Making Tax Digital for Income Tax has changed property bookkeeping from an annual scramble into a quarterly rhythm, and that single change is why most UK landlords are now shopping for software rather than adding another tab to a spreadsheet. If your property and self employment income together clear the reporting threshold, you have to keep digital records and send HMRC an update four times a year instead of one return in January.
The reassuring part is that you do not need a full business ledger to satisfy the rules, and several of the cheapest options here are among the best fits. We have ranked these on how cleanly they separate income and costs per property, whether they are recognised by HMRC for the obligation you actually face, and what they genuinely cost excluding VAT.
What landlords should look for
Check recognition first, and check it for the right thing. Being recognised for Making Tax Digital for VAT is not the same as being recognised for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax, and as a landlord it is the Income Tax list that matters to you. HMRC publishes both, and every product below is recognised for the obligation this article is about. After that, the feature that saves you the most time is the ability to tag every transaction to a specific property, because without it a portfolio of three flats becomes one undifferentiated pile of numbers and you lose the per property profit picture your accountant needs.
Then be honest about how much software you actually need. A landlord with one or two properties does not need stock control, quotes, project costing or multi currency, and paying for a full small business accounting suite means paying for a lot of screens you will never open. What you do need is a reliable bank feed so your digital records stay current without manual entry, a clear running view of the tax you are accruing, and correct handling of the finance cost restriction on mortgage interest, which is the single most misunderstood figure in a landlord's return. If you hold property through a limited company the calculation changes: you now need a proper ledger, statutory accounts and Corporation Tax, which pushes you toward the fuller products rather than the simplest ones.
How we assessed these tools
Every product here was judged on the things that actually decide whether software works for a UK business: the real published price excluding VAT, how it handles HMRC obligations such as Making Tax Digital, RTI or CIS where relevant, the depth of the core job it is bought for, how quickly a non specialist can get productive, and the quality of UK support. We read each vendor's own pricing pages rather than repeating third party figures, and we weight verified user ratings from people who run these tools day to day.
We also try to be honest about fit rather than crowning a single winner, because the right tool for a ten person business is rarely the right tool for a two hundred person one. Each entry below carries its real starting price, its current Assaylist rating and a clear note on who it suits and where it falls short, so you can match the software to your own situation rather than to an average. Where we earn a commission from an outbound link we say so, and it never changes the order of this list.
The best options ranked
1. QuickBooks Sole Trader
QuickBooks Sole Trader was rebuilt around the Making Tax Digital for Income Tax quarterly cycle rather than having it bolted on, and that shows in how little thought the quarterly update takes. For a landlord reporting property income as an individual, it is the most direct route from a bank feed to a submitted update, and it is priced for someone filing one return rather than running a business.
What you get: A cut down QuickBooks built for sole traders facing Making Tax Digital for Income Tax, with mileage tracking and Self Assessment preparation. It holds a 4.1 out of 5 rating across 273 reviews on Assaylist.
Pricing: The plans run Sole Trader Plus at £9 per month, excluding VAT.
Why we rate it:
- Best in class automatic mileage tracking
- MTD for Income Tax ready
- Self Assessment preparation
- Strong mobile app
Bear in mind: it is built for the individual rather than the company, so a limited company landlord needs the full QuickBooks Online product instead.
Read our full QuickBooks Sole Trader review →
2. FreeAgent
FreeAgent is free for as long as you bank with NatWest, Royal Bank of Scotland, Ulster or Mettle, which makes it the cheapest genuinely capable option for a great many UK landlords. Its tax timeline is the feature landlords tend to fall for: a running view of what is owed and when, which turns the quarterly cycle into something you glance at rather than dread.
What you get: A UK accounting product owned by NatWest, aimed squarely at limited company contractors and sole traders. Free for as long as you bank with the group. It holds a 4.1 out of 5 rating across 297 reviews on Assaylist.
Pricing: The plans run Free with NatWest, RBS, Ulster or Mettle at free, Sole trader at £19 and Limited company at £33 per month, excluding VAT.
