Coconut is MTD software you use yourself; its MTD filing plan was £129.99 a year on 17 October 2026, VAT not stated. Our Trades Tax plan does the work for you at £350 a year including VAT.
Making Tax Digital for Income Tax (MTD) means keeping digital records, sending HMRC four quarterly updates a year and filing a tax return. Coconut is software for sole traders and landlords that helps you do that yourself. Our service does it for you from your bank feed or records, and you check and confirm every figure before anything is sent to HMRC. Our tax plans start once our HMRC registrations are complete. Until then you can join the waitlist, and no payment is taken.
Want your books sorted?
We sort your books and prepare your quarterly figures. You send them to HMRC yourself with free Making Tax Digital software.
Founding offer on Trades Tax (coming later), first 500 trades clients: £5 a month for your first 3 months, then £35 a month. Cancel any time. We’ll remind you before it changes. Prices include VAT. No payment is taken while you wait.
Are you ready for Making Tax Digital? Check your start date and what to sort first. It’s free and takes a minute.
Prices compared
Each price below was checked on the provider's own website on 17 October 2026. Our prices include VAT. Coconut's pricing page did not say whether its prices include VAT.
| Plan | What it covers | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Coconut MTD Bridging | Quarterly updates from your spreadsheet | £49.99 a year, plus £49.99 for the year-end submission |
| Coconut MTD filing | Bookkeeping, quarterly updates and the year-end submission | £129.99 a year on yearly billing, or £21.99 a month |
| Coconut Full | As MTD filing, plus a Self Assessment return | £159.99 a year |
| Our Trades Tax | Bookkeeping, four quarterly updates and your tax return | £35 a month or £350 a year, including VAT |
| Our Landlord Tax, 1 to 2 properties | The same for your lets, plus landlord paperwork tools | £15 a month or £150 a year, including VAT |
| Our Landlord Tax, 3 to 4 properties | As above | £20 a month or £200 a year, including VAT |
Coconut offers a 14-day free trial with no card details needed. Its pricing page also offers Coconut free for 2 years if you apply for a Zempler bank account through the app. VAT-registered tradespeople can add VAT returns to our trades plan for £10 a month, including VAT.
What each one does
| Coconut | Our service | |
|---|---|---|
| Who keeps the books | You, in the app or your own spreadsheet | Automated from your bank feed; you check and confirm |
| Quarterly updates | You send them | Prepared and sent for you after you confirm the figures |
| Tax return at the end of the year | You send it (an extra on the bridging plan) | Prepared and sent for you after you confirm the figures |
| Income it covers | Self-employment, UK and foreign property, per its GOV.UK finder entry | Self-employment, or rental property in England (1 to 4 lets) |
| CIS | Tracks deductions; CIS on the tax return still in development on the GOV.UK finder | Deductions matched to your statements and counted in your tax return |
| Spreadsheet users | Bridging plan sends figures from your spreadsheet | Built from your bank feed or records |
| Help | MTD expert help on its MTD filing plan | Automated software, including AI, with the company's director accountable |
| Can you start today | Yes | Tax plans: waitlist only, no payment taken |
When Coconut is the better choice
- You are happy to do it yourself. Coconut's MTD filing plan was £129.99 a year on 17 October 2026, VAT not stated. Our Trades Tax plan is £350 a year including VAT. With Coconut you stay in full control.
- You already keep a good spreadsheet. Its bridging plan sends your figures without changing how you work.
- You have foreign property, lets outside England, or more than 4 properties. Coconut's GOV.UK finder entry covers UK and foreign property. Our landlord plans cover 1 to 4 properties in England.
- You need to start now. Our tax plans are not open yet.
- You want to try it free. Coconut offers a 14-day trial, and a free version is listed on the GOV.UK finder.
When our service may suit you better
- You would rather not do the bookkeeping. Your transactions are sorted for you, and your part is to check and confirm the figures.
