The landscape of property tax is shifting. If you’re a landlord in the UK, you have like heard the term Making Tax Digital (MTD) thrown around in industry news. But with shifting deadlines and changing thresholds, it’s easy to lose track of what you actually need to do.
Digital records? Making Tax Digital software for landlords? Spreadsheets?
In this blog post, we’ll break down exactly what MTD means for you, the key dates you need to follow, and how to choose the best Making Tax Digital software for landlords.
| Software | Pricing | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Xero | £7–£65/month depending on plan | Landlords who want full accounting + mixed income setups |
| Hammock | £8–£31.50/month depending on number of properties | Landlords who want automation + property insights |
| Landlord Vision | £21.97–£99.97/month | Landlords needing property management + finances + compliance |
| Landlord Studio | Free–£30/month | Small portfolios wanting simplicity + mobile-first workflow |
| ClearBooks | Free | Landlords who want a minimal, cost-free MTD setup |
Table of contents
- 1. Xero for landlords – complex solution for landlords & businesses
- 2. Hammock – all-in-one software for landlords
- 3. Landlord Vision – easy property management
- 4. Landlord Studio – simple property management for landlords
- 5. ClearBooks – free forever plan for sole landlords
- What is Making Tax Digital for landlords?
- How to choose the right MTD software for landlords
- What landlords need? Get help from WallsMan Creative
1. Xero for landlords – complex solution for landlords & businesses
Price:
- Ignite – £16/month
- Grow – £37/month
- Comprehensive – £50/month
- Ultimate – £65/month
- Simple – £7/month
Xero isn’t built only for landlords, but it works well if you want proper accounting with clean digital records. It handles property income, expenses and bank transactions in a way that keeps everything tidy for MTD.
You connect your bank account, tag rental income as it comes in, and record your property costs as you go. Xero then keeps a full digital trail, which is exactly what HMRC expects for MTD. If you’ve got a mix of rental income and freelance or business income, having everything in one place makes life much easier.
Pros ✅
- Automatic bank feeds
- Clear categories for rental income/expenses
- Easy document storage
- Clean property profit reports
- Add-ons for invoicing and full accounting features
Cons ⛔
- Can feel heavy for 1–2 properties
- Designed for full accounting, not just landlords
We don’t want to hide anything: as a Xero certified accountancy firm, we’d recommend setting up your systems with Xero.
2. Hammock – all-in-one software for landlords
Price:
- Basic (1–3 properties) – £8/month
- Standard (4–10 properties) – £15/month
- Plus (11–20 properties) – £25/month
- Beyond (21+ properties) – £31.50/month
Hammock is built specifically for landlords, so everything in the platform revolves around rental income, property expenses and tax reporting. If you want something that feels like it understands how a rental business works from day one, Hammock is the closest match.
You connect your bank accounts, and Hammock tags rental income automatically. It also matches transactions to the right property, which means you get clean records without having to sort everything by hand.
For MTD, this saves you a lot of time and removes the risk of missing or mis-categorising income.
Pros ✅
- Built specifically for landlords
- Automatic rent recognition
- Clear profit and tax insights per property
- MTD-ready digital records
- Strong automation for recurring costs
Cons ⛔
- Not suitable for full business accounting
- Limited if you need invoices, payroll or broader features
3. Landlord Vision – easy property management
Price:
- Starter – £21.97/month
- Standard – £34.97/month
- Premium – £44.97/month
- Enterprise – £99.97/month
Landlord Vision is a full property-management platform that also supports digital record-keeping, which makes it useful if you want one tool to cover admin, finances and compliance in one place.
You can track tenancies, automate reminders, store documents and monitor cash flow across all your properties. The key advantage is that every income and expense item sits inside a proper digital record system, so you’re already working in the format HMRC expects.
It feels more feature-rich than most landlord tools, which is helpful if you manage several properties or work with tenants and agents regularly.
You get dashboards, occupancy views, loan-to-value tracking and a tidy profit-and-loss breakdown for each property.
