MTD Software for Landlords: All 14 Tools Reviewed (2026)

Hammock is a dedicated landlord finance app that connects to your bank accounts via Open Banking and categorises transactions against SA105 rules automatically. It supports MTD quarterly submissions and was one of the earlier landlord-specific tools to appear on HMRC's list. Pricing is tiered by portfolio size, which makes costs rise as you add properties.

Best for: Single to mid-size portfolio landlords who want Open Banking connectivity and minimal manual input.

Landlord Studio combines property management — tenancy tracking, rent collection, maintenance requests — with financial record-keeping and MTD submissions. It is a broader tool than pure tax compliance software. The MTD functionality sits within a larger platform, which suits landlords who also want property management in the same place.

Best for: Portfolio landlords of 3–15 properties who want property management and tax compliance in one tool.

FreeAgent is a well-established small business accounting platform that supports MTD for Income Tax. It is not landlord-specific: its category structure is designed around self-employed sole traders and freelancers. Landlords can use it but must configure categories manually to align with SA105 boxes. Often recommended by accountants who already use FreeAgent for their other clients.

Best for: Landlords whose accountant already uses FreeAgent, or those with a mixed income (rental plus self-employment) who want one tool for everything.

Xero is a full-featured cloud accounting platform used by hundreds of thousands of UK businesses. It supports MTD for Income Tax submissions and has a large ecosystem of accountant partners. Like FreeAgent, it requires manual configuration to map categories correctly to SA105. Monthly cost is higher than landlord-specific tools. Most suitable when managed by an accountant rather than self-filed.

Best for: Accountant-led submissions, portfolio landlords with complex structures, landlords with business interests beyond property.

Intuit's QuickBooks Self-Employed and QuickBooks Online both have paths into MTD for Income Tax compliance. QuickBooks Self-Employed is the simpler version aimed at sole traders. Neither version has landlord-specific SA105 categories out of the box. Requires accountant setup or significant manual configuration to be used correctly for property income.

Best for: Landlords who already use QuickBooks for another income source, or those with an accountant who manages their QuickBooks account.

Coconut is a banking and accounting app built for self-employed people. It uses Open Banking to pull transactions and categorise them for tax purposes. Landlords can use it but will find the category structure is oriented around general self-employment rather than SA105 property boxes. Some landlords use Coconut alongside their property income as part of a broader self-employed income setup.

Best for: Self-employed landlords who want to track all income streams (freelance plus rental) in one place.

APARI (pronounced “a-perry”) is a tax app that targets individuals with property income and self-employment. It was one of the early HMRC-recognised MTD tools in the pilot programme and has a straightforward interface for recording rental income and expenses. The app covers UK property income categories including Section 24 finance costs.

Best for: Single property landlords and those with a mix of property income and self-employment wanting a low-cost MTD app.

Landlord Vision is a long-established UK landlord software platform that has added MTD compliance to its property management features. It has been used by portfolio landlords for many years and its financial reporting is grounded in property income rules. Supports multiple properties, tenancy management, document storage, and now MTD submissions.

Best for: Portfolio landlords (6–20 properties) who want an all-in-one landlord management and tax compliance platform.

August is a newer landlord finance platform with Open Banking connectivity and a focus on portfolio analytics alongside MTD compliance. It targets the mid-to-large portfolio segment and includes portfolio performance dashboards, cash flow tracking, and tax projection tools. Pricing reflects the premium positioning — lower cost per property at scale.

Best for: Portfolio landlords who want financial insight and MTD compliance in a modern interface.

Latch is a UK property finance platform built around the needs of residential portfolio landlords. It combines mortgage and portfolio tracking with MTD compliance features. Particularly useful for landlords with complex financing arrangements where tracking mortgage costs across multiple properties is important for the Section 24 credit calculation.

Best for: Portfolio landlords with multiple mortgages who need to track finance costs accurately alongside MTD submissions.

123 Sheets is a bridging software tool: it takes a spreadsheet you maintain yourself and submits the data to HMRC via the MTD API. If you currently use a spreadsheet for your rental accounts and want to keep that process, 123 Sheets is the least disruptive path to MTD compliance. A basic plan is available free of charge; paid plans add features and remove submission limits.

