Six months after Making Tax Digital (MTD) for Income Tax became mandatory for high-earning landlords, more than half of them do not believe they are in it.
This is according to research from August, a property management platform.
It asked landlords when they thought they had to start using MTD and separately asked their gross income from property and self-employment, which is the basis HMRC uses to set the start date.
Comparing the two shows that only 35% of landlords named the start date that applies to them.
Among landlords reporting income of £50,000 or more, who have been required to keep digital records and file quarterly updates since April 2026, fewer than half (48%) said they were already in MTD.
Almost as many (44%) believed they start later or fall below the thresholds, and 8% did not know.
The picture is worse for the next wave. Landlords with income between £30,000 and £49,999 must join in April 2027, but only 28% of them knew it.
Nearly two-thirds (64%) named a different date, many believing they were already in, and the rest did not know. In the £20,000 to £29,999 band, due to join in April 2028, just 11% named the right year and 36% did not know.
Landlords in scope for MTD expect a real cost in time.
Three-quarters (75%) expect MTD to add at least four hours of work every quarter and a third (34%) expect it to take more than a day. Only 6% expect it to take less than an hour.
Of those already in, 83% say they submitted their first quarterly update on time and 12% submitted late.
Landlords are split on how they are keeping the required digital records. 28% leave it entirely to their accountant, 26% use general accounting software such as Xero or QuickBooks, 25% use dedicated landlord software and 14% run a spreadsheet with bridging software.
Landlords who use a letting agent lean heavily on their accountant (42%), while self-managing landlords are far more likely to do it themselves.
Propertymark recently urged letting agents to offer assistance to landlords having difficulties with MTD if this was required.
