Making Tax Digital arrived for landlords in April 2026, and a lot of limited-company landlords have been quietly panicking about quarterly updates. Here is the short version that should end the panic: if you hold your property through a limited company, MTD for Income Tax does not apply to you.
But "it does not apply" is not the same as "there is nothing to do". This guide covers why companies are outside MTD, what you actually file instead, the free-filing service that closed in 2026, and the one situation — a very common one — where a company landlord is dragged into MTD after all.
This is guidance, not tax advice. Check GOV.UK or your accountant for your own position.
Why companies are outside MTD
Making Tax Digital for Income Tax (MTD ITSA) is exactly that — for Income Tax. It applies to individuals with self-employment or property income over the thresholds.
A limited company does not pay Income Tax on its rental profit. It pays Corporation Tax, and Corporation Tax sits entirely outside Making Tax Digital. HMRC confirmed in its Transformation Roadmap of 21 July 2025 that it will not introduce MTD for Corporation Tax, and has set no future date for it. So a company that holds property has no obligation to keep MTD-format digital records or file quarterly updates for its rental income.
If you moved your portfolio into an SPV (a special-purpose company) for the Section 24 mortgage-interest treatment, this is one of the incidental upsides: no quarterly MTD cycle on the company's property income.
What a company files instead
Outside MTD does not mean outside filing. A limited company landlord files:
It is an annual cycle, not a quarterly one. No four-times-a-year updates, no cumulative running totals — the thing MTD ITSA imposes on personal landlords simply is not there for a company.
The 2026 change that does affect you
There is one thing that changed for company landlords in 2026, and it is not MTD. HMRC's free Company Accounts and Tax Online (CATO) filing service — the old free portal for filing a CT600 and accounts — closed permanently on 31 March 2026.
From 1 April 2026, every limited company must file its CT600 and statutory accounts using commercial software, not the free HMRC/Companies House tool. So if you used to file your own company return through the free service, that route is gone, and you will need compatible software (or an accountant who has it). It is a filing-mechanism change, not a new tax — but it is the practical thing a company landlord needs to sort out for 2026.
The trap: property in a company AND in your own name
Here is where company landlords do get pulled into MTD. The company/Income-Tax line is drawn per owner, not per landlord-as-a-person. So if you hold some property through a company and some in your own personal name, the two are treated separately:
So "I have a limited company" does not exempt your personally-held lets. Landlords with a mixed structure are the ones most likely to get this wrong, because they assume the company status covers everything. It does not.
How LetCompliance helps — honestly: we are built for the personal, Income-Tax side — SA105-shaped records and MTD-dated quarterly figures for property you hold in your own name. For the company's CT600 and statutory accounts you need company-accounts software or an accountant; we do not file Corporation Tax and do not pretend to. If your portfolio is mixed, we keep the personal-income side MTD-ready while the company side runs on its annual cycle.
Sources
Allowable vs Capital Repair Decision Tree
The single line HMRC actually draws between an allowable repair and a capital improvement, with 24 worked examples for UK landlords.
- 24 real repair scenarios classified
- Repair-vs-capital decision tree (1-page A4)
- Replacement-of-domestic-items relief explained
- Self Assessment line mapping for SA105
Frequently asked questions
Does Making Tax Digital apply to limited company landlords?
No. MTD for Income Tax applies to individuals with property or self-employment income over the thresholds. A limited company pays Corporation Tax on its rental profit, and Corporation Tax is entirely outside MTD. HMRC confirmed in its July 2025 Transformation Roadmap that it will not introduce MTD for Corporation Tax and has set no date — so a company has no quarterly MTD obligation for its property income.
What does a limited company landlord file instead?
An annual Company Tax Return (CT600) with HMRC within 12 months of the end of the accounting period, statutory accounts with Companies House, and the Corporation Tax paid nine months and one day after the period ends. It is an annual cycle, not quarterly updates. Note the tax is due before the CT600 filing deadline, which catches people out.
I have property in a company and in my own name — am I in MTD?
Possibly, for the personal side. The company’s property income stays on Corporation Tax and outside MTD. But your personally-held property income is separate: if your qualifying income (property plus any self-employment, gross before expenses) is over £50,000, you are in MTD for Income Tax from 6 April 2026 for that personal income, regardless of the company. Having a company does not exempt your personally-held lets.
What changed for company filing in 2026?
HMRC’s free Company Accounts and Tax Online (CATO) service closed permanently on 31 March 2026. From 1 April 2026, every limited company must file its CT600 and statutory accounts using commercial software rather than the old free portal. It is a filing-mechanism change, not a new tax, but it is the practical thing a company landlord needs to sort out.