Best for: DIY landlords who are comfortable with spreadsheets and want to keep their existing records format.

My Tax Digital provides a simple web-based interface for entering income and expense figures and submitting them to HMRC. It acts as bridging software and supports direct manual entry. The free tier allows quarterly submissions with limited features. It is one of the most affordable entry points for landlords who want the minimum viable MTD tool without committing to a monthly subscription.

Best for: Single property landlords with straightforward income who want the cheapest compliant route.

RentalBux is a landlord-focused accounting tool with a free entry tier and paid plans for additional properties or features. It covers the core MTD requirements: recording rental income and expenses, categorising against SA105 boxes, and submitting quarterly updates. It sits in the lower-cost end of the landlord-specific tools market.

Best for: Single or dual-property landlords looking for a landlord-specific tool at a lower price point.

Untied is a personal tax app that covers Self Assessment and MTD for Income Tax. It handles landlord income (UK property) alongside employment and self-employment income in a single return. The interface is designed for individuals rather than businesses. One of the few tools that genuinely integrates rental income within a broader personal tax picture — useful if your property income is one of several income sources.

Best for: Employed or self-employed individuals with rental income who want to manage all personal tax in one app.

Single property (1 buy-to-let)

For a single property, simplicity and cost matter most. You have one stream of rental income, a manageable number of transactions per year, and no need for property management features. The main risk is overpaying for a platform built for portfolios.

Recommended options: Hammock (single tier), APARI, RentalBux, My Tax Digital (free tier), 123 Sheets (free tier), LandlordTaxAi (Starter, £19/mo — HMRC recognition pending), Untied. All offer straightforward single-property coverage without overengineering.

Typical cost: free to £19/month. Prioritise ease of categorisation and the ability to review submissions before they go to HMRC.

Small portfolio (2–5 properties)

At 2–5 properties, you need to track multiple income streams and expense sets, potentially with different mortgages and tenants. You benefit from a tool that handles multiple properties as distinct reporting units rather than lumping everything together.

Recommended options: Hammock (mid tier), Landlord Studio (starter plan), APARI, Coconut if you have mixed self-employment income, LandlordTaxAi (Pro, £39/mo — HMRC sandbox verified). Prioritise per-property categorisation and Section 24 separation.

Typical cost: £15–£39/month. Check that the tool handles joint ownership if any of your properties are co-owned.

Mid portfolio (6–20 properties)

Larger portfolios generate significant transaction volumes and may include mixed property types. At this scale, property management features (maintenance tracking, tenancy management, document storage) may justify the cost of a combined platform, even if a dedicated tax tool would be cheaper.

Recommended options: Landlord Vision, August, Latch, Landlord Studio (higher tiers). LandlordTaxAi Portfolio plan (£69/mo — HMRC sandbox verified) covers unlimited properties at a flat fee. For accountant-led setups, Xero or FreeAgent configured by a property accountant also works.

Typical cost: £35–£100+/month. Evaluate per-property cost; some tools penalise growth with linear price increases.

Accountant-led (software managed by your accountant)

If your accountant files your Self Assessment and will manage your MTD submissions on your behalf, the tool choice is often driven by what they use. Most accountants already have practices built around FreeAgent, Xero, or QuickBooks. Using the same platform simplifies their workflow and may reduce their fee.

The risk: generic accounting software requires manual SA105 configuration. Ask your accountant specifically whether they have set up mortgage interest (Section 24) as a separate category to expenses. If they have not, miscategorisation at year end is likely.

Typical cost: £15–£45/month, plus accountant fees. The accountant often provides access to their practice licence, so the software cost to you may be nil.

DIY (no accountant, self-file)

A significant proportion of UK landlords currently self-file their Self Assessment return. Under MTD, you can continue to self-manage, but you must use MTD-compatible software. The DIY path requires you to understand SA105 categories well enough to categorise transactions correctly throughout the year.

Landlord-specific tools (APARI, Hammock, LandlordTaxAi, RentalBux) are generally better for DIY landlords because the categorisation is built around property income rules. Bridging tools (123 Sheets, My Tax Digital) are the cheapest DIY route if you are comfortable maintaining a spreadsheet accurately.

Consider using our MTD readiness checker to assess where you stand before committing to a tool.