Making Tax Digital for Income Tax kicks in from April 2026 for sole traders over £50,000. Here's the shortlist.
If you're a sole trader with trading income over £50,000, you'll need to keep digital records and submit quarterly updates to HMRC. Below are the best options, including HMRC's own free tool and genuinely free third-party alternatives.
18 providers match this situation. Free options first.
The government's own MTD tool, free, but basic.
HMRC has its own free software for simple MTD Income Tax cases. No bank feeds, no receipt scanning, no fancy dashboards, but for a sole trader or landlord with straightforward affairs, it does the legal minimum at zero cost.
Free if you have a NatWest Group business account, otherwise £19–£33/mo.
FreeAgent is a polished UK-built accounting platform owned by NatWest. It's free if you hold a business current account with NatWest, Royal Bank of Scotland or Ulster Bank, or a free Mettle business account, and you make at least one transaction a month. Outside that, it's a paid subscription. Strong for sole traders and landlords wanting automation.
UK-built, genuinely free under 1,000 transactions/year.
QuickFile is a UK cloud accounting platform with a generous free tier, free for small businesses with fewer than 1,000 nominal transactions in a year. Full MTD support for VAT and Income Tax.
Free tier from an established UK accounting brand.
Clear Books offers a free tier aimed at small sole traders and landlords. HMRC-recognised for both MTD VAT and MTD Income Tax.
Free tier for small turnover, part of a huge ecosystem.
Zoho Books is part of Zoho's wider business suite. UK edition is HMRC-recognised for MTD and has a permanent free tier for businesses under a turnover threshold.
Free bridging from Excel / Google Sheets.
My Tax Digital offers a free bridging mode that imports figures directly from spreadsheets and submits to HMRC. Also has a free accounting mode for simple digital records.
Free MTD tool, requires a (free) Starling business account.
Starling offers free MTD Income Tax software for customers of its business current account. The account itself has no monthly fee (for sole traders and limited companies), so this is a genuinely zero-cost path, provided you're willing to bank with Starling. Tight integration with your transactions.
Mobile-first personal tax app.
Untied is a mobile-first UK personal tax app that handles Self Assessment and MTD Income Tax. Good for sole traders and side hustlers.
Free cloud bookkeeping with built-in MTD submission.
Pandle is UK cloud bookkeeping software with a genuinely free, unlimited tier. HMRC-recognised for MTD Income Tax, you keep digital records and submit quarterly updates directly, with no bridging tool needed. The paid Pro tier adds bank feeds and cash-flow forecasting.
Mobile-first accounting + MTD filing for the self-employed.
Coconut is a UK accounting app for sole traders and landlords. HMRC-recognised for MTD Income Tax, it keeps digital records, auto-categorises income and expenses, and submits quarterly updates and year-end returns. Customers who open a Zempler Bank business account get Coconut free for up to two years.
Cheap bridging software for spreadsheet users.
123 Sheets is a low-cost bridging tool, keep your records in Excel, it handles the HMRC submission. No bells, no whistles, just cheap compliance.
Simple MTD Income Tax for individuals.
GoSimpleTax is a UK tool focused specifically on Self Assessment and MTD Income Tax for individuals, sole traders and landlords. Keeps it lean.
The accountants' favourite. Simple plan is good value.
Xero is the most widely used cloud accounting platform among UK accountants. The £7/mo Simple plan is the cheapest entry from a major provider and covers most sole trader or landlord needs for MTD.
Accounting software plus access to real accountants.
Crunch combines online accounting software with access to real accountants, aimed at freelancers, contractors and small businesses. HMRC-recognised, with full MTD Income Tax support for the April 2026 rollout.
Big US brand with strong UK MTD support.
QuickBooks Online is Intuit's cloud accounting product. Regular heavy discounts (often 90% off for 6 months) make it effectively cheap to start. Full MTD VAT and Income Tax support.
Established UK brand, trusted by accountants.
Sage's cloud accounting product. Solid, enterprise-backed, wide accountant adoption. Has a dedicated landlord flow.
Strong on invoicing for freelancers.
FreshBooks leans into the freelancer and small-agency market with strong invoicing and time-tracking. MTD Income Tax support included on UK plans.
Desktop-rooted accounting for established businesses.
Sage 50 (formerly Sage 50cloud) is Sage's long-standing desktop-based accounting software with cloud connectivity. MTD Income Tax submission for sole traders is built into version 33.1 and later, on subscription licences. It's a heavier, more expensive product than Sage's cloud-only Sage Accounting.