Why we rate it:
- Free with a NatWest, RBS, Ulster or Mettle account
- Built for UK limited company contractors
- Tax timeline showing what is owed and when
- Corporation Tax and dividend handling
Bear in mind: the free tier depends entirely on keeping a qualifying bank account, so price the paid rate before you rely on it.
Read our full FreeAgent review →
3. Xero
Xero earns its place once a portfolio grows past a couple of properties or moves into a limited company. Tracking categories let you report profit per property properly, the bank reconciliation is the fastest in the category, and your accountant almost certainly already works in it. For a portfolio landlord this is the tool you grow into rather than out of.
What you get: The New Zealand built platform that reshaped UK cloud accounting. Four tiers, bundled payroll from the Grow plan upwards, and a very large app ecosystem. It holds a 4.1 out of 5 rating across 297 reviews on Assaylist.
Pricing: The plans run Ignite at £16, Grow at £37, Comprehensive at £50 and Ultimate at £65 per month, excluding VAT.
Why we rate it:
- Fastest bank reconciliation in the category
- Unlimited users on every tier
- Payroll included from the Grow plan
- Huge app marketplace and strong API
Bear in mind: it is more accounting software than a one property landlord needs, and you pay for the breadth whether you use it or not.
Read our full Xero review →
4. QuickFile
QuickFile is free below a thousand ledger entries a year, which a small residential portfolio will not come close to touching, and only sixty pounds a year beyond that. It is a UK company holding UK data, it is recognised by HMRC, and for a landlord whose bookkeeping is genuinely simple it is very hard to argue with on cost.
What you get: A UK company offering full accounting software free for smaller businesses, with a flat £60 a year charge only once your transaction volume grows. It holds a 4.0 out of 5 rating across 259 reviews on Assaylist.
Pricing: The plans run XS, S and M at free, L and XL at £60 and Automated bank feeds at £15 per year, excluding VAT.
Why we rate it:
- Genuinely free below 1,000 ledger entries
- Unlimited users on every plan
- £60 a year at the paid tier, not per month
- UK company holding UK data
Bear in mind: the interface shows its age and bank feeds are a small paid extra on top of the free plan.
Read our full QuickFile review →
5. Zoho Books
Zoho Books is the pick for a landlord holding property through a limited company on a budget, because Corporation Tax filing arrives from the Standard tier and the free plan covers a surprising amount before you pay anything. You get considerably more capability per pound here than anywhere else on this list.
What you get: Part of the wider Zoho suite. The UK edition files SA100 and CT600, handles MTD and CIS, and starts at nothing for one user. It holds a 4.1 out of 5 rating across 240 reviews on Assaylist.
Pricing: The plans run Free at free, Standard at £12 and Professional at £24 per month, excluding VAT.
Why we rate it:
- Free plan that files Self Assessment
- Corporation Tax filing from Standard
- Property tracking for landlords
- Native Zoho suite integration
Bear in mind: fewer UK accountants know it well, so confirm yours is comfortable with it before you commit a company's books to it.
Read our full Zoho Books review →
6. Sage Sole Trader
Sage Sole Trader is deliberately stripped back to the job of getting an individual's income and expenses into digital records and off to HMRC. If your only requirement is to comply without learning bookkeeping, its free tier and small paid step up are the shortest path to being compliant.
What you get: Sage's entry level tool for self employed people facing Making Tax Digital for Income Tax. There is a genuinely free tier for non VAT registered sole traders. It holds a 4.0 out of 5 rating across 261 reviews on Assaylist.
Pricing: The plans run Sage Sole Trader Free at free and Sage Sole Trader at £7 per month, excluding VAT.
Why we rate it:
- Free tier for non VAT registered sole traders
- MTD for Income Tax ready
- Self Assessment preparation
- UK telephone support
Bear in mind: you outgrow it as soon as your affairs stop being simple, so treat it as a starting point rather than a destination.
