITSA is already live — are you compliant?

Making Tax Digital for Income Tax replaced the annual Self Assessment return for landlords above the income threshold. Quarterly digital submissions to HMRC are now a legal requirement — not an option.

April 2026

£50,000+ rental income — MTD ITSA mandatory. Quarterly updates required from 6 April 2026.

April 2027

£30,000+ rental income — the second cohort becomes mandated. Covers millions more UK landlords.

By January

Final Declaration — replaces the Self Assessment tax return. Submitted once per tax year after all four quarters are filed.

Already in scope? Margin can file for you automatically.

Enable auto-filing in Margin and quarterly updates are submitted to HMRC on the morning of each deadline — without you logging in or doing anything. Margin checks your books are complete before filing and holds the submission if they're not.

Features

Everything a landlord needs

🏠

Multi-property cockpit

Track income and expenses per property. See profit at a glance across your entire portfolio — split by source for HMRC reporting.

📊

MTD ITSA quarterly filing

Submit quarterly rental income updates directly to HMRC. Auto-filing sends submissions on the morning of each deadline — no manual action needed.

🏦

Bank feed for rental accounts

Connect your landlord bank account via Open Banking. Rent payments appear automatically, pre-labelled ready to categorise.

🧾

Allowable expense tracking

Categorise maintenance, insurance, agent fees, and mortgage interest correctly. Margin knows which expenses are allowable and calculates your taxable profit.

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Document storage

Upload receipts and tenancy agreements. Margin stores everything digitally — meeting HMRC's digital record-keeping requirement for MTD.

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Tax set-aside calculator

Margin calculates your ongoing tax liability as transactions arrive — so you always know how much to set aside and aren't surprised at year end.

Allowable expenses

Every landlord expense — categorised correctly

HMRC allows landlords to deduct certain expenses from rental income before calculating tax. Margin maps your transactions to the correct HMRC property expense categories automatically.

Expense type	HMRC allowable?	Notes
Letting agent fees	✓ Yes	Full deduction
Property maintenance & repairs	✓ Yes	Repairs only — not improvements
Buildings & contents insurance	✓ Yes	Full deduction
Mortgage interest	Restricted	Basic rate (20%) tax credit only since 2020
Council tax (if landlord pays)	✓ Yes	Full deduction
Accountant / professional fees	✓ Yes	Full deduction
Advertising & marketing	✓ Yes	Full deduction
Capital improvements	✗ No	Claimed via Capital Gains Tax on disposal instead

Margin's AI bookkeeping suggests the correct category for each transaction. You review and confirm — building a clean record that maps directly to your HMRC quarterly submission.

Getting started

Set up in under 10 minutes

Create your account at app.getmargin.co.uk — enter your business name and select "Landlord" as your income type.
Connect your bank via Open Banking — rent payments import automatically. See the Open Banking guide.
Connect to HMRC via Government Gateway — takes 5 minutes. See the HMRC connection guide.
Add your properties as income sources in Margin — each property gets its own tracker.
Enable auto-filing — Margin handles every quarterly submission on schedule.

Common questions

Do I need accounting software as a landlord?

If your rental income exceeds £50,000 (from April 2026) or £30,000 (from April 2027), you must use MTD-compatible software. Even if you're below the threshold, software saves significant time compared to spreadsheets and ensures your records are HMRC-compliant when you do become mandated.

Can I use Margin if I have both rental income and self-employment income?

Yes — Margin handles both. You can track self-employment profit and rental profit separately, and both feed into a single MTD ITSA quarterly submission to HMRC. The tax calculation shows your blended liability correctly.

Does Margin handle the mortgage interest restriction correctly?

Yes. Margin applies the mortgage interest restriction automatically — the full amount is recorded as an expense for tracking purposes, but only the basic rate (20%) tax credit is applied when calculating your tax liability, in line with HMRC rules that have applied since 2020.

What if I have properties in different names or a limited company?

Margin is designed for individual landlords filing under Self Assessment (sole name or joint ownership). Limited company landlords file Corporation Tax rather than Self Assessment — Margin's current version is for personal tax. We're working on a company accounts module for a future release.

How does auto-filing work for landlords?

Enable auto-filing in Settings → Integrations → MTD ITSA. Margin checks your books each morning during the filing window. If at least 80% of transactions are categorised (configurable), it submits the quarterly update to HMRC automatically at 08:00. If books are incomplete, it holds the filing and shows a warning on your dashboard so you can act before the deadline.