Best MTD software for landlords by price, and the cheapest compliant option

Making Tax Digital for Income Tax is a UK-wide HMRC duty for qualifying landlords, not an England-only tenancy rule. Tenant portals, rent-tracking tools and tenancy-management features are market choices, not legal requirements for MTD compliance.

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 for price-led landlords, but the useful distinction is between a permanent free plan, a bank-account-funded free licence, and a short trial. FreeAgent is genuinely free for landlords who hold a NatWest, Mettle, Royal Bank of Scotland or Ulster Bank business bank account, while Pandle says its base plan is free forever. Hammock is not a permanent free option: its own pricing says the free period is a 30-day trial, then from £8 plus VAT per month for up to 3 properties. Abodient is a strong fit for landlords getting MTD-ready because it keeps rent due versus received, arrears, yield, ownership shares and tax-return figures in one landlord finance workflow.

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 one property, then £19 a month for two to ten properties and £39 a month for eleven to fifty, so a landlord can start with a proper property-management platform rather than treating free software as only a temporary trial. FreeAgent says landlords can get Making Tax Digital-ready software for free if they hold a business bank account with NatWest, Mettle, Royal Bank of Scotland or Ulster Bank. Pandle says its base plan is free forever, although that does not prove the free tier alone is enough for every landlord. Hammock’s free offer is different: it is a 30-day trial of the full product, then a paid plan from £8 plus VAT per month.

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. The supported low-price examples are £0 for eligible FreeAgent users with NatWest, Mettle, Royal Bank of Scotland or Ulster Bank business banking, Pandle’s free-forever base plan, Hammock from £8 plus VAT per month after its 30-day trial, and NRLA Portfolio at £12 per month as a standalone product. Arthur Online’s enterprise tier is listed at £126 per month, but that is a wider enterprise property platform price rather than a typical small-landlord benchmark for the cheapest MTD-compliant option.

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, tax-return figures and an MTD-ready quarterly cumulative workflow together; that makes it a strong fit where the issue is portfolio records rather than only the cheapest product.

Last reviewed September 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
• FreeAgent pricing page — “Get Making Tax Digital-ready software for free if you hold a business bank account with NatWest, Mettle, Royal Bank of Scotland or Ulster Bank.” Source
• Pandle pricing page — “Pandle will be free forever, but to automate your day-to-day bookkeeping try Pandle Pro free for 14 days” Source
• Hammock pricing page — “Set up your account in no time and get instant access to Hammock's full features with a 30-day free trial.” Source
• Hammock pricing page — “Start for free, then enjoy from £8 per month.” Source
• NRLA Portfolio page — “Everything you need to manage your properties, nothing you don't – bundled with NRLA membership” Source
• Arthur Online pricing page — “From £126.00 /month” 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