Best landlord tax software for UK landlords in 2026

Written by the August editorial team. Last reviewed: May 2026

Tax is the single largest financial obligation most UK landlords face, yet it is the area where the administrative infrastructure is most often cobbled together from spreadsheets, bank statements, and memory. The result is predictable: missed expense deductions, incorrectly calculated mortgage interest credits, inaccurate quarterly figures, and year-end scrambles that cost more in accountant time than good software would have.

In 2026 the stakes are meaningfully higher than they were two years ago. Making Tax Digital for Income Tax has been mandatory since April 2026 for landlords with gross rental income above £50,000, and the threshold drops to £30,000 in April 2027 and £20,000 in April 2028. MTD does not change how much tax you pay — it changes when and how you report it, and it makes the quality of your year-round record-keeping directly visible to HMRC. A landlord whose records were previously reconstructed at January each year now has four quarterly checkpoints where incomplete or inaccurate records become an immediate problem rather than a January headache.

This guide covers the full landscape of landlord tax software in 2026: what it needs to do, how dedicated landlord platforms differ from general accounting tools, and which option suits which type of landlord.

Who this guide is for: UK landlords managing between one and thirty properties on a personal basis, not through a limited company, who need software to handle rental income tracking, allowable expense categorisation, Section 24 mortgage interest credits, and MTD quarterly submissions. Landlords operating through a limited company should seek a full business accounting platform such as Xero or QuickBooks alongside their corporation tax adviser.

Transparency note: August is one of the platforms discussed in this article. We have aimed to present each tool's tax features accurately. We did not receive payment from any provider featured here.

What landlord tax software needs to do

The tax obligations of a UK landlord span several distinct tasks that good software should handle as an integrated system rather than as separate manual exercises.

Digital record-keeping at property level. HMRC requires landlords to maintain records of all rental income received and all allowable expenses paid, matched to individual properties. A software tool that tracks income and expenses in aggregate rather than per property creates significant extra work at quarterly submission time.

Correct Section 24 treatment of mortgage interest. Since April 2020, individual landlords can no longer deduct mortgage interest from rental income when calculating profit. Instead they receive a 20% tax credit on the interest paid. This is the most commonly mishandled tax calculation in landlord accounting. General accounting software, Xero, QuickBooks, FreshBooks, sometimes treats mortgage interest as a straightforward deductible expense, which produces an incorrect tax figure. Always verify Section 24 handling before committing to any platform. Our rental income tax calculator applies the Section 24 credit correctly and lets you model the difference between the old deduction approach and the current tax credit approach, which remains a meaningful sum for higher-rate taxpayers.

HMRC-aligned expense categorisation. Allowable expenses for landlords are specific. Repairs and maintenance are allowable; improvements and capital expenditure are not. Letting agent fees, landlord insurance, safety certificate costs, and professional fees are allowable; the cost of your own time is not. Software that uses generic accounting categories rather than HMRC property income categories makes self-assessment more complicated and risks missed claims. For a full breakdown of what is and is not deductible, see our guide to allowable expenses for landlords.

MTD quarterly submission capability. From April 2026, landlords above the income threshold must submit four quarterly updates per year plus a final declaration using software on the HMRC recognised list. This is not the same as filing a tax return, it is a summary of income and expenses for the quarter, submitted digitally from within your chosen software. Not all landlord tools are on the recognised list. This is now a mandatory capability check, not an optional feature.

SA105 reporting. The SA105 supplementary form is the HMRC document used to report UK property income within a self-assessment return. Good landlord tax software generates SA105-ready output automatically, so the figures flow into your tax return without manual reformatting.

Bank feed integration. A bank connection that imports transactions automatically, ideally via open banking rather than CSV upload, keeps records current throughout the year rather than requiring a bulk reconciliation exercise before each quarterly deadline.

Why "landlord tax software" is different from "MTD software"

The distinction matters for how you choose a platform. MTD software is the narrower category: tools that meet the technical requirements to submit quarterly updates to HMRC and appear on the GOV.UK recognised software list. Landlord tax software is the broader category: tools that handle the complete tax picture for a landlord, from expense tracking and bank reconciliation through Section 24 calculations, SA105 output, and quarterly submissions.

All MTD-compliant landlord tools handle quarterly submissions. But not all handle Section 24 correctly, not all track expenses at property level, and not all integrate rent tracking with the expense ledger in a way that keeps records accurate without manual input.

If you are looking specifically at MTD software options and the quarterly submission process in detail, our dedicated guide to the best MTD software for landlords covers the HMRC recognition status of each platform, the difference between full MTD software and bridging software, and what landlords with self-employment income alongside rental income need to consider. This guide takes the broader view: what does good landlord tax software look like across the full self-assessment and MTD picture, and which platform fits which landlord?

The platforms compared

August

Best for: Self-managing landlords who want rent tracking, expense management, and MTD record-keeping integrated in a single platform, with HMRC submission capability once full recognition is confirmed.

