The best free MTD software for sole traders in 2026

You don't have to pay for Making Tax Digital. I'm a sole trader, I submitted my first quarterly update this month, and it cost me nothing. But finding the genuinely free options among the free trials and paid plans took longer than the submission did. So here's the comparison I wish I'd found, with the honest catches for each option.

First, the thing nobody tells you

You cannot type your quarterly update into HMRC's website. There's no online form like there is for Self Assessment. The figures must be sent through HMRC-recognised software, which is why this decision exists at all. The good news is that "software" can be a small free tool doing one job, not an expensive accounting suite.

The other thing worth knowing: your spreadsheets are fine. Spreadsheets count as digital records under MTD. What you can't do is retype the totals by hand into a submission, so you need something to carry them across digitally. That's what bridging software does.

The free options compared

Flonancial: the one I actually used

Flonancial is HMRC-recognised bridging software, free for sole traders submitting quarterly updates. You connect your Government Gateway account once, upload your figures, click your turnover and expenses cells, tick the declaration and submit. My first submission took under 10 minutes and I've written the whole process up in a step-by-step walkthrough with screenshots.

It's the right choice if you already have records you like, whether that's a spreadsheet or a bookkeeping app, and you just need the submission part solved.

Starling's MTD tool: best if you already bank there

Starling built a free MTD for Income Tax tool into its sole trader account. It's HMRC-recognised and you submit quarterly updates from inside your banking app, with your transactions already there. If Starling is your business bank, it's hard to argue with. The catch is simply that it requires the account, and their fuller accounting features sit in a paid upgrade tier.

FreeAgent: full accounting software, free through your bank

FreeAgent is a complete accounting package that handles MTD end to end, and it's free in full if you hold a business current account with NatWest, RBS, Ulster Bank or Mettle (Mettle asks for at least one transaction a month). If you're happy to bank with one of them, this is the most software you can get for nothing. If you're not, opening a bank account to get accounting software is a bigger change than most people want three weeks before a deadline.

Everything else: check the small print

HMRC keeps the full list of recognised software on gov.uk. Plenty of products on it advertise "free", which on closer inspection means a free trial, a free tier without MTD submission, or free for year one. None of that is a scandal, but read the pricing page before you build your tax process on it.

Where FreelanceOS fits, honestly

Full disclosure: this site is FreelanceOS, and I built it. It is not bridging software and it doesn't submit to HMRC itself. What it does is keep your records MTD-ready all year: invoices, expenses, receipt scanning and mileage, with every expense mapped to the right SA103 box as you go. When a quarterly deadline comes round, you download the report with one click and upload it into Flonancial or any bridging tool. That combination, FreelanceOS for the records plus Flonancial for the submission, is exactly how I did my own return, and both halves are free to start.

Frequently asked questions