Many Making Tax Digital software packages cannot file returns

Many Making Tax Digital software packages cannot file returns

One in three landlord Making Tax Digital (MTD) for Income Tax products cannot yet file the tax return, it’s claimed by software company LetAlliance.

HMRC’s official list of software for MTD names 128 products that handle landlords’ UK property income. 

Only 84 of them can send the tax return that completes the year, according to a count of every product page on the government’s software finder by LetCompliance.

MTD began in April this year for landlords and sole traders with qualifying income over £50,000,.

It extends to those over £30,000 from April 2027. 

Since September 2026, HMRC has been signing up people who should be using it but have not joined. Each landlord sends four quarterly updates and then the tax return through compatible software. 

For the first year, 2026 to 2027, the tax return is due by January 31 2028.

LetCompliance says its latest check of government information reveals:

– HMRC lists 165 Making Tax Digital for Income Tax products. 128 are ready now for UK property income for individual landlords;

– Of those 128, 84 show the tax return as ready now, 32 show it as “in development” and 12 do not include it;

– 32 have a free version, and 22 have both a free version and the tax return ready now;

– Only 11 products are built for UK property income alone, without sole trader or foreign property income. 4 of the 11 show the tax return ready now;

– “Tax return ready now” covers the income each product supports. Of the 84, only 11 are ready now for all 16 other income types and items HMRC lists, such as bank interest, dividends and pensions.

Erdem Volkan, founder of LetCompliance, says: “Landlords are being told to pick software from HMRC’s list, and most will look at whether it sends the quarterly updates. The tax return line matters just as much. 

“A third of the products on the list cannot yet finish the year, so a landlord choosing today should check that line, and the other income they need to report, before they sign up.”

LetCompliance says landlords should:

1. Open HMRC’s finder from the GOV.UK page “Find software that works with Making Tax Digital for Income Tax”.

2. On the product’s page, read the tax return line and the other income and items you need to report.

3. If the tax return shows “in development”, ask the company when it will be ready.

This article is taken from Landlord Today