- You are a CIS subcontractor. Your deductions are matched to your statements. Before you join Making Tax Digital, over-deducted CIS is claimed back through your Self Assessment tax return. Once you are in Making Tax Digital, HMRC adds your CIS deductions to your tax return, and any refund is requested separately through HMRC online services. Either way, the sooner after 5 April the return is filed, the sooner HMRC can repay you.
- You want one price including VAT. It is a fixed monthly price, and you can cancel online.
What this means for you
If your self-employed turnover and rent before expenses came to more than £30,000 in 2025-26, MTD starts for you on 6 April 2027. Your first quarterly update covers 6 April to 5 July 2027 and is due by 7 August 2027. Late quarterly updates can earn penalty points, and 4 points means a £200 penalty. At the Budget on 28 October 2026 the government said people who must join in April 2027 will get no penalty points for late 2027-28 quarterly updates, though the updates must still be sent. For you, the earliest a late update can earn a point is 7 August 2028.
If you use a spreadsheet with bridging software, the two must be digitally linked. GOV.UK says figures must not be retyped or copied and pasted between them once they are in your records.
The honest trade-off is time against money. If you will keep on top of it every quarter, Coconut costs less: its MTD filing plan was £129.99 a year on 17 October 2026, VAT not stated. Our Trades Tax plan is £350 a year including VAT, because the books are kept for you. Coming later. Not available yet: starts once our HMRC registrations are complete. Once our registrations are complete, we'll send your quarterly updates and tax return to HMRC for you, after you confirm the figures.
Steps to choose between them
- Use the free MTD check to see whether and when MTD starts for you.
- List every source of income: your trade, any lets, CIS and VAT registration.
- Decide whether you want to keep the records yourself or have them kept for you.
- If you want to do it yourself, try Coconut's free trial with one real quarter of income and costs.
- If you would rather hand the work over, see the plans for trades or landlords and join the waitlist. No payment is taken.
- Compare the yearly cost including VAT, and check exactly what each price includes.
Hold your place on the waitlist
We’ll email you when Trades Tax opens, with the founding offer while places last. No payment is taken.
Questions people ask
Does Coconut file the tax return as well as the quarterly updates?
On its MTD filing plan, yes. When checked on 17 October 2026, that plan included quarterly updates and the year-end MTD submission. On its cheaper bridging plan, the year-end submission was an extra £49.99.
Does Coconut include VAT in its prices?
Its pricing page did not say whether its prices include VAT when checked on 17 October 2026. Ask Coconut before you buy if it matters to you.
Can Coconut handle CIS?
Coconut's CIS page says it tracks the CIS deducted by contractors and helps you see whether you may be due a CIS reclaim at year end. On 17 October 2026 its GOV.UK finder entry still showed CIS on the tax return as in development, so check the current position.
Is there a free version of Coconut?
Yes. A product called Coconut Free was listed on the GOV.UK software finder on 17 October 2026. Check what it includes before relying on it for every update.
Can I use your service now?
Not yet. Our tax plans start once our HMRC registrations are complete. Until then you can join the waitlist, and no payment is taken.
Sources
- Coconut: Pricing (checked 17 October 2026)
- Coconut: Making Tax Digital for CIS Subcontractors (checked 17 October 2026)
- Coconut (GOV.UK software finder, checked 17 October 2026)
- Coconut Free (GOV.UK software finder, checked 17 October 2026)
- Find out if and when you need to use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax (GOV.UK)
- Use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax: Create digital records (GOV.UK)
- Penalties for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax (GOV.UK)
- Budget 2026: Overview of tax legislation and rates (GOV.UK)
This is general information to help you understand the rules. It isn't tailored to your circumstances, so check your own position before acting on it.
Righto Tax is a trading name of NJG Consultancy Ltd, registered in England and Wales, company number 16095900. Registered office: Jubilee House, East Beach, Lytham St Annes, FY8 5FT.
What happens next
- Use the free Making Tax Digital checker to see your own start date and deadlines.
- See what Righto Tax for Trades does for you, and join the waitlist.
- Questions about this page? Email hello@rightotax.co.uk.