In the UK market in 2026, most people can expect MTD for Income Tax support to land somewhere between about £25 and £200 per month, depending on how much is included.

At the lower end, you are usually looking at a software-led or volume-led service with very limited human input. At the higher end, you are normally paying for regular bookkeeping, more complex income streams, more support through the year, and a named accountant who actually knows what is going on.

For most decent local firms, the realistic middle sits somewhere around £45 to £150 per month, depending on complexity.

Software may be included, or it may sit on top. Setup may also be charged separately. That is why the cheapest-looking quote is not always the cheapest quote in real life.

One reason people underestimate the cost is that they compare MTD to the old model of one tax return a year.

That is no longer the job.

Under MTD for Income Tax, the work usually breaks into a few moving parts. There is the software and digital records side. There are four quarterly updates. There is the final declaration or year-end filing step. And then there is the ongoing support that sits around it, which is usually where people either save themselves stress or create more of it.

In other words, you are not paying someone to press submit once a year. You are paying for an admin system, a filing rhythm, and enough review and support to keep the whole thing clean.

That is why the fee structure has changed.

There are three things that change the price more than anything else.

The first is the number of income sources. A single sole trader with one income stream is straightforward. A landlord with several properties is less so. Someone with a sole trade and property income has more moving parts again.

The second is transaction volume. Someone who raises two invoices a month and has a handful of costs is always going to be cheaper to look after than a busy tradesperson, e-commerce seller, or landlord with regular contractor bills and agent statements.

The third is how tidy the records are when the accountant gets them. Clean, current records cost less to manage than a backlog. That is true under every tax regime, but under MTD it matters even more because the work repeats quarterly.

VAT registration, CIS income, joint property ownership, and mixed-use expenses can all push the price up as well, but those first three are usually the main drivers.

The market broadly splits into three bands.

At the bottom end are the very cheap, digital-first providers. These can work if your situation is extremely simple and you are comfortable doing most of the admin yourself. The trade-off is usually limited personal support, less tailored advice, and a more standardised experience.

In the middle is where most quality local firms sit. This is the part of the market where you normally get a named accountant, proper support, and a service that is still commercially sensible for sole traders and landlords.

Above that is the more premium end, where you are paying for heavier bookkeeping, more complex income, more frequent tax planning, more hand-holding, or all of the above.

That middle band is usually where the best value sits for people who want the work done properly but do not need a boutique advisory firm for every quarter.

HMRC requires people in scope to keep digital records and send quarterly updates using approved software. HMRC does not provide that software itself.

That means there is usually a software cost somewhere in the picture. As a rough guide:

FreeAgent — around £14–£29 a month at retail, often free if you bank with NatWest, RBS or Mettle

Xero Cashbook — from around £15 a month

QuickBooks Sole Trader — from around £10 a month

Sage Accounting — from around £14 a month

Prices and plans move around, but that gives you a realistic range.

Sometimes the software cost is shown separately. Sometimes it is bundled into the accountant’s monthly fee. Either approach is fine as long as it is clear. What matters is whether the quote you are looking at includes the software licence, whether it includes setup, and whether it includes support when something stops behaving as expected.

This is one of the easiest places for a “cheap” quote to become more expensive than it first looked.

If software is the bit you are still stuck on, go back to Episode 5.

We have kept our own pricing simple because the whole point of MTD is to remove friction, not add to it.

Our current structure is built around three tiers.

Tier 1 is for simpler cases. A single sole trader or a single-property landlord with clean records and low support needs. That sits at £49 plus VAT per month and includes the software licence, setup, four quarterly updates, the final declaration, one income stream, and a short annual review. It assumes the client is keeping their own records in the software.

Tier 2 is where a lot of good MTD clients are likely to sit. That starts at £79 plus VAT per month, depending on transaction volume and the level of bookkeeping support needed. It includes everything in Tier 1, plus bookkeeping support within an agreed transaction level, quarterly tax estimates, a mid-year tax planning check, two income streams, and more day-to-day support.

Tier 3 starts from £125 plus VAT per month, and usually sits higher in practice depending on the facts. This is for more complex cases such as multi-property landlords, CIS subcontractors, VAT-registered sole traders, or people who want fuller bookkeeping support and more regular review through the year.

VAT returns sit as a separate add-on. Onboarding and software setup also sit separately as one-off fees where needed.

Most people focus on the monthly fee and forget the one-off work.

That is usually where the onboarding sits. If someone is already on a suitable system and just needs the MTD side tidied up, the setup may be light. If they need a software migration, chart of accounts redesign, bank feed setup, opening balances, or a backlog cleanup, that is a different job.

That work should normally be quoted separately.

In practical terms, the common one-off items are the onboarding and setup piece, and then any bookkeeping completion work if the records are behind or messy.

That is not unfair upselling. It is just the difference between recurring compliance and a rescue job.

A good quote should make the scope obvious.

You want to know what is included, what is excluded, whether software is bundled, whether bookkeeping is actually included or just reviewed, whether VAT is covered, and what happens if your records arrive late or incomplete.

You also want to know who is actually doing the work. A named accountant with a real relationship is not the same product as a low-cost digital pipeline, even if both use the same buzzwords.

The safest rule is simple. If a quote looks very cheap and no one has asked about your income sources, transaction volume, or the state of your records, it is probably not a complete quote.

If you are a sole trader or landlord around Sutton Coldfield, Birmingham, Solihull, Tamworth, Burton upon Trent, or the wider West Midlands, and you want a realistic view of what MTD should cost in your case, this is exactly the sort of conversation we have all the time.

Usually the goal is not to find the absolute cheapest monthly number. It is to find the point where the system works, the deadlines get met, and the cost still makes commercial sense.

That is where the value is.

If that sounds useful, start here.

Is MTD for Income Tax more expensive than old-style Self Assessment? Usually, yes. There is more ongoing work, more digital infrastructure, and more filing points through the year.

Can I do MTD myself and avoid accountant fees? Technically yes, if you are comfortable with software, digital records, quarterly updates, and the year-end process. In practice, many people find the time and admin burden outweigh the saving.

Do I have to pay for software separately? Not always. Some firms bundle it into the monthly fee and some quote it separately. Always check.

What if my records are not up to date when I sign up? That is usually a separate bookkeeping or setup job before the monthly package starts.

What is the cheapest compliant route? Usually doing your own records in low-cost software or spreadsheets with bridging software, and paying only for the filing and year end work. That can work well for genuinely simple cases, but it offers much less support if anything goes wrong.

If you would like a proper quote for your situation, the quickest route is a short conversation about your setup, your income sources, and how much of the process you want to do yourself.

If you are not sure whether MTD applies to you, go back to the qualifying income article or our MTD service page first. If you want a more detailed discussion around software, structure, or the wider tax position, that can sit as part of a paid consultation rather than a quick quote call.

And if you also run a limited company alongside your sole trader or landlord work, that is a separate engagement — see our accounting services page for year-end pricing.

The aim is not to sell you more than you need. It is to price the work properly and keep the MTD process calm once it starts.

Start here.

Daniel Scott is an ACCA-qualified chartered accountant and founding partner at Daykin Scott Accountants, based in Sutton Coldfield. The firm works with UK sole traders, landlords, contractors and small limited companies. This article is general guidance and should not be taken as personal tax advice, as every situation is different.