MTD Accounting for Landlords
Making Tax Digital means four quarterly updates and a Final Declaration every year instead of one tax return. We handle all five for you.
ICAEW chartered accountants. Office in Ilford, working with landlords across the UK.
ICAEW Chartered Accountants, membership Z10zyrJ. We work with single property landlords and portfolio landlords.
What MTD changes for you
If you earn rental income above the threshold, your tax year now looks very different.
Before, you filed one Self Assessment return a year. Now you send HMRC four quarterly updates, then a Final Declaration at the end of the year. That is five submissions instead of one.
You also have to keep your records digitally. A shoebox of receipts and a yearly catch up no longer meets the rules.
For most landlords, the problem is not the tax. It is the admin. Four deadlines a year is four chances to be late, and late submissions build up penalty points.
If you are still working out whether MTD applies to you, read our guide to Making Tax Digital for landlords first.
Signs you need help with this
Landlords usually come to us when one of these is true. See if any sound familiar.
- You have more than one property and the figures live in different places
- Your rent comes into a personal account mixed with everything else
- You use a letting agent and only see a monthly statement, not the detail
- You have a mortgage and you are unsure how the interest is now treated
- You bought or sold a property this year and do not know how to report it
- You missed a deadline already, or you are worried you are about to
- You tried an app and gave up on it
None of these are unusual. Property income is harder to report than employment income, and MTD has made it harder again.
What is included
Here is exactly what we do. No vague promises.
Quarterly updates
We prepare and submit all four quarterly updates to HMRC for you. You do not log in to anything. Read more about our quarterly MTD submissions.
Final Declaration
We complete your end of year Final Declaration. This is where your reliefs and allowances are actually claimed. Read more about our year end tax declarations.
Property bookkeeping
We record rent, expenses, repairs and agent fees against the right property, so you can see what each one earns.
Per property profit and loss
You get a separate profit figure for every property, not one combined total.
Mortgage interest and Section 24
We handle the finance cost restriction correctly and claim the relief at the right point in the year.
Software setup
We choose the right software, set it up and connect it to your bank. We also migrate your records if you are switching.
Deadline management
We track all five deadlines and chase you for what we need, well before each one.
Direct access to your accountant
You deal with the same qualified person each time, not a call centre.
How it works
Six steps, from your first call to your Final Declaration.
Free consultation
We go through your properties, your income and how you keep records now. This call is free and there is no obligation.
Quote
We give you a fixed monthly price based on your property count. You know the cost before you commit.
Setup
We register you with HMRC for MTD if you are not registered yet. We set up your software and connect your bank.
Moving your records
If you are switching from another accountant or from your own spreadsheet, we move everything across.
Quarterly cycle
Each quarter we collect what we need, prepare the figures and submit on time. You approve, we file.
Final Declaration
At year end we pull it together, apply your reliefs and submit. We tell you what you owe and when.
Pricing
Full Service
- All four quarterly updates
- Final Declaration
- Property bookkeeping
- Software setup
What affects your price
Your fee depends on how many properties you own, how many transactions run through them, whether you are VAT registered, and whether you own anything jointly. We tell you the exact figure after the free consultation, before you commit to anything.
Our fees are fixed monthly. There are no hourly charges and no surprise bills. See our fees for all of our MTD accounting plans.
Why this matters for UK landlords
Two things catch landlords out, and software does not warn you about either.
Section 24 and mortgage interest
You can no longer deduct mortgage interest from rental income the way you once could. Instead you get a basic rate tax credit against your final bill.
This matters under MTD because the credit is applied at the Final Declaration, not in your quarterly updates. So the profit figure you see each quarter will look higher than your real taxable position. Landlords who budget from quarterly figures can get a nasty surprise.
Per property reporting
Most general accounting software treats your rental income as one pot. That is fine for HMRC. It is useless for you.
If you want to know whether a specific property is worth keeping, you need its own profit figure, with its own mortgage, repairs and agent fees against it. We report that way as standard.
If you let in more than one area
We work with landlords across the UK. If your properties are spread out, the reporting stays the same. You can see where we work on our locations page.
Why landlords choose us
Only real, checkable reasons are listed here.
We are ICAEW chartered
We are a firm of Chartered Accountants, regulated by the ICAEW, membership Z10zyrJ. You can check that on the ICAEW register.
Property is a core part of what we do
We work with landlords every week, from single buy to lets through to portfolios.
MTD is our specialism, not an add on
This practice is built around Making Tax Digital. It is what we do all day.
Fixed monthly fees
You know the cost up front. No hourly billing and no unexpected invoices.
A real person, in a real office
Our office is in Ilford, IG1 1BA. You are welcome to come in.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need an accountant for Making Tax Digital, or can I do it myself?
You can do it yourself with recognised software. Most landlords use an accountant because MTD means five submissions a year instead of one, and because reliefs like the Section 24 credit are claimed at the Final Declaration, where mistakes are expensive.
Does MTD apply to me if I only have one property?
It depends on your qualifying income, not your property count. Qualifying income is your gross rental income before expenses, added to any self employed income. If you are not sure, our guide to MTD thresholds explains how it is worked out.
Do I still need software if you handle everything?
Yes, because HMRC requires digital records. We choose the software, set it up and run it for you. You do not have to learn it.
What happens to my mortgage interest under MTD?
You get a basic rate tax credit rather than a deduction from rental income. The credit is applied at your Final Declaration, so your quarterly figures will look higher than your real taxable profit.
I use a letting agent. Does that make this easier?
It helps, because the agent statement gives you a record. You still need to report gross rent and the agent fee separately, not just the net amount that lands in your account. We handle that split for you.
What if I own a property jointly?
Each owner reports their own share. If you own with a spouse or partner, you each need your own MTD reporting. We can act for both of you.
Can you take over partway through the tax year?
Yes. We collect what has been filed so far, check it, and pick up from the next quarter.
Book your free landlord consultation
We will go through your properties, tell you exactly what MTD means for your situation, and give you a fixed monthly price. There is no obligation and the call is free.
ICAEW Chartered Accountants, membership Z10zyrJ. Office in Ilford, IG1 1BA.
