What is the best MTD software for plasterers?

No single product is best, and HMRC recommends none. On 18 October 2026, 47 products on HMRC's finder were ready now for sole traders and the Construction Industry Scheme (CIS), which matters if a builder takes deductions from your pay.

Making Tax Digital for Income Tax (MTD) means keeping digital records, sending HMRC an update every quarter and filing your tax return through software. It starts on 6 April 2027 if your qualifying income, which is self-employment and property income before expenses, was over £30,000 in 2025-26, or 6 April 2028 if over £20,000 in 2026-27. Over £50,000 in 2024-25 meant 6 April 2026.

Builder work and homeowner work follow different rules

Is it CIS work? Section 74 of the Finance Act 2004, the law behind CIS, does not name plastering. It covers the construction, alteration and repair of buildings, and work that renders that work complete. In our reading, plastering, rendering and dry lining a building fall there, so plastering for a builder or another contractor is CIS work. CIS 340 says private householders are not counted as contractors, so a homeowner paying you direct takes nothing off. If a builder pays you on a householder's job, though, the builder must operate CIS (homeowner CIS guide).

Deductions. Contractors take 20% if you are registered for CIS, 30% if you are not, and nothing if you have gross payment status.

Materials. CIS 340 says deductions are only made from the part of a payment that is not the cost of materials you paid for directly. The contractor can ask for evidence, such as receipts, and GOV.UK says that without any they estimate the cost. If you are VAT registered, the materials figure leaves out VAT; if not, it includes the VAT you paid.

Statements. Where a deduction is taken, the contractor must give you a payment and deduction statement within 14 days of the end of each tax month. It shows the gross payment, materials and deduction.

VAT. If you are VAT registered, the domestic reverse charge applies to standard and reduced rate services reported within CIS, where your customer is registered for VAT and CIS and has not told you in writing that they are an end user. HMRC's technical guide says it does not apply to a private domestic customer. VAT Notice 708 says work on an unfinished new home can usually be zero-rated, which takes it outside the reverse charge. Where you supply and fix, the reverse charge applies to the full value of the invoice, materials included, unless your labour is 5% or less of the contract value and you both agree from the start to use the 5% disregard.

What HMRC's finder showed on 18 October 2026

We read every product page on HMRC's finder for our MTD software census. We counted what products state on the finder; we have not tested them.

Some products are both types, so the last two rows overlap. On the finder, "in development" means the provider has committed to building the feature in time for the 2026 to 2027 tax return. The finder lists CIS under what is needed for tax returns, so in our reading it shows a product can report CIS deductions on your return, not that it tracks your monthly statements. It has no entry for the reverse charge.

What this means for you

If every job is paid direct by homeowners, any of the 143 for individuals could cover the MTD side, so choose on how your records arrive. If you plaster for builders, even for part of the year, pick one that shows CIS as ready now, not in development.

At the end of the year, HMRC adds your CIS deductions to your MTD tax return, and any refund is requested separately through HMRC online services.

If you are VAT registered, GOV.UK asks you to check whether your VAT software also works with MTD for Income Tax, or whether your chosen software can meet your VAT needs. Its reverse charge guide adds: make sure your software can deal with it.

If you would rather not do it yourself, our Trades Tax plan is £35 a month including VAT. Your bank feed becomes your MTD quarterly updates, your CIS deductions are tracked all year, and you sign off every figure. Our tax plans start once our HMRC registrations are complete. Until then you can join the waitlist, and no payment is taken.

Steps to choose your software

1. Use the free MTD check to see when MTD starts for you.
2. Sort last year's jobs into builder work with CIS statements and work paid direct by homeowners.
3. On HMRC's finder, check each product shows individual software, sole trader and CIS as ready now, plus Making Tax Digital for VAT if you want one product for both.
4. Ask the vendor whether it records gross pay, materials and deduction from each monthly statement, and issues reverse charge invoices if you need them.
5. Check you can photograph a receipt for plaster, board or beads and link it to a job.
6. Check the vendor's price after any offer, and whether VAT is added.
7. Before you submit your tax return, check the CIS deductions HMRC adds against your statements.

The trades section has more guides, including what a self-employed plasterer can claim and MTD software for builders.