The £30,000 wave: accidental landlords and April 2027
Why the April 2027 threshold catches so many part-time and accidental landlords, and how to prepare before the letters land.
The headlines focus on the April 2026 start for higher earners, but the wave that catches the most people is the £30,000 threshold from 6 April 2027. It sweeps in a huge number of part-time and “accidental” landlords who’ve never thought of themselves as running a business — and many won’t realise until a letter arrives.
Who gets caught by the £30k line
- Someone with one or two properties letting at fairly ordinary rents.
- Accidental landlords — an inherited house, a former home they couldn’t sell, a place kept after moving in together.
- Landlords with a small side trade whose combined gross figure quietly crosses £30,000.
Why it surprises people
Three features of the rules catch people out:
- It’s gross, not profit. £30,000 of qualifying income is rent before expenses and mortgage interest. Your taxable profit might be small, but the gross figure is what’s tested.
- It combines income types. Rental income and self-employment turnover are added together, so a modest let plus a modest side business can tip you over.
- It’s tested on a past return. HMRC uses your most recent finalised Self Assessment — roughly the current year minus two — so the figure that mandates you may already be filed. Check it with the calculator.
2026 is the year to prepare
If you’re heading for the April 2027 cohort, the window to get ready is the run-up through 2026 — before quarterly updates begin. The good news: this group often has the simplest affairs, so the cheapest routes usually fit.
- Start keeping digital records now, even while you’re still filing annually — it makes the switch trivial.
- Look at the free routes first; one or two properties rarely needs a paid plan.
- Prefer your spreadsheet? Bridging software keeps it, from about £30 a year.
- Co-own? Read the couples guide — your share, not the property total, is what’s tested against £30,000.
Don’t wait for the letter
The landlords who’ll find MTD stressful are the ones who start the week before their first deadline. Ten minutes now saves a scramble later: work out your year with the calculator, find a tool with the picker, and print the prep checklist.
Put this into practice
Two tools do the heavy lifting — find your software, or work out your exact mandation date.
New to all this? Start with the pillar guide: When does MTD start for me? (free calculator).