How to choose MTD software: 7 questions to ask before you pay

There are now dozens of MTD products — from free tiers to £30-a-month accounting suites — and the differences that matter are rarely the ones on the pricing page. Ask these seven questions before committing, because once your records live in a product, moving is painful.

1. Is it on HMRC's recognised list — for Income Tax?

Check the official list on GOV.UK (linked below), and check the Income Tax section specifically — VAT recognition is a different thing. Also check which income types are marked "ready": some recognised products can't yet handle foreign property or CIS.

2. What does a submission actually cost?

Watch for per-submission fees hiding under free plans — "free" software charging £5 per quarterly update costs £25+ a year, more than some paid plans. With four updates plus a final declaration, per-submission pricing adds up fast.

3. Does it handle Section 24 correctly?

The acid test for landlord software: does it track mortgage interest as a separate finance-costs category and apply the 20% credit — or does it wrongly deduct it as an expense? Get this wrong and every quarterly update you send is wrong. Ask before you pay.

4. Can it split jointly-owned property?

If you co-own, you report your share only. Software without ownership-share support leaves you doing percentage arithmetic on every transaction, forever.

5. Can you get your data OUT?

Full CSV export of your records, at any time, on any plan — non-negotiable. HMRC requires you to retain records for over five years; a product that holds them hostage on a paid tier fails the test.

6. Does it match your actual complexity?

One or two properties? A full accounting suite with payroll, VAT and stock is paying for someone else's needs — and the interface complexity is a real cost. Twenty properties with tenant management needs? A tax-only tool may be too thin. Match the tool to the job.

7. Who is it built for — you, or your accountant?

Much MTD software is accountant-first: powerful, but assumes you know what a nominal ledger is. If you'll do your own quarters, test whether you can complete one without help during the trial. That trial run — upload a bank statement, check the categories, view a quarter — tells you more than any comparison table.

MTDFox's answers, for the record: recognition in progress with records already in HMRC's format; flat monthly price with no per-submission fees; Section 24 native; ownership shares built in; one-click CSV export on every plan including free; built deliberately for the one-or-two-property landlord doing it themselves.