If you let out property in the UK, your rental profit is taxed as income, and you report it on your Self Assessment return using the UK property pages (SA105). This guide covers the return due on 31 January 2027, for the 2025/26 tax year (6 April 2025 to 5 April 2026). It walks through what to include, what you can deduct, and how Making Tax Digital changes things from here.
Do you need to file a landlord tax return?
You need to report rental income on a Self Assessment return if it's £10,000 or more before expenses, or £2,500 or more after expenses. Below that, the £1,000 property income allowance may cover you, or HMRC can collect the tax through your tax code. Not registered yet? Read landlord registration first. The HMRC registration deadline for 2025/26 income was 5 October 2026.
Key dates for the 2025/26 landlord tax return
- 31 October 2026 — deadline for a paper return (already passed for most people)
- 30 December 2026 — file online by now if you want tax under £3,000 collected through your PAYE tax code
- 31 January 2027 — deadline to file online and pay the tax you owe, plus your first payment on account for 2026/27
- 31 July 2027 — second payment on account for 2026/27
Payments on account
If your last Self Assessment bill was £1,000 or more, and less than 80% of your tax was taken at source, HMRC asks for two advance payments towards next year's bill. Each is half of the previous year's bill. Many first-year landlords get a surprise in January: they pay a full year's tax plus half again in advance.
What goes on the SA105 property pages
1. Rental income
Enter the total rent for the tax year. Include:
- Rent from every UK property you let (all your properties count as one property business)
- Deposits you kept — for damage or unpaid rent
- Charges you pass on to tenants, such as service charges or utilities you bill them for
If a property is jointly owned, report only your share. Married couples and civil partners are taxed 50/50 by default. They can choose to split by actual ownership instead with Form 17, if they own the property in unequal shares.
Furnished holiday lets no longer have their own section. The special tax rules were abolished from April 2025, so holiday lets are now reported with your other property income.
2. Allowable expenses
You can deduct costs incurred wholly and exclusively for letting:
- Letting agent and management fees
- Repairs and maintenance — fixing like-for-like, not improvements
- Buildings and contents insurance, and landlord insurance
- Ground rent and service charges
- Council tax, utilities, broadband and TV licence, if you pay them
- Gas safety checks, EICRs, EPCs, licensing fees and the new property register fee
- Accountancy fees
- Legal fees for lets of a year or less
- Advertising for tenants
- Travel to and from your properties for the letting business
Replacing furniture or appliances? Replacement of domestic items relief lets you deduct the cost of like-for-like replacements in a furnished property. The first purchase isn't covered.
Improvements aren't expenses. An extension, a loft conversion or upgrading a basic kitchen to a luxury one is capital. It reduces your Capital Gains Tax when you sell, not your income tax now.
3. Mortgage interest: the Section 24 rule
This is where most landlords go wrong. You can't deduct mortgage interest as an expense on residential property. Instead:
- Enter your finance costs in the residential finance costs box
- HMRC gives you a tax credit of 20% of those costs, deducted from your tax bill
For a basic-rate taxpayer the result is about the same as before. Higher-rate taxpayers lose some relief, because they pay 40% on the profit but only get 20% back. The capital part of mortgage repayments is never deductible.
4. Property income allowance instead of expenses
You can claim the £1,000 property income allowance instead of your actual expenses. It's only worth doing if your real expenses are less than £1,000. You can't claim both.
5. Losses
If your expenses exceed your rent, you have a property loss. It's carried forward and set against future rental profits from your property business, not against your salary or other income.
Cash basis is the default
Most landlords with rental receipts up to £150,000 use the cash basis: you record rent when you receive it and expenses when you pay them. You can opt for traditional accruals accounting if it suits you better, for example if you have big bills that straddle tax years.
Penalties for a late landlord tax return
For the 2025/26 return:
- £100 if you file even a day late
- After 3 months: £10 a day for up to 90 days (up to £900)
- After 6 months and again after 12 months: 5% of the tax due or £300, whichever is more
Late payment adds interest from 1 February, plus penalties of 5% of the unpaid tax at 30 days, 6 months and 12 months.
How Making Tax Digital changes the landlord tax return
From 6 April 2026, landlords whose combined property and self-employment income is over £50,000 must use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax. The threshold is based on the 2024/25 return. It falls to £30,000 in April 2027 and £20,000 in April 2028.
What changes:
- You keep digital records of rent and expenses in MTD-compatible software
- You send a quarterly update for your property business every three months. The next one is due 7 November 2026 (see every deadline)
- After the year ends, you complete the end of year and a final declaration, which takes the place of the old tax return
What doesn't change: your 2025/26 return (due 31 January 2027) is still filed the normal way, and the tax payment dates stay the same.
Do your landlord tax return with AccLedger
AccLedger's landlord accounting software keeps rent and expenses per property, connects to your bank feed, applies the Section 24 finance cost restriction for you, and works out your SA105 property figures. If you're in Making Tax Digital, it prepares each quarterly update for you to review and submit to HMRC, then takes you through the end of year and final declaration.
Plans start at £5 a month with unlimited properties, and you can invite your accountant at no extra cost. Start a 30-day free trial — no card needed.
Frequently asked questions
When is the landlord tax return deadline? 31 January 2027 for online returns covering 2025/26. Paper returns were due by 31 October 2026.
Can I deduct mortgage interest from rental income? Not for residential property. You get a 20% tax credit on your finance costs instead.
Do I need an accountant for my landlord tax return? No. Many landlords with straightforward lets file their own. An accountant helps if you have several properties, joint ownership, a sale or overseas property.
Do I pay tax on a tenant's deposit? Not on a deposit held in a protection scheme and returned. Any part you keep, for damage or unpaid rent, is income.
Is the £65 landlord register fee deductible? Yes. It's an allowable expense of your property business.
I'm in MTD from April 2026. Do I still file a tax return in January 2027? Yes. The return due 31 January 2027 covers 2025/26, before your MTD start. Your first final declaration, for 2026/27, is due by 31 January 2028.
This article is general guidance based on HMRC rules as of October 2026 and is not tax advice. Check HMRC's SA105 notes for your circumstances.