Read our full Sage Sole Trader review →Comparison at a glance
Here is how the shortlist compares on what it is best for, the starting price excluding VAT and the current Assaylist rating.
| Software | Best for | Starting price | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| QuickBooks Sole Trader | Best for MTD for Income Tax | From £9 / month | 4.1 |
| FreeAgent | Best free option | From £19 / month | 4.1 |
| Xero | Best for portfolios | From £16 / month | 4.1 |
| QuickFile | Best on cost | From £0 / year | 4.0 |
| Zoho Books | Best value with a company | From £0 / month | 4.1 |
| Sage Sole Trader | Simplest to start | From £7 / month | 4.0 |
How much should you budget?
A landlord can be fully compliant for nothing. QuickFile is free below a thousand ledger entries a year, Sage Sole Trader and Zoho Books both run free tiers, and FreeAgent is free outright for customers of NatWest, Royal Bank of Scotland, Ulster or Mettle. For a one or two property landlord reporting as an individual, there is very little reason to pay a subscription at all beyond a few pounds a month for bank feeds.
Costs start once your affairs stop being simple. A paid individual product sits at roughly seven to twelve pounds a month excluding VAT, and a portfolio landlord who needs per property reporting and a full ledger should budget the standard small business rate of sixteen to forty pounds a month. Holding property through a limited company adds statutory accounts and Corporation Tax, so expect either a higher tier or an accountant's fee on top, and weigh that against the tax saving that prompted the company in the first place.
Our verdict
For most UK landlords reporting property income as individuals, QuickBooks Sole Trader is the cleanest route through Making Tax Digital for Income Tax, and FreeAgent beats it outright on cost if you bank with a qualifying group. Neither asks you to learn double entry bookkeeping to file a compliant quarterly update, which is the whole point.
Portfolio landlords and anyone holding property through a limited company should step up to Xero for its per property reporting and its ubiquity among accountants, or to Zoho Books if value matters more than familiarity. And if your bookkeeping really is a handful of transactions a month, QuickFile does the job for nothing and has been doing it for UK businesses for years.
The bottom line
Start from how you hold the property, not from a feature list. An individual with one or two lets should be on a cheap or free product built for the quarterly Income Tax cycle, and QuickBooks Sole Trader or FreeAgent will both do it well. A portfolio or a limited company needs a real ledger, and that means Xero or Zoho Books. Whichever you choose, confirm it is on HMRC's recognised list for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax specifically, because recognition for VAT is a different thing and it is the mistake landlords make most often.
Frequently asked questions
Do landlords need accounting software for Making Tax Digital?
You need software that can keep digital records and send quarterly updates to HMRC once your property and self employment income clear the reporting threshold. A plain spreadsheet does not satisfy that on its own, although bridging software can connect one to HMRC. Every product in this article is recognised by HMRC for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax.
What is the best free accounting software for landlords?
FreeAgent is free indefinitely for customers of NatWest, Royal Bank of Scotland, Ulster or Mettle, which makes it the strongest free option for many landlords. QuickFile is free below a thousand ledger entries a year, and Sage Sole Trader and Zoho Books both run free tiers suitable for straightforward property income.
Can accounting software track income per property?
Yes, but not all of it does this well. Xero handles it through tracking categories, which lets you report profit for each property separately rather than as one total. If you hold more than a couple of properties, per property reporting is the feature worth paying for, because it is what tells you which let is actually making money.
Do I need different software if I own property through a limited company?
Usually yes. A company needs a full ledger, statutory accounts and a Corporation Tax return, which the simplest individual products are not built for. Xero and Zoho Books both handle company accounting properly, and Zoho Books includes Corporation Tax filing from its Standard tier.
How does software handle mortgage interest for landlords?
Finance costs on residential lets are restricted to a basic rate tax reduction rather than being deducted in full from rental profit. Good software records the interest correctly and keeps it separate from ordinary expenses so the restriction is applied properly. This is the figure landlords most often get wrong, so it is worth checking how your chosen product treats it.
Prices were checked against each vendor's UK pricing on 7 August 2026 and exclude VAT unless stated. Vendors change pricing, so confirm the current figure on the vendor's own site before you buy. Some links are commercial; where we earn a commission it never affects our ratings or the order of this list.
