How Accounted Manages Property Income for Landlords

Managing property income as a landlord involves far more than simply collecting rent and paying the occasional repair bill. Between tracking income from multiple tenants, categorising dozens of different expense types, navigating the Section 24 mortgage interest restriction, and preparing for Making Tax Digital, the administrative burden can feel overwhelming. This is exactly the problem Accounted was built to solve.

In this guide, I will show you how Accounted and I — Penny, the AI bookkeeper — work together to take the complexity out of property income management. Whether you own a single buy-to-let flat or a portfolio of twenty properties, our platform is designed to give you clarity, accuracy, and confidence in your financial position at all times.

Automatic Bank Feed Integration

The foundation of everything Accounted does for landlords is our bank feed integration. When you connect your bank accounts — whether personal accounts used for property transactions or dedicated landlord bank accounts — Penny receives a live feed of every transaction. This means your financial records are always up to date, with no manual data entry required.

For landlords, the bank feed captures:

• Rental income — monthly or weekly rent payments from tenants, whether paid by standing order, bank transfer, or through a letting agent
• Letting agent remittances — net payments from your agent after their fees and any expenses have been deducted
• Mortgage payments — including the automatic separation of interest and capital repayment elements
• Expense payments — every payment to tradespeople, insurance companies, utility providers, and other suppliers
• HMRC tax payments — payments on account and balancing payments for Income Tax

Once transactions appear in your feed, Penny uses artificial intelligence to categorise each one. The system learns from your transaction history and from patterns across thousands of other landlord accounts, achieving a high level of accuracy from day one. Where Penny is uncertain about a categorisation, she flags it for your review rather than making an assumption.

This automatic categorisation eliminates the most time-consuming aspect of landlord bookkeeping — the manual sorting and recording of every transaction. For a detailed look at how Penny handles uncertain transactions, see our guide on confidence scoring explained.

Property-by-Property Tracking

Even though HMRC treats all your UK rental properties as a single business, understanding the performance of each individual property is essential for good investment management. Accounted tracks income and expenses at the property level, giving you a clear picture of each property's profitability.

For each property, you can see:

• Gross rental income — the total rent received during any period
• Allowable expenses — broken down by category (repairs, insurance, agent fees, etc.)
• Net rental profit — before and after the Section 24 adjustment
• Mortgage interest — tracked separately for the Section 24 tax credit calculation
• Void periods — clearly identified so you can monitor vacancy rates
• Capital expenditure — tracked separately for future CGT calculations

This property-level view helps you identify which properties are performing well and which may need attention. If a property consistently underperforms after accounting for all expenses, that information helps you decide whether to invest in improvements, change your letting strategy, or consider disposing of the asset.

At the same time, Accounted automatically aggregates all property data into the consolidated UK property business figures that HMRC requires. You get the best of both worlds — granular property-level insight and compliant consolidated reporting.

Handling the Section 24 Mortgage Interest Restriction

The Section 24 mortgage interest restriction is one of the most complex aspects of modern landlord taxation. For higher-rate and additional-rate taxpayers, it can add thousands of pounds to the annual tax bill. Accounted handles the entire Section 24 calculation automatically.

When you connect your mortgage accounts, Penny identifies each monthly payment and separates the interest element from the capital repayment. Over the course of the tax year, she accumulates the total mortgage interest for each property and for your portfolio as a whole.

The system then calculates:

1. Your taxable rental profit — total income minus allowable expenses, with mortgage interest excluded
2. Your total finance costs for the year
3. The basic rate tax credit (20% of total finance costs)
4. The net impact on your tax bill

This calculation happens in real time, so you always know where you stand. There are no surprises at year end — you can see the Section 24 impact as it builds throughout the year and plan accordingly.

For landlords who want to understand the Section 24 rules in depth, our guide on Section 24 explained for landlords provides comprehensive coverage.

Expense Categorisation for Landlords

Landlord expenses span a wide range of categories, and getting the categorisation right is essential for accurate tax reporting. Penny is trained to recognise and correctly classify all the common landlord expense types:

• Repairs and maintenance — payments to plumbers, electricians, decorators, and general tradespeople
• Letting agent fees — management commissions, tenant-finding fees, and inventory costs
• Insurance — landlord, buildings, contents, and rent guarantee premiums
• Legal and professional fees — solicitor, accountant, and surveyor costs
• Ground rent and service charges — leasehold property costs
• Council Tax — where the landlord is responsible
• Utility bills — electricity, gas, water, and broadband
• Travel costs — mileage for property visits and management trips
• Replacement of domestic items — furniture and appliance replacements
• Advertising — tenant-finding costs

Each transaction is assigned to the correct category and, where applicable, to the correct property. If Penny encounters a transaction she has not seen before — perhaps a payment to an unfamiliar tradesperson — she uses contextual clues (the amount, the payee name, your transaction history) to make her best classification, flagging any low-confidence categorisations for your review.

For a complete list of what landlords can and cannot claim, see our landlord expenses guide.

Making Tax Digital Ready

From April 2026, Making Tax Digital for Income Tax Self Assessment (MTD for ITSA) requires landlords with qualifying income above £50,000 to keep digital records and submit quarterly updates to HMRC. Accounted is fully MTD-compatible and handles the entire process.

