Can a jointly owned property's expenses be left out of quarterly updates?

HMRC provides a choice for jointly let property: income and expenses can be included in quarterly updates, or income only, with the relevant expenses completed before the tax return is finalised. Solely owned property remains different.

MTD for jointly owned rental property: quarterly update records

Q: Do joint landlords need linked digital records for MTD?

HMRC says a landlord who jointly lets property does not need to link their digital records to the other landlord's records. Each owner must still maintain accurate records of their own share and meet their own obligations.

Last reviewed: 12 August 2026

Quick summary

MTD applies to people, not to a jointly owned house as a single unit. Each co-owner considers their own qualifying income and their own reporting position.
For jointly let property, HMRC lets a landlord include income and expenses in quarterly updates, or include income only and complete the expenses before finalising the return.
Keep a share calculation, agent statement and ownership evidence. Do not let one owner's bank account or the wording of a Form 17 replace the underlying ownership facts.

Part of Making Tax Digital by business type and landlord tax guides.

Direct answer

For MTD for Income Tax, each joint landlord has their own obligation and their own digital records. HMRC says you do not need to link your records to the other landlord's records. You record your share of the jointly let property, send your own quarterly update if you are in MTD, and retain enough support for the allocation. The property itself does not submit one combined update.

HMRC's current rules provide an important easement. For a jointly let property, you may choose to include property income and expenses in quarterly updates, or include property income only and complete the joint-property expense information before the tax return is finalised. That choice does not mean no expense records are needed. It is a timing and reporting choice. It also does not erase the need to report both income and expenses for property you own entirely yourself.

Start with the ownership and income-share facts

Do not start in software. First record the legal owners, beneficial ownership where relevant, the rental-income split actually used, and the documents that support it. Couples who are married or in a civil partnership have specific income-tax rules, and a Form 17 is a declaration of actual unequal beneficial interests, not a form that simply chooses a convenient rental-income percentage. Co-owners who are not spouses may have different facts again.

Then create a concise owner sheet: property reference, owner A/B, agreed share, date it applies from, rent account, agent, mortgage/finance details, whether any owner also has sole-owned property, and document location. An accountant should be able to trace the percentage used in each person's MTD record back to the ownership evidence without relying on a verbal explanation.

The joint-property quarterly workflow

Get the gross data: download the letting-agent statement or rent schedule showing gross rent, agent fees, repairs paid, retained funds and net transfer. A net payment does not show the whole property activity.
Apply the owner share: calculate each owner's relevant share using the ownership facts. Keep the calculation, including any change date, rather than simply entering half the bank transfer.
Choose the quarterly approach: decide whether jointly let property expenses will be included with the quarter or completed before the return is finalised. Make the choice consciously with your accountant or software process.
Separate sole-owned property: keep rent and expenses for a property owned entirely by one person in that person's ordinary property records. Do not use the joint-property easement as an excuse to omit those quarterly expenses.
Confirm after year end: reconcile the four updates, complete any deferred joint-property expense information and retain the final figures used in each owner's return.

HMRC's quarterly-update guide makes clear that the updates are summaries, not tax returns. A clean process is still worth having because it avoids a misleading tax estimate caused by an incomplete agent statement or a share that was never documented.

Three joint-owner patterns

Two siblings own one rental flat equally: the agent sends one gross statement. Each keeps their own copy, records their agreed share and sends their own MTD information if required. A joint bank account is not a substitute for two taxpayer records.
Married couple own a buy-to-let and one spouse owns a separate property: the joint-property choice applies to the jointly let property. The spouse's sole-owned property income and expenses must still be handled in their own quarterly workflow.
Ownership share changes after a deed or transfer: retain legal and beneficial ownership evidence, the effective date, advisor correspondence and separate pre/post-change calculations. Do not retrospectively rewrite earlier quarters to match a later ownership position.

These examples are records models, not advice on changing ownership. A property transfer can raise legal, stamp-tax, capital-gains and mortgage-consent questions. Speak to the appropriate professionals before making a change for tax reasons.

Joint-landlord records to gather

Title/ownership documents, declaration or deed evidence, and Form 17 documentation where relevant.
Letting-agent statements, rent schedules, invoices, repairs and proof of who paid each cost.
Joint-bank statements and each owner's bank records where rent or costs are paid separately.
A share calculation for every quarterly period and a note explaining changes in ownership or allocation.
Separate records for any sole-owned UK or overseas property held by either owner.
MTD software exports, submitted updates and year-end adjustments or re-submissions.

Common mistakes

Do not assume the total property rent decides whether both owners enter MTD. Do not assume that the owner receiving the rent into their account declares all of it. Do not use a Form 17 without considering whether actual beneficial ownership supports it. And do not record agent net payouts as the whole income figure before you obtain gross rent and expense information.

It is also easy to defer all expenses because the joint-property easement exists. That can make year-end work much harder. Keep the receipts and agent statements as they arrive, even if your chosen MTD workflow does not put the joint expenses into every quarterly update.

Questions for an accountant

Which owner is in MTD now, based on their own qualifying income and existing returns?
How should each owner record their share where the agent pays into one joint or individual account?
Should we include joint-property expenses in each quarter or use the permitted income-only approach?
How should one owner's sole-owned property be kept distinct from the joint property?
Do the ownership documents and any Form 17 support the allocation currently being used?

Key takeaway

Joint landlords can simplify the timing of quarterly expense reporting, but not the underlying evidence. Keep each owner's share, gross property activity and ownership documents clear. That makes MTD manageable without pretending the property has one taxpayer.

Official sources checked on 12 August 2026

Frequently asked questions

Do joint landlords need linked digital records for MTD?

No. HMRC says joint landlords do not need to link their records to each other, but each still needs accurate records of their own share and must meet their own obligations.

Can joint-property expenses be left out of quarterly updates?

HMRC allows a joint landlord to choose income only for the quarterly update and complete joint-property expenses before the return is finalised. Keep the records regardless, and handle solely owned property separately.