Jointly Owned Property and Making Tax Digital

What this is

Making Tax Digital for jointly owned property is based on each landlord’s own share. You keep digital records for your share of the income and expenses, then send your own quarterly update for the property business that HMRC holds for you.

HMRC provides two easements for jointly let property. You can keep less-detailed digital records, and you can choose to leave jointly let property expenses out of quarterly updates until after the tax year. These choices are independent, so you can use either one or both.

aligned.tax supports quarterly updates for UK property and foreign property income sources. It reads the figures from an XLSX workbook and sends the reviewed totals to HMRC. It does not decide your ownership percentage or whether an arrangement is a formal partnership.

HMRC says you only need digital records relating to your share of the income and expenses from jointly let property. You do not need to link your digital records to the other owner’s records.

For UK property, HMRC treats all the UK properties you own as one UK property business. This includes your share of jointly let properties and any properties you own outright. The software combines your records into one quarterly update for that UK property business.

For foreign property, keep separate digital records for each foreign property, including your share of any jointly let foreign property. HMRC still treats them together as one foreign property business for the quarterly update.

Read HMRC’s guidance on creating digital records for the current rules.

HMRC easement 1: less-detailed digital records

HMRC’s digital record-keeping direction allows a joint landlord to simplify the records for their share of jointly let property. You can create:

One digital record for each property income category received during a quarterly update period.
One digital record for each property expense category incurred during the whole tax year.

This means the joint-property easement does not require a separate digital entry for every individual rent payment or expense transaction. You may still keep transaction-level records if they are useful to you.

The easement applies only to your share of jointly let property. See HMRC’s digital record-keeping direction for the formal wording.

HMRC easement 2: income-only quarterly updates

For jointly let property, HMRC allows your quarterly updates to include either:

Your share of property income and expenses.
Your share of property income only.

If you choose the income-only option, you must add the omitted expenses after the tax year by resending the fourth quarterly update before submitting your tax return. Expenses from properties you own entirely must still be included in your quarterly updates.

See HMRC’s guidance on sending quarterly updates for the income-only option and what must happen after the fourth update.

How aligned.tax handles jointly owned property

aligned.tax files the figures for the taxpayer and property income source selected in the app. For a jointly owned property:

Work out and record your own share of the income and expenses.
Keep those figures in an XLSX workbook, or use an aligned.tax landlord template that applies the ownership percentage for you.
Select your UK property or foreign property business and the quarter in aligned.tax.
Upload the workbook and review the figures found by Smart Map.
Check that every amount represents your share before sending the quarterly update to HMRC.

Quarterly updates are cumulative. Each later update contains your year-to-date figures from the start of the tax year to the end of that update period.

The released aligned.tax product covers quarterly updates. It does not currently provide the year-end tax return journey. If you use HMRC’s income-only easement, you remain responsible for adding the omitted expenses and completing the required year-end steps.

How the free landlord templates handle joint ownership

The free aligned.tax landlord bookkeeping spreadsheet templates include joint-ownership handling in both the Starter and Portfolio versions.

Enter the ownership percentage once on each property sheet.
Enter the full income or expense amount for the property.
The workbook applies the ownership percentage automatically.
The quarterly summary uses the share-adjusted figures for that landlord.
A part-ownership notice reminds you that the reported figures are your share only.

This is useful for a mixed portfolio. A workbook can include properties you own outright at 100% and jointly owned properties at their stated percentage, then bring your share-adjusted figures together in the quarterly summary.

The template performs the arithmetic using the percentage you enter. It does not decide what the legally or beneficially correct percentage should be. Check the ownership share before relying on the calculated totals.

How to upload your records

Check the selected taxpayer, tax year and property income source.
Prepare an XLSX workbook containing your share-adjusted cumulative figures.
Open the relevant quarter and upload the workbook. See Uploading a Spreadsheet.
Review the source cells and mapped totals.
Send the update only when the figures correctly represent your share.

Do not upload another owner’s personal identifiers, HMRC credentials or unrelated records.

Joint ownership is not automatically a partnership

Jointly owning or letting a property does not by itself tell aligned.tax whether the arrangement is a formal property partnership. Partnership property income has a separate tax reporting route.

aligned.tax cannot decide whether your arrangement is a partnership, determine a beneficial ownership split or advise how a particular cost should be allocated. Ask a qualified tax adviser or HMRC if that distinction is unclear.

FAQ

Does aligned.tax support jointly owned property?

Yes, for the released UK property and foreign property quarterly-update journeys. Upload the figures for your share under the property income source HMRC holds for you. aligned.tax does not determine the ownership percentage.

What are the MTD easements for jointly owned property?

HMRC allows less-detailed digital records for a landlord’s share of jointly let property. It also allows quarterly updates to contain property income only, with omitted expenses added after the tax year. The two easements can be used independently or together.

Can I use one workbook for solely and jointly owned UK properties?

Yes. HMRC treats your UK properties as one UK property business. Your workbook can combine 100% of the figures from solely owned properties with your share of jointly owned properties. The aligned.tax landlord templates can apply a separate ownership percentage to each property.

Can I upload records for both owners?

No. Keep the workbook and update limited to the selected taxpayer’s share. Each owner needs their own records and submission where required.

Can aligned.tax calculate my property ownership share?

The landlord template can multiply full property amounts by the percentage you enter. It cannot decide whether that percentage is correct for tax or legal purposes.

Is a jointly owned property the same as a formal partnership?

Not necessarily. The public aligned.tax assistant cannot decide that distinction or give a personalised tax treatment. Check HMRC guidance or ask a qualified tax adviser.

General information only - not tax advice. Check current HMRC guidance or ask a qualified tax adviser about your circumstances.