Making Tax Digital for Income Tax
Do I need to buy MTD software?
Almost certainly not. You are allowed to keep your records in a spreadsheet and use bridging software to send the quarterly updates — and 18 of the products HMRC recognises will do that for free. The counts below were read from HMRC's own software finder on 25 August 2026, not from a vendor's marketing.
Your spreadsheet is not the problem
The single most common worry about MTD is that a spreadsheet is no longer allowed. It is. What changed is that the submission has to come from software — which is what bridging software is for.
"For example, if you use spreadsheets to record income and expenses, bridging software can connect to them and make your submissions to HMRC." — GOV.UK, Find software that's compatible with Making Tax Digital for Income Tax
Which are you?
Free bridging software for sole traders and landlords
Every one of these is on HMRC's recognised list, connects to records you already keep, and has a free version. Names link to HMRC's own page for that product.
Two routes, and the honest trade-off
Keep the spreadsheet, add bridging
You carry on recording income and expenses the way you already do, and the bridging software reads the totals and files them. Cheapest route, no re-learning, and your records stay in a file you own and can open in ten years. The trade-off is that nothing is automated for you — no bank feed, no receipt scanning.
Move to full record-keeping software
The software becomes where your records live: bank feeds, receipt capture, and filing in one place. Worth it if you have a lot of transactions or hate spreadsheets. The trade-off is a monthly fee forever and your records living inside someone else's product.
Neither is more compliant than the other. HMRC's requirement is that records are digital and submissions come from compatible software — it has no view on which of the two you pick.
Before you choose, three things worth knowing
"Free version" is HMRC's flag, not a promise. It means the provider offers some free tier. It may be capped by number of properties, income sources or submissions. Check the provider's own pricing page — that is why every name above links to HMRC's product entry rather than to a sales page.
HMRC does not endorse any of them, and nor do we. HMRC's wording is that all listed software "has passed HMRC's recognition process" and that it "does not recommend any specific product". Recognition means it can file; it does not mean it is any good.
The list moves. HMRC recognises new products regularly, and free tiers get withdrawn. The counts on this page are dated, and the finder itself is always the live answer.
The half that is still yours to keep
Bridging software files your figures. It does not work out what the figures are — that is still your record keeping, and it is the part that decides whether the quarterly update is right.
Our spreadsheets are built for exactly that half: they hold the year's income and expenses in the categories HMRC asks for, and total them so there is a number to file. Pair one with any bridging tool above and you have both halves without a monthly subscription.
Filing for clients rather than yourself? Choosing the software is the easy half. The part that has no established answer yet is keeping track of four updates a year across a whole client list — who is signed up, whose records have not arrived, and which clients have already missed a quarter. That is what the MTD Practice Tracker does, £39 one-time.
Common questions
Do I have to buy accounting software for Making Tax Digital?
No. You can keep your records in a spreadsheet and use bridging software to submit. GOV.UK says so directly: "if you use spreadsheets to record income and expenses, bridging software can connect to them and make your submissions to HMRC." Of the 133 products HMRC recognises for sole traders and landlords, 71 connect to records you already keep.
Is there free MTD software?
Yes — 18 products, as at 25 August 2026, are both bridging software and offer a free version for sole traders and landlords. "Free version" is HMRC's own flag and means the provider offers some free tier; it does not mean the whole product is free, so check their pricing before you commit.
What actually is bridging software?
Software that connects to records you already keep — usually a spreadsheet — and sends the figures to HMRC. It does not replace your record keeping, and it does not need to understand your whole business. HMRC's finder calls this category "software that connects to your records".
Does HMRC recommend one?
No. HMRC says all listed software has passed its recognition process, but that it "does not recommend any specific product and is not responsible for availability or whether the software meets a particular current or future need". Recognition means it is capable of filing, nothing more.
Can my accountant use bridging software for my records?
Yes. HMRC lists 88 products for agents, 60 of them bridging, and 11 of those with a free version. Note that an agent still has to sign each client up to MTD individually — adding a client authorisation to their agent services account does not do it. We wrote about that in MTD for accountants and bookkeepers.
Use these numbers
If you are writing about MTD and want the counts, take them. They are published under CC BY 4.0 — use them commercially, just credit the source so your readers can check the working.
Machine-readable: /mtd-software/data.json — counts, method, caveats and the full free-bridging lists for both audiences.
Citation: “Of the 133 Making Tax Digital for Income Tax products HMRC recognised for sole traders and landlords on 25 August 2026, 71 were bridging software that connects to records you already keep, and 18 of those offered a free version.” — Fableworks HQ, analysis of HMRC's software finder.
We would rather you quoted it accurately than not at all. If the figures have moved since the date above, HMRC's finder is the live list and we would be glad to hear about it.
Keep going
Am I even in MTD? · What goes in a quarterly update · Every MTD deadline · Digital records: what actually counts · MTD for landlords
Counts and product names read from HMRC's Find software that works with Making Tax Digital for Income Tax on 25 August 2026, using HMRC's own "bridging software" and "free version" filters. HMRC's finder is the live list — if you are reading this long after that date, check there.