---

Making Tax Digital is now compulsory for sole traders and small businesses in the UK. If you’re a plumber, electrician, builder or any other tradesperson, you need to be filing your tax digitally. But which app should you use? We’ve tested the most popular MTD apps so you don’t have to.

What is MTD and why does it affect you?

Making Tax Digital is HMRC’s plan to move all tax records and submissions online. From April 2026, if you earn over £50,000 as a sole trader you must use HMRC-approved software to keep digital records and submit quarterly updates. If you earn over £30,000, it applies from April 2027. In plain English — you can no longer just hand your bank statements to an accountant once a year. You need an app. The good news? The right app actually makes your life easier, not harder.

ANNA Money — Best for Tradespeople Who Want Everything in One Place

If you want one app that does banking, invoicing, expenses AND MTD filing — ANNA is hard to beat. It handles full MTD-compliant tax filing direct to HMRC, comes with a business bank account and debit card, lets you send invoices and quotes from your phone in minutes, automatically tracks your expenses, and has 24/7 UK-based customer support. Most tradespeople can get set up in under 10 minutes. Pricing starts free on Pay As You Go.

QuickBooks — Best for Growing Businesses

QuickBooks is fully MTD compliant and more powerful but also more complex. Great for tradespeople who are growing or have employees. Pricing from £10/month.

FreeAgent — Best for CIS Workers

Particularly good for CIS subcontractors and tradespeople who work on fixed contracts. Free if you bank with NatWest or RBS. Pricing from £19/month otherwise.

Our Recommendation

For most sole traders — ANNA Money is the simplest, most affordable solution. You can be MTD compliant in under 10 minutes. Visit MTD M8 for more free guides to help you stay on the right side of HMRC.