Making Tax Digital for non-resident landlords
You live abroad. Your property — and HMRC — are in the UK. Here is exactly how Making Tax Digital applies to you, including the one piece of good news most expat landlords haven't heard yet.
Yes, MTD applies to you
Living outside the UK does not exempt you. Non-resident individual landlords with UK property income are in scope at exactly the same thresholds as UK residents: over £50,000 of gross income from April 2026, over £30,000 from April 2027, and over £20,000 from April 2028. The figure that counts is your gross rent — before expenses or mortgage interest — and only your share if the property is jointly owned.
The good news: the SA109 exemption defers your start
In April 2026, HMRC confirmed that anyone who filed the SA109 non-residence pages with their 2024/25 tax return is automatically exempt from MTD until April 2027— the 2027/28 tax year at the earliest. No application needed. If you didn't file SA109 for 2024/25 but reasonably expect to for 2025/26 or 2026/27, you can apply to HMRC for the same exemption.
Two things to understand about this: it is a deferral, not an opt-out — the thresholds are unchanged and your turn comes in April 2027. And it is specific to the non-residence pages: simply living abroad without filing SA109 does not trigger it.
There is a separate exemption if you have no National Insurance number — common among landlords who have never lived in the UK — which applies for as long as that remains the case.
Why getting ready in 2026 still makes sense
- The records requirement is the hard part, and it starts on day one of your first MTD year. Starting the digital record-keeping habit now means April 2027 is a non-event.
- Agent authorisation takes longer from abroad. Authorising someone to file for you involves HMRC processes that are slower when you're overseas — doing it calmly in 2026 beats doing it against a deadline in 2027.
- Quarterly updates wait for no time zone. Four deadlines a year (7 August, 7 November, 7 February, 7 May) plus a final declaration — easy to miss from Dubai or Singapore, expensive to miss anywhere.
How Zentra Tax works for landlords abroad
The service is fully remote by design — built for exactly your situation. You forward your bank statements by email from anywhere in the world; we keep the HMRC-compliant digital records, file every quarterly update and your final declaration, and send you a plain-English summary each quarter. No UK visits, no posting paperwork, no software to learn. Landlord plans from £45/month.
Check your exact position
The checker takes about a minute, handles joint ownership and non-residence, and emails you a personal deadline calendar.
Do you receive your rental or business income through a limited company?
Takes about a minute. No jargon, no obligation.
This is general guidance, not tax advice. Non-residence and the SA109 rules have edge cases — if your residency position is complicated, speak to a qualified adviser. More questions answered here.