August tracks rental income via open banking, automatically matching incoming transactions to the correct tenancy. Expenses are logged against HMRC-aligned categories including repairs, insurance, letting fees, professional costs, and so on, from your phone or desktop, with receipt photos attached. The expense ledger is organised at property level, giving you a clean income and expense picture per property ready for quarterly submission. Section 24 mortgage interest is handled correctly: interest is recorded separately from deductible expenses and the 20% tax credit is applied at the calculation stage rather than treating it as a deductible.

The MTD feature set supports digital record-keeping, expense categorisation, and direct HMRC submission. August also handles shared ownership, if you own a property jointly with a spouse or partner, you set your ownership percentage and August calculates your share of every income and expense transaction automatically. For landlords who want to model their tax position before the year-end declaration, the rental income tax calculator estimates profit, income tax by band, the Section 24 credit, and your indicative MTD start year based on current thresholds.

The practical advantage of an integrated platform is that the records feeding your tax submissions are the same records you use to manage your portfolio day to day. There is no separate bookkeeping exercise at quarter-end: your rent payments are already logged, your expenses are already categorised, and your bank transactions are already reconciled. For a complete explanation of how MTD quarterly submissions work within August, see the August MTD guide.

Limitations: August is approaching full HMRC recognition for MTD quarterly submissions, verify current status on the August MTD page before committing. It is designed for individual landlords in England and Wales, not limited company portfolios or complex multi-entity structures. For landlords with significant capital gains activity or complex tax affairs, dedicated accountant support alongside August remains advisable.

Pricing: Free for up to two properties. See current pricing for paid plan details.

Hammock

Best for: Landlords whose primary concern is MTD compliance and financial clarity, who are comfortable managing compliance tasks separately.

Hammock is the only landlord-focused platform with formal HMRC recognition for MTD Income Tax submissions, a meaningful distinction given that recognition confirms the software meets HMRC's technical requirements for quarterly updates. Its open banking connection imports transactions automatically, income is categorised by property, and the quarterly submission workflow is the cleanest and most established of any landlord-specific tool. For landlords already in the first MTD phase, gross income above £50,000 in the 2024-25 tax year, Hammock's recognition status and submission track record make it the lowest-risk choice for the submission process itself.

Financial reporting is strong, with clear income and expense summaries by property and period. The platform handles Section 24 correctly. Its cash flow reporting gives a real-time picture of income versus expenses across the portfolio.

Limitations: Hammock is a finance and tax tool, not a property management platform. There is no compliance checklist, no document storage for gas safety certificates or EICRs, no tenant app, and no maintenance tracking. For landlords who also want compliance and tenancy management in one place, Hammock works best alongside a separate tool, which adds cost and the risk of records living in two systems. For a direct head-to-head on the full feature set, see our August vs Hammock comparison.

Pricing: From around £7-10 per month.

Landlord Vision

Best for: Landlords who want the deepest financial reporting available from a dedicated landlord platform, including full double-entry bookkeeping, SA105-ready output, and MTD quarterly submissions.

Landlord Vision has been serving UK landlords since 2002 and has confirmed MTD compatibility on the GOV.UK recognised software list. Its financial reporting suite, over fifty accountant-approved reports, is the most comprehensive of any dedicated landlord platform. Profit and loss by property, income and expense breakdowns by category, capital account reporting, and SA105-formatted output are all available without requiring accountant intervention to reformat the data. For landlords whose accountants want to receive a fully reconciled set of accounts rather than raw data, Landlord Vision's output quality is the benchmark.

Section 24 is handled correctly. Bank feeds are available, though the level of automation is less seamless than August or Hammock. Expenses require more manual input than open banking-driven platforms. The interface is desktop-first, which some landlords find less convenient for on-the-go expense logging.

Limitations: The platform's accounting-first design makes it the most powerful financial tool in the comparison, but also the most involved to operate without a bookkeeping background. For a direct comparison see our August vs Landlord Vision page.

Pricing: From £19.99 per month, tiered by portfolio size.

Landlord Studio

Best for: Landlords who primarily manage on mobile, want best-in-class receipt scanning, and whose accountant uses Xero.

Landlord Studio achieved HMRC recognition for MTD quarterly submissions in March 2026. Its mobile app includes the best receipt scanning and mileage tracking of any platform in this comparison, and its Xero integration creates a clean data feed for accountants already on that platform. Income is tracked per property with bank feed connectivity, and HMRC-aligned expense categories are built in.

Limitations: Section 24 mortgage interest handling should be verified directly with Landlord Studio before committing, confirm the platform applies the 20% tax credit rather than treating interest as a deductible expense. Compliance features are limited compared to UK-specific platforms. For a direct comparison see our August vs Landlord Studio page.

Pricing: Per unit - check current rates on the Landlord Studio website.

Xero and QuickBooks

Best for: Landlords who also run a self-employed business alongside their rental income and want both income streams managed in one accounting platform their accountant already uses.

Both Xero and QuickBooks are on the HMRC recognised software list for MTD. They are the platforms most UK accountants work with daily, which simplifies the accountant relationship significantly. For landlords with mixed income, a sole trader business and rental income, the ability to manage both streams in one platform and produce a single set of digital records is a genuine advantage.

