A new survey by property management platform August indicates that over half of landlords who are required to participate in Making Tax Digital (MTD) are either unaware of their obligation or do not know their start date. This finding comes six months after the MTD rules were implemented for the highest earners.
The research, which surveyed 276 landlords, compared their understanding of MTD start dates with their reported gross income from property and self-employment. Only 35% of respondents correctly identified their applicable start date.
Richard Samuel, chief executive of August, stated that the scale of the gap was surprising, noting that three-quarters of respondents own five or more properties and most have been letting for over a decade. He suggested the situation among smaller landlords is likely to be worse.
Among landlords reporting an income of £50,000 or more, 48% said they were already in MTD, while 44% believed they would start later or were below the thresholds. The remaining 8% did not know when they had to begin. For those in the £30,000 to £49,999 income band, due to sign up by April 2027, only 28% identified that start date.
Three-quarters of landlords anticipate MTD will add at least four hours of work quarterly for compliance, with 34% expecting to spend at least a day on it. For landlords who confirmed joining MTD, 83% submitted their first quarterly update on time, while 12% were late.