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Setting Up & Submitting UK Property Business Quarterly Returns (MTD ITSA)

Shannon Brady
  • Updated

 

What Is This Feature?

If you rent out UK properties and need to comply with HMRC’s Making Tax Digital for Income Tax (MTD ITSA), BrightBooks now supports UK Property Business as a standalone MTD business type. This enables you to submit quarterly rental income and expense returns specifically for UK property rental businesses, separate from self-employment or foreign property.

 

 

Who Is This For?

  • UK landlords reporting rental income (excluding Furnished Holiday Lettings)
  • Sole Traders operating UK rental properties as a single business
  • Users who want a clear, compliant way to report rental income under MTD ITSA
 

 

How To Use the UK Property Business Feature in BrightBooks

Step 1: Configure Your Business Type

  1. Navigate to Settings > MTD for ITSA > MTD Tax Setup in BrightBooks.
  2. Under MTD Income Tax - Business Type Selection, you will see options for your MTD business type.
  3. Select the option UK Property (Landlord).
 

Note:

  • Only one business type can be selected per business registration.
  • You cannot select both Self-Employment and UK Property for the same registration; they are mutually exclusive.
  • Visual indicators and help text will confirm the selection and explain what UK Property business means.
 

Step 2: Provide Property Business Details

  1. After selecting UK Property, additional configuration fields will display, including:

    • Date the business started receiving UK property income (required; enter in dd/mm/yyyy format).
     
  2. BrightBooks will automatically retrieve your UK Property Business ID from HMRC via the Business Details API.
  3. You will see confirmation of business type (UK Property) and accounting period type (calendar or standard quarters).
 

 

Important: Business Type Restrictions

  • Once you make quarterly submissions, you cannot change the business type without explicit confirmation and warnings.
  • The system preserves historical data to prevent accidental data loss or submission errors.
 

 

Submitting Quarterly Returns for UK Property

BrightBooks submits your quarterly returns using the HMRC Property Business API v6.0, ensuring your rental income and expense summaries are transmitted securely and correctly to HMRC.

 
  • The system follows the same patterns established for self-employment MTD ITSA submissions (already implemented).
  • Quarterly returns are submitted separately from self-employment or other business types.
  • All UK rental properties are reported together as one UK Property business for submission purposes.
 
 

 

Best Practices

  • Ensure you select the correct business type for your MTD ITSA submission to avoid mixing rental income with other business activities.
  • Enter your accurate property business start date, as HMRC uses this when processing returns.
  • Make quarterly submissions through BrightBooks promptly to stay compliant with HMRC deadlines.
  • Do not attempt to change business type after submissions without consulting BrightBooks support due to data integrity and compliance risks.
 
 
 

New Feature: Generating Detailed Quarterly Return Supporting Reports (UK Property)

What is this report?

If you manage a UK property rental business and submit your quarterly returns to HMRC under Making Tax Digital for Income Tax Self Assessment (MTD ITSA), you can now generate a detailed supporting report. This report shows all the transactions behind the summary figures you submit, helping you review your data thoroughly and keep a clear audit trail.

Please note: This feature is only for UK property rental businesses using BrightBooks and will be mandatory from 6 April 2026.

 

 

How to access and use the report

  1. Go to your MTD ITSA submissions:

     
    • Open your BrightBooks account and navigate to General Ledger > MTD ITSA where your property business submissions are listed.

  2. Find the Print option:

     
    • In the list of quarterly submissions, click the three dots (options menu) next to a UK Property Landlord submission.
    • Select Print from the menu.

  3. View your report:

     
    • The system will automatically generate a detailed transaction report for that specific quarter.
    • This includes all income and expenses grouped by HMRC’s categories for property businesses.

  4. What’s included in the report?

     
    • Business and submission details (Name, Tax Year, Quarter, Status, etc.)
    • A full list of each transaction for that quarter, showing dates, nominal codes, descriptions, amounts, and totals grouped by category.
    • A summary showing total income, expenses, and net profit or loss.

  5. Date ranges and quarters:

     
    • The report uses your chosen quarter system (Tax Year Quarters or Calendar Year Quarters) set in your MTD ITSA settings.
    • It only includes transactions dated within the quarter selected — even though HMRC quarterly submissions are cumulative, this report displays the transactions for the selected period.
 

 

Why use this report?

  • Verify your submission: See exactly which transactions make up your quarterly figures.
  • Audit trail: Keep a clear record tied directly to each HMRC submission.
  • Accurate grouping: Transactions are automatically sorted by HMRC property income and expense categories to match your return.
  • Easy access: Print, save as PDF, or export the report to Excel for your records or to share.
 

 

Important Notes

  • The Print option is available for all submission statuses: Draft, Submitted, or Accepted.
  • You need permission to view MTD ITSA submissions in BrightBooks to generate this report.
  • This report only applies to UK landlord property businesses and uses the MTD Property Business API categories (which are different from those for the self-employed).
 

 

If you have any questions or need assistance, contact BrightBooks Support.