Pros ✅
- Robust property-management tools
- Clean dashboards for quick issue spotting
- Centralised tenancy document storage
- MTD-ready digital bookkeeping
- Great for multi-unit or admin-heavy portfolios
Cons ⛔
- Can feel heavy if you only need simple income/expense tracking
- Larger learning curve due to many features
4. Landlord Studio – simple property management for landlords
Price:
- MTD Go – Free
- Pro – £15/month
- Pro Plus – £30/month
Landlord Studio is a lightweight option if you want something simple, tidy and easy to run from your phone.
It covers the basics well: tracking rent, logging expenses, storing documents and keeping digital records for MTD. If you prefer a tool that feels more “app” than “accounting software,” this one will make sense.
You can scan receipts, sync your bank transactions and assign everything to the right property in a couple of taps. It’s built for landlords who don’t want the complexity of a full accounting system, but still need proper digital records for HMRC.
For a small portfolio, that level of clarity often beats big accounting suites.
Pros ✅
- Very easy to use, especially on mobile
- Quick and simple income/expense tracking
- Receipt scanning keeps paperwork organised
- Clear MTD-ready digital records
- Ideal for managing a small number of properties
Cons ⛔
- Not built for complex accounting or multi-business setups
- Limited advanced reporting
- Automation is lighter than full accounting systems
5. ClearBooks – free forever plan for sole landlords
Price:
- Landlord Free – £0/month (Free forever)
- Landlord (Paid plan) – Coming soon
ClearBooks offers a free MTD tool that works for sole landlords who want the basics covered without paying for full accounting software.
It’s HMRC-recognised, which means you can record your income and expenses, keep digital records and submit quarterly updates straight from the platform.
The setup is straightforward: you add your properties, log your rental income and upload your expenses as you go.
Pros ✅
- Free MTD submissions for sole landlords
- Clean and simple interface
- Easy digital record-keeping
- HMRC-recognised for full MTD workflow
- Minimal and cost-effective
Cons ⛔
- Basic feature set
- Limited automation and property insights
- May be too simple for larger portfolios
What is Making Tax Digital for landlords?
Making Tax Digital for Income Tax Self Assessment (MTD for ITSA) is a government initiative designed to make tax administration more effective, efficient, and easier for taxpayers to get right.
Under the new rules, landlords earning above a certain income threshold must keep digital records of their income and expenses and submit updates to HMRC every three months using compatible software.
HMRC has confirmed a phased approach for the rollout. You need to be ready by these dates if your qualifying income (from property and/or self-employment) meets the threshold:
- 6 April 2026: For landlords with a qualifying income over £50,000.
- 6 April 2027: For landlords with a qualifying income over £30,000.
- 6 April 2028: For landlords with a qualifying income over £20,000.
| Note: The “qualifying income” is your total gross income (turnover) before expenses are deducted. |
How to choose the right MTD software for landlords
Choosing the right MTD tool comes down to how you manage your properties day to day.
Forget the long feature lists for a second. Focus on how you work, how many moving parts you have and how much automation you actually want.
If you’ve got one or two properties and just need clean digital records, a lightweight tool like Landlord Studio or the free version of ClearBooks will be enough.
If you want full accounting on top of landlord tracking – or you also run a small creative business or freelance work – Xero gives you the most room to grow. It’s heavier, but once it’s set up, it handles almost everything!
Here’s the quick rule of thumb:
- Keep it light if you want less admin.
- Pick landlord-specific tools if you want clarity and automation.
- Choose full accounting if you manage mixed income or bigger portfolios.
What landlords need? Get help from WallsMan Creative
MTD can feel like a big shift, but you don’t have to work it out alone.
The right software is only half the job. The real win is having a setup that matches how you run your rental business and keeps you compliant without stress.
If you want help choosing your software, setting up your workflow or staying on top of quarterly updates, WallsMan Creative can guide you through it.
You get clear advice, simple processes and steady support built around UK landlords and creative businesses.
