Choose the right software for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax
Find out what commercial software you will need to report self-employment and property income to HMRC.
From 6 April 2026, some sole traders and landlords must start using compatible software to report their income under Making Tax Digital for Income Tax.
Before you choose your software, find out if and when you need to use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax.
What your software will need to do
You, or an agent on your behalf, will need to use commercial software that works with Making Tax Digital for Income Tax to:
- create, store and correct digital records of your self-employment and property income and expenses
- send your quarterly updates to HMRC
- submit your tax return by 31 January the following year
The government has set out plans to introduce legislation to require customers to submit their tax return through their Making Tax Digital for Income Tax software.
You only need to create digital records of your self-employment and property income and expenses.
You do not need to create digital records for other income sources, but your software must be able to report them on your tax return. This may include income such as from pensions, a partnership, savings or dividends.
You can find further guidance on submitting your tax return using software.
Types of software
There are different types of software to help you use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax. You can get software that either:
- creates digital records
- connects to your existing records, such as those held in spreadsheets
Software that creates digital records
This type of software lets you create your self-employment and property digital records by either:
- linking to your business bank account to import transactions automatically
- scanning receipts and invoices
- manually entering your income and expenses
This might be right for you if you want one software product that will meet all the requirements — most of these products will also let you both send quarterly updates and submit your tax returns to HMRC.
Some of the software that creates digital records also let you connect to your existing records in other software.
Software that connects to your records (bridging software)
This type of software will connect to existing records kept in spreadsheets or other accounting tools. There are bridging software products available that let you send quarterly updates and submit your tax returns to HMRC.
This might be right for you if you want to keep using your current software and adapt your record keeping for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax.
For example, if you use spreadsheets to record income and expenses, bridging software can connect to them and make your submissions to HMRC.
Choosing more than one product
Depending on the type of software you choose, you can use either:
- one compatible software product that does everything
- more than one product that work together — for example, one for creating digital records and another for submitting information to HMRC
Using more than one type of software might work better for you if:
- you want to use specific software for one of your income sources
- you need or prefer different software products for different tasks, for example one for creating records and one for submissions
- you have an agent, and they will meet some of the requirements on your behalf and they use different software
If you use more than one product, you’ll need to make sure they can work together to meet all your Making Tax Digital for Income Tax requirements.
How to choose the right software features
After choosing the type of software that’s right for you, check it has all the features you need.
The software product or products that you choose will need to:
- support all your income sources covered by Making Tax Digital for Income Tax (self-employment, UK property, foreign property)
- let you make your submissions to HMRC — to send quarterly updates and submit your tax return
- allow you to report all your other income sources to complete your tax return
- work with your accounting period (standard tax year or calendar update periods)
Find out more about using standard and calendar update periods.
You should also consider whether the software:
- allows multiple agents if you have more than one
- offers pricing that suits your budget — some free products may have restrictions on how they can be used
If you think your income sources will change
You should check if your software will support that income source in the future. For example, if you’re a landlord but are thinking of starting a business.
Find the right software
You can use our software finder tool to help:
- find compatible software that meets your needs
- search for your existing software to check if it works with Making Tax Digital for Income Tax
You’ll be asked a few questions to get a personalised list of software options for your specific needs.
All software listed has been through HMRC’s recognition process. HMRC does not recommend any product or software provider.
Software in development
More software providers are building software that works with Making Tax Digital for Income Tax. You can contact these providers about the features and services they plan to offer. These providers include:
Updates to this page
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The details of 3 software suppliers have been removed from the 'software in development' section.