By New update removes a major headache for co-owning landlords ahead of Making Tax Digital for Income Tax (MTD for IT).
Landlords who jointly own property —whether with a spouse, partner or family member have faced a big operational dilemma ahead of Making Tax Digital (MTD) for Income Tax: how will quarterly reporting work in practice?
Hammock, the landlord software provider for Making Tax Digtial has announced a new functionality that allows joint owners of rental property to submit their own individual MTD quarterly updates, making it the accounting platform to properly cater for shared ownership structures.
Why this matters
From April 2026, landlords (and sole traders) with total income over £50,000 will need to comply with MTD for Income Tax. Those earning over £30,000 will follow from April 2027, and those over £20,000 from April 2028.
Under the rules, each individual must submit their own quarterly updates to HMRC — even if the rental property is jointly owned.
This creates a practical problem. If a property is owned 50/50 (or in any other split), each owner is responsible for reporting only their share of income and expenses. But most accounting systems have treated the property as a single entity, leaving landlords to:
- Duplicate records
- Manually split figures
- Or rely heavily on their accountant to adjust everything at submission stage
For co-owning landlords, this means extra admin and uncertainty about whether their reporting would be fully compliant.
What’s changed
Hammock’s new feature allows:
- A single property record to be maintained
- Income and expenses to be automatically split according to ownership percentages
- Separate, MTD-compliant quarterly submissions to be made for each individual owner under one account
In practice, this means each landlord reports only their share — while working from the same underlying property data.
This is particularly useful for:
- Married couples
- Civil partners
- Family members investing together
- Landlords who have formal beneficial ownership splits (e.g. via Form 17 declarations)
Reducing risk and admin ahead of 2026
As HMRC intensifies its communications about MTD, many landlords are realising that quarterly reporting will require more structured record-keeping than the traditional once-a-year Self Assessment process.
Joint ownership adds another layer of complexity.
By automating the allocation of income and costs between owners, this update removes one of the key friction points that landlords and accountants have been concerned about in the run-up to mandation.
With MTD timelines now firmly on the horizon, a solution that reflects how landlords actually own property — rather than assuming single ownership — is key to a smooth transition to the new tax regime.
Landlords part of the LIS Community can access up-to-date resources, education and articles provided by Hammock to prepare for MTD. Landlords can join the free LIS community today. All you have to do is sign up here.
You can also watch a live in-person panel discussion on Making Tax Digital at the National Landlord Investment Show on 24th March 2026 in London, Old Billingsgate, alongsideRenters’ Rights Act Training, Biggest Landlord Challenges for 2026, 100+ Exhibitors, 50+ Expert Seminars, Landlord Advice Clinic and an Education Hub. Get your free full show day tickets here.
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