Making Tax Digital and foreign property income
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The short answer: yes, MTD includes foreign property if you're UK tax resident. Overseas rent counts towards your qualifying income, and once you're in MTD you keep separate digital records for each foreign property. All your overseas lets are treated as one foreign property business, with its own quarterly update, separate from your UK property business. If you're not UK resident, foreign property income doesn't count towards the threshold (GOV.UK: qualifying income; GOV.UK: digital records).
General information, not tax advice. Foreign property often involves double-tax and residence questions. Check with an accountant for your situation.
Does foreign rent count towards the MTD threshold?
It depends on your tax residence in the year HMRC checks (GOV.UK):
| Your status | What counts towards qualifying income |
|---|---|
| UK tax resident | Self-employment income, UK property income and foreign property income |
| Not UK tax resident | UK property income, plus self-employment income declared on your UK return (including any trade of dealing in or developing UK land). Foreign property income doesn't count |
HMRC's examples: a UK sole trader who rents out a flat in France counts both. Someone tax resident in Spain with a UK rental and a Spanish trade counts only the UK rent (GOV.UK).
As with UK property, it's gross rent before expenses, and only your share if the property is jointly owned.
Non-resident landlords and the SA109 exemption
If your 2024 to 2025 return included the SA109 pages (which cover things like non-residence, dual residence, split-year treatment, overseas workday relief or the foreign income and gains regime), you're automatically exempt until April 2027. If it didn't, but you reasonably expect your 2025 to 2026 or 2026 to 2027 return to include it, you can apply for an exemption. After that, you'll need MTD from 2027 to 2028 if your qualifying income is over £30,000 (GOV.UK). See MTD exemptions.
Record-keeping for foreign property
HMRC's rules (GOV.UK):
- Create separate digital records for each foreign property you receive income from.
- For jointly let foreign property, keep records of your share.
- All foreign properties together form one foreign property business, and your software adds them up into one quarterly update.
- Each record needs the amount, date and category, as for UK property.
- Simpler categorisation is available for foreign income, and the £90,000 turnover threshold that limits it for UK property doesn't apply to foreign property.
This is the opposite of UK property, where you don't need separate records for each property.
Quarterly updates
You send quarterly updates for each self-employment and property business (GOV.UK). A landlord with UK and overseas lets sends two sets of updates: one for the UK property business and one for the foreign property business. The deadlines are the same: 7 August, 7 November, 7 February and 7 May. See MTD quarterly deadlines.
Jointly let foreign property: HMRC's guidance lets landlords with "jointly let properties" choose to include either income and expenses, or income only, in quarterly updates. The expenses are added later by resending the fourth quarterly update (GOV.UK). The guidance doesn't say whether this option is limited to UK property, and its worked explanation of joint lets sits in the UK property part of the records guidance (GOV.UK). If you have a foreign joint let, check with HMRC, your agent or your software provider before you leave expenses out of your foreign property updates.
Adding a foreign property business
You can add a new sole trader or property business (in the UK or overseas) from your HMRC online account after signing up (GOV.UK).
Software: what to check
HMRC says your software must support all your MTD income sources (GOV.UK). Not every product supports foreign property, so check:
- Is foreign property listed as supported in HMRC's software finder and on the provider's pages?
- Can it keep records per foreign property while submitting one update?
- Does it handle both UK and foreign property businesses in one account, or will you need two products?
- Does it file the tax return, where foreign tax and other overseas income are dealt with?
See MTD software for foreign property for the products HMRC's finder lists for foreign property, plus free MTD software and MTD software costs.
Related: MTD for landlords · Qualifying income · Joint property · Exemptions
Last checked against GOV.UK on 18 October 2026. Not tax advice.
Frequently asked questions
Do non-resident landlords need MTD?
Possibly. Their UK property income counts. They may be exempt until April 2027 if their return includes SA109 (GOV.UK).
Do I need records for each overseas property?
Yes, separate digital records for each one (GOV.UK).
Is foreign property a separate quarterly update from UK property?
Yes. It's a separate business (GOV.UK).
Can I use simpler categories for foreign rent?
Yes. Simpler categorisation is available for foreign income, and the £90,000 limit doesn't apply to it (GOV.UK).
Sources
- GOV.UK: Work out your qualifying income for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax
- GOV.UK: Create digital records
- GOV.UK: Use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax: send quarterly updates
- GOV.UK: Find out if you can get an exemption from making tax digital for income tax
- GOV.UK: Choose the right software for making tax digital for income tax
- GOV.UK: Access your new making tax digital for income tax service after you sign up
Facts last checked: 18 October 2026.