Limitations: Neither platform is designed for property management. There is no room-level tenancy tracking, no compliance reminders for gas safety or EICRs, no document storage for certificates, and property-level income reporting requires manual setup. Section 24 mortgage interest is not handled automatically, this must be set up manually, and a landlord without accounting knowledge may set it up incorrectly. Both platforms also require more ongoing bookkeeping involvement than dedicated landlord tools. For landlords whose primary identity is property manager rather than business owner, the complexity overhead is rarely worth it.

Section 24: the calculation that most software still gets wrong

The Section 24 mortgage interest restriction is the most financially significant tax change for individual landlords in a generation, and it remains the most commonly miscalculated item in landlord tax software. Under the old regime, mortgage interest was deducted from rental income before calculating profit. Under Section 24, which was fully phased in by April 2020, interest is not deductible. Instead you receive a tax credit worth 20% of the interest paid, applied against your income tax bill.

The difference matters most for higher-rate and additional-rate taxpayers. A landlord paying £10,000 per year in mortgage interest under the old regime deducted £10,000 from their taxable profit, saving £4,000 in tax at the 40% rate. Under Section 24, the same landlord receives a 20% credit of £2,000, a net tax increase of £2,000 per year from this change alone, before any other variables. General accounting software that treats mortgage interest as a deductible expense understates your tax liability by exactly this difference.

Before committing to any software for landlord tax, ask the provider one specific question: how does your platform handle the Section 24 mortgage interest restriction? If the answer involves treating interest as a deductible expense rather than calculating a 20% credit, the platform will produce incorrect tax figures.

To model how Section 24 affects your specific position, including the difference between holding property personally versus through a limited company, use our rental income tax calculator and see our guide to how rental income is taxed in the UK.

MTD and landlord tax software: the practical picture in 2026

Making Tax Digital requires landlords above the threshold to submit four quarterly updates per year plus a final declaration. Each quarterly update is a summary of rental income and allowable expenses for that quarter, submitted from within your chosen software. It is not a detailed tax return, it is a checkpoint that keeps your digital records current and visible to HMRC throughout the year rather than only at January.

The practical consequence for software choice is significant: your tax records must be accurate four times a year, not once. A platform that requires manual data entry or CSV reconciliation to keep records current will generate four times the administration of one that keeps records automatically via open banking and expense logging throughout the quarter.

The income thresholds are: gross rental income above £50,000 from April 2026 (already in force), dropping to £30,000 from April 2027 and £20,000 from April 2028. To check when MTD applies to your specific income level and understand what the quarterly process involves step by step, see our complete guide to Making Tax Digital for landlords.

Do you still need an accountant if you use landlord tax software?

Yes - with an important qualification. Landlord tax software handles record-keeping, categorisation, quarterly submissions, and report generation. It does not replace the judgement of a qualified tax adviser on questions of tax planning, incorporation decisions, capital gains strategy, or complex allowable expense classifications.

What good software does is reduce the cost of your accountant's involvement dramatically. If your records are clean, categorised, and exportable in an SA105-ready format, your accountant reviews and approves rather than reconstructing. The hours saved directly reduce the fee charged. For landlords using August, the reports feature generates income and expense statements, rent ledgers, and profit and loss summaries per property in formats designed for accountant handoff.

For guidance on what to look for when choosing an accountant who understands property tax, and specifically what to ask about MTD handling and Section 24, see our guide to choosing an accountant as a UK landlord.

Which landlord tax software is right for you

If you self-manage between one and thirty properties and want rent tracking, expense management, and MTD record-keeping in a single integrated platform, August is built for this workflow. The open banking connection, HMRC-aligned expense categories, Section 24 handling, and MTD submission capability mean the records feeding your tax obligations are the same records you use to run your portfolio.

If MTD compliance and confirmed HMRC recognition are your primary concern right now and you are comfortable managing compliance separately, Hammock is the most established choice for quarterly submissions.

If you need the deepest accountant-ready financial reporting available, with double-entry bookkeeping and over fifty reports, Landlord Vision is the most comprehensive dedicated landlord accounting platform.

If you run a business alongside your rental income and your accountant already uses Xero or QuickBooks, keeping both income streams in a single platform your accountant knows well is a practical advantage that outweighs the property-management limitations.

For a broader comparison of these platforms covering compliance, rent tracking, and property management features alongside tax, see our best property management software for UK landlords guide.

About this review

Written by the August editorial team, who work with self-managing UK landlords and property professionals across England and Wales to produce practical, accurate guidance on tax compliance, property management software, and landlord accounting. August is one of the platforms reviewed in this article. Where we discuss our own product alongside alternatives, we have aimed to be accurate about what each tool does and for whom it is best suited.

Last reviewed: May 2026. About August.

Disclaimer: This article is a guide and not intended to be relied upon as legal or tax advice, or as a substitute for it. Tax rules change and individual circumstances vary. August does not accept any liability for any errors, omissions, or misstatements contained in this article. Always speak to a suitably qualified tax adviser for advice specific to your situation.