The 2026 Readiness Report
UK landlords have never felt more ready for Making Tax Digital - but the numbers suggest they have never been more exposed to getting it wrong.
Making Tax Digital changes how landlords must keep records and report to HMRC - from an annual return to digital records and quarterly updates. We commissioned the Taxing Times survey of 500 UK landlords and letting agents to find out how ready they really are. Here's what they told us.
MTD is not a box to tick. Handled well, it's the moment you finally see your portfolio clearly.
Making Tax Digital
Every tenancy now leaves a digital trail
Rent, expenses, receipts, deadlines - MTD wants the record behind each let kept digitally and filed quarter by quarter, not reconstructed once a year.
How do landlords feel about MTD?
of landlords feel confident about Making Tax Digital
actually have MTD-ready software in place
average yearly cost of compliance, and climbing
plan to invest in digital tools in the next 12-24 months
of landlords say they feel confident about Making Tax Digital.
£3,311 a year and 13.1 hours a month, both rising.
Fear of mistakes & penalties - the people closest to the filing worry most.
Landlords have never felt more ready
94% feel confident about MTD, and 93.6% say they understand what it requires. On paper, this is a group that has done its homework.
Yet the cost keeps climbing
Compliance already runs to £3,311 a year and 13.1 hours a month, and over half of landlords say both the time and the cost have risen.
The pros are the most cautious
Just 35.6% of landlords call themselves "very confident", and 59.2% fear penalties. Among letting agents, closest to the filing, those figures rise to 50.8% and 82%.
The cost of getting it wrong is rising
Landlords aren't imagining the risk. Penalties across the rental sector are broadening and getting heavier - and MTD adds a new layer on top.
Late MTD updates
Points-based penalty once you pass the threshold for late quarterly updates - plus separate penalties for late payment.
Unsafe housing
Fines for failing to fix serious hazards in a rental property.
Licensing breach
The bill one landlord faced after a selective licensing dispute.
MTD is often presented as an administrative change, but the data shows it is becoming a growing cost for landlords.
a year on compliance
Before a single penalty, an accountant's fee, or the value of your own time.
a month on tax admin
More than 163 hours a year keeping on top of the paperwork.
could raise rents
Landlords say compliance costs could push rents up - the load reaches tenants.
Share of landlords who say it has risen vs a year ago · base: 250 landlords. Both are still climbing before MTD's quarterly rhythm has even begun.
At scale
Add a door, multiply the admin
Every property compounds the records you keep and the deadlines you track. The exposure lands hardest on bigger portfolios still run on spreadsheets.
Only 1 in 3 landlords has gone digital
The rest are managing MTD the way it was never designed for - 39.2% still on spreadsheets or paper.
= 1 in 10 landlords · highlighted = on digital software
The landlords who make this switch early often describe the same benefit: year-end becomes another routine task rather than a stressful event.
If you're exposed, you're not alone
9 in 10 landlords say agents are well-equipped for MTD. Half just don't know the help is there.
Landlords broadly trust agents and accountants to carry the load. The gap is awareness, not trust.
Share of landlords who agree · base: 250 landlords.
The awareness gap
of landlords (and 71% of agents) say awareness of the support available is low.
Average tax-quiz score
Two-thirds are likely getting their submissions wrong, with nobody marking their work.
The Renters' Rights Act
New tenancy rules keep broadening compliance, making professional support more valuable.
The penalties are the stick. The real prize is the carrot - huge time savings, and finances that are always up to date.
The advantage goes to whoever moves first
98.4% of landlords plan to invest in digital tools. The debate about going digital is over - what's left is timing.
Why landlords are investing
of landlords expect MTD to improve their profitability once they're set up for it.
The window
Move while it's still a choice
The landlords who'll be glad they moved are the ones who move before the deadline forces their hand. Reducing admin time, avoiding penalties and clearer finances are the top reasons they're investing.
Feeling ready is not the same as being ready, and the gap is where the risk lives.
- Confident, but still fearful.
- Compliance already costs.
- Only a third have gone digital.
- A support network is forming.
- Almost everyone plans to invest.
The next step is digital transformation.
Whether you're confident but untested, on the wrong side of the technology divide, or planning to invest but not yet started - what happens next looks the same.
Step 1 · Now
Pick your tool and start capturing records digitally
This quarter, not next April. The sooner records are digital, the less there is to fix later.
Step 2 · Before the deadline
Get one full quarter under your belt
So MTD becomes a routine you've already tested, not a scramble you meet cold.
Step 3 · If you want it off your plate
Bring in an accountant or agent
There's no prize for doing it alone. The goal is a transition you barely notice.
Making Tax Digital won't be the last major change landlords face. The real investment is building a business and providing safe homes for tenants that are ready for whatever comes next.
Relax - it's all under control
Get the full report, then get one quarter under your belt before the deadline.
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Methodology
This report is based on the Taxing Times survey of 500 UK respondents - 250 landlords and 250 letting agents. The research was conducted by Censuswide in partnership with 393, with fieldwork between 22 and 29 May 2026. Censuswide is a member of the Market Research Society and the British Polling Council and a signatory of the Global Data Quality Pledge.
This report is written for landlords, so headline findings lead with the landlord figure and use the letting-agent figure as a contrast. Where a figure refers specifically to one group, this is stated. Respondents were not screened by income threshold, so the figures reflect market-wide exposure rather than only landlords already mandated into MTD. Figures describe the surveyed sample; this report is general information, not financial or tax advice.
Contributors: Kate Faulkner OBE (independent property analyst and founder of Propertychecklists.co.uk; contributed independently, not affiliated with Landlord Studio), Martin Wardle (landlord & property accountant, TH Ward / GB Landlords) and Logan Ransley (Co-Founder, Landlord Studio).