Here is how it works:

Digital record-keeping — by using Accounted and connecting your bank feeds, you automatically satisfy the MTD digital record-keeping requirements. Every transaction is recorded digitally with the date, amount, category, and supporting details that HMRC requires.

Quarterly updates — at the end of each quarter, Penny prepares a summary of your rental income and expenses for the period. You review the figures, and with a single click, the update is submitted directly to HMRC through our software. The quarterly periods are:

• Quarter 1: 6 April to 5 July (due by 5 August)
• Quarter 2: 6 July to 5 October (due by 5 November)
• Quarter 3: 6 October to 5 January (due by 5 February)
• Quarter 4: 6 January to 5 April (due by 5 May)

End-of-period statement — after the final quarterly update, you submit an end-of-period statement that confirms your total income and expenses for the tax year and makes any necessary adjustments.

Final declaration — this replaces the traditional Self Assessment tax return. It brings together all your income sources and confirms your total tax liability for the year. Accounted prepares all the figures, and you submit through our platform.

For landlords approaching the MTD threshold, Accounted provides peace of mind. The system does the heavy lifting, and you maintain full control and visibility throughout the process.

Tax Liability Forecasting

One of the most valuable features of Accounted for landlords is real-time tax liability forecasting. Throughout the year, Penny calculates an estimate of your total Income Tax liability based on your year-to-date rental income, expenses, and finance costs, combined with any other income you have entered (such as employment earnings).

This forecast helps you:

• Set aside the right amount for tax — no more guessing or being caught short in January
• Plan cash flow — knowing your approximate tax bill helps you manage your property business finances effectively
• Make informed investment decisions — if you are considering purchasing another property, you can see how the additional income and expenses would affect your tax position
• Identify opportunities — if your forecast shows you are close to a tax band threshold, you may be able to take action (such as making pension contributions) to reduce your liability

The forecast is updated automatically as new transactions flow through your bank feed, so it is always based on the most current data.

Multi-Tenant and HMO Support

For landlords managing HMOs or properties with multiple tenants, Accounted provides dedicated support for tracking income from individual tenants within a single property. You can:

• Record rent payments from each tenant separately
• Track arrears and missed payments by tenant
• Allocate shared property expenses appropriately
• Monitor void periods at the room level, not just the property level
• Generate reports showing occupancy rates and income per room

This level of detail is essential for HMO landlords, where the income picture is significantly more complex than for a standard single-let property. For more on the specific tax considerations of HMOs, see our guide on HMO tax implications.

Portfolio Overview Dashboard

For landlords with multiple properties, Accounted provides a portfolio overview dashboard that gives you a single-screen summary of your entire property business. At a glance, you can see:

• Total portfolio rental income (year to date and projected annual)
• Total allowable expenses by category
• Net rental profit (before and after Section 24)
• Estimated tax liability
• Property-by-property comparison
• Upcoming quarterly update deadlines
• Any transactions requiring your review

This dashboard is designed to give you the information you need to manage your property business effectively, without drowning in detail. You can drill down into any property or any category for more detailed analysis.

Security and Data Protection

We understand that landlords entrust us with sensitive financial data, and we take that responsibility seriously. Accounted uses bank-level encryption for all data in transit and at rest. Our bank feed connections use read-only access — we can see your transactions but cannot move money or make changes to your accounts.

All data is stored on secure UK-based servers, and we are fully compliant with GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018. You retain full ownership of your data at all times, and you can export or delete it whenever you choose.

Getting Started with Accounted

Setting up Accounted for your property business takes just a few minutes:

1. Create your account — sign up with your email address
2. Connect your bank accounts — our secure integration supports all major UK banks
3. Add your properties — enter the basic details of each rental property
4. Let Penny do the rest — transactions are categorised automatically as they arrive

From that point on, your property finances are managed continuously and accurately. You can check your position at any time, and when quarterly updates or year-end filing is due, everything is ready.

You can explore our pricing plans to find the right package for your portfolio, or visit our features page for a detailed look at everything Accounted offers.

The HMRC list of MTD-compatible software confirms the software that meets HMRC's requirements for Making Tax Digital.

Why Landlords Choose Accounted

The property tax landscape in the United Kingdom is more complex than it has ever been. Section 24 has increased the effective tax rate for many landlords. The abolition of the FHL regime has removed valuable reliefs for holiday let owners. Making Tax Digital is introducing quarterly reporting obligations for the first time. And throughout all of this, HMRC expects accurate, timely, and fully documented records.

Accounted and Penny exist to make this manageable. We combine the intelligence of AI-powered categorisation with the rigour of professional-grade accounting software, all wrapped in an interface that is designed for landlords, not accountants. The result is a platform that saves you time, reduces your risk of errors, and gives you the confidence that your property tax affairs are in order.

Whether you are a first-time landlord with a single flat or an experienced investor managing a large portfolio, Accounted provides the tools and intelligence you need to succeed. The HMRC property income guidance sets out what is required of you as a landlord — and Accounted ensures you meet those requirements with ease.

Useful Resources

• HMRC's rental income calculation guidance
• the Rent a Room Scheme

Accounted includes built-in property management — track rental income, Section 24, and allowable expenses across multiple properties. See property features →