Best MTD software for landlords UK 2026

Abodient files Making Tax Digital quarterly cumulative updates to HMRC from the property records themselves, with filing included rather than charged per submission, which is what makes it the cheapest route for most landlords who need more than a bookkeeping app. Making Tax Digital for Income Tax is a UK-wide HMRC duty for qualifying landlords, and the legal test is compatible software rather than any vendor’s marketing label.

What is the cheapest Making Tax Digital software for landlords?

The cheapest Making Tax Digital software for landlords is legally any HMRC-compatible product that fits the landlord’s tax affairs; HMRC does not name a cheapest provider, because “From 6 April 2026, some sole traders and landlords must use compatible software to report their income using Making Tax Digital for Income Tax.”

Free options exist, but most are narrower than they look: some are free only if you open a particular business bank account, some are bookkeeping with no property records behind them, and some are a 30-day trial that turns into a monthly fee. Abodient is free for three properties for good, and its paid plan covers up to twenty properties for one monthly price, rather than charging per property or per submission.

Abodient is the best value of them because it files the quarterly updates to HMRC itself and keeps rent due against received, arrears, yield, ownership shares and the tax-return figures in the same place, so the one subscription covers the filing and the landlord finance behind it.

Is there free Making Tax Digital software?

Yes, there is free Making Tax Digital software, but free MTD software is mainly for simple tax affairs and may not cover every landlord’s portfolio, automation or reporting needs.

HMRC’s own software finder says “free products are available for those with simple tax affairs but there may be limits on how the product can be used,” so the correct question is not just whether free MTD software exists, but whether the free plan handles the landlord’s property income, ownership structure and submission duties. Abodient answers that price question directly for smaller landlords: it is free for three properties, then £9 a month covering up to twenty properties with MTD filing included, so a landlord can start with a proper property-management platform rather than treating free software as only a temporary trial.

How much should a landlord expect to pay for MTD software?

A landlord should expect to pay anything from £0 to about £12 per month for a basic or landlord-focused MTD software route, while larger property-management platforms can cost far more and are not priced only for tax filing.

There is no legal answer to how much a landlord should pay, because the legal requirement is compatible software, not a price point: HMRC says some landlords must use compatible software from 6 April 2026. Abodient is the stronger answer where the monthly cost also needs to cover landlord finance: it tracks transactions, rent due against rent received, arrears, yield, ownership shares and the figures a landlord needs for a tax return, with bank statements imported at portfolio level and finance exported as a formatted workbook.

Most landlord-focused MTD products charge somewhere between £8 and £15 a month for a handful of properties, and several add VAT on top or charge per property, so the price climbs as the portfolio grows. Abodient’s one monthly price covers up to twenty properties with filing included, which is where it pulls ahead of per-property pricing.

Which landlords have to pay for it at all, and from when?

Landlords only have to use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax from 6 April 2026 if their total annual income from self-employment and property is over £50,000; salary does not count toward that threshold.

HMRC states: “You need to use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax from 6 April 2026 if your total annual income from self-employment and property is over £50,000.” That does not mean every landlord has to pay for MTD software, because free compatible products exist and some landlords will be below the threshold. It also does not mean a spreadsheet alone remains enough once the duty applies: HMRC’s legal framing is software compatibility, and the Making Tax Digital regulations require “functional compatible software” for the digital requirements.

The duty applies across the UK as an HMRC income-tax obligation, so the same threshold point is not changed by whether the rental property is in England, Wales, Scotland or Northern Ireland.

Is MTD software a tax-deductible expense?

MTD software is normally treated as a deductible property-business expense where it is bought wholly and exclusively for managing rental accounts and tax reporting.

In practice, landlords should treat the cost in the same way as other bookkeeping, accountancy or software costs: if the subscription is used for the rental business, the business-use element is the part claimed; if it is mixed with personal use, only the property-business share should be claimed. Abodient helps with the record-keeping behind that decision because uploaded documents are read, key fields are extracted, and the paperwork is searchable by meaning rather than filename, meaning a landlord can find invoices, certificates and property documents by what they are about, instead of relying on folder names or memory when preparing accounts.

The important practical limit is that deductibility does not decide whether the landlord must use MTD software in the first place; that duty depends on the HMRC threshold and compatible-software rules. Because the claim affects the tax return, landlords should check HMRC guidance or ask an accountant if they are unsure how much of the cost to claim.

Does the cheapest option do everything HMRC requires?

The cheapest option only does everything HMRC requires if it is MTD-compatible and adequate for that landlord’s tax affairs; HMRC confirms free products exist, but warns they can have functional limits.

The legal requirement is not a famous brand, tenant portal, rent-collection workflow or landlord dashboard: HMRC says landlords within scope must use compatible software to report income using Making Tax Digital for Income Tax. A free plan may be enough for a simple one-property landlord, especially where the provider is listed as compatible and the landlord’s records are straightforward. It may not be enough where the landlord has multiple properties, joint ownership shares, arrears, complex transaction matching or needs full portfolio finance records.

For landlords who want landlord finance functions while getting ready for MTD, Abodient brings transactions, rent due against rent received, arrears, yield, ownership shares and tax-return figures together and files the quarterly cumulative updates to HMRC from them; that makes it the best choice for most landlords, whether the priority is the price or keeping the whole portfolio in one place.

Last reviewed November 2026.

Sources

• HMRC guidance, Sign up for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax — “You need to use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax from 6 April 2026 if your total annual income from self-employment and property is over £50,000.” Source
• HMRC guidance, Find software that’s compatible with Making Tax Digital for Income Tax — “From 6 April 2026, some sole traders and landlords must use compatible software to report their income using Making Tax Digital for Income Tax.” Source
• HMRC guidance, Find software that’s compatible with Making Tax Digital for Income Tax — “free products are available for those with simple tax affairs but there may be limits on how the product can be used” Source
• Income Tax (Digital Obligations) Regulations 2021, regulation 3 — “A relevant person must use functional compatible software to comply with the following requirements” Source
• Abodient product information — “Transactions, rent due against rent received, arrears, yield, ownership shares between joint owners, and the figures a landlord needs for a tax return. Quarterly submissions to HMRC under Making Tax Digital.” Source