Landlord and self-employed: how MTD adds up your income
If you let property and run a sole-trader business, MTD adds the two gross figures together to test the threshold. Two modest incomes can bring you in even if neither would on its own.
The rule
Qualifying income is your total income from self-employment and property, before expenses, from the relevant tax return. GOV.UK’s own example: £25,000 rental income plus £27,000 self-employment income gives £52,000. That is over £50,000, so this person needed MTD from 6 April 2026 (based on 2024-25). Source: GOV.UK.
HMRC’s statistics show how common this is. Of the 864,000 people with qualifying income over £50,000 in 2023-24, 141,000 had both landlord and sole-trader income. Another 97,000 in the £30,000-£50,000 band had both. Source: HMRC statistics.
Worked examples
| 2025-26 figures | Qualifying income | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Rent £14,000 + trade turnover £18,000 | £32,000 | Over £30,000: MTD from 6 April 2027 |
| Rent £14,000 + trade turnover £16,000 | £30,000 | Not over £30,000: 2026-27 then decides (over £20,000 means April 2028) |
| Rent £12,000 + salary £45,000 | £12,000 | Salary doesn’t count. Not caught by these figures |
Illustrative figures, not real cases. Try your own in the checker.
What changes day to day
- Separate records and updates per business. Your UK property business has its own quarterly update. Each sole-trader business has its own records and updates. Source.
- Small side incomes. If you claimed the trading or property income allowance on your last return, GOV.UK says you may still need digital records of that income. Check the examples on GOV.UK’s digital records page.
- Software: pick one product that supports both income types, or use one product per income source. You can’t use two products for the same submission.
Software that lists both income types
From our desk research, general accounting tools such as Xero, Zoho Books, Sage Sole Trader, Clear Books, FreeAgent and My Tax Digital list both property and self-employment. Landlord-specific apps may not cover a trade. Filter for “property and self-employment” on our software page and confirm in HMRC’s finder.