Yes. Several firms will keep your records and send your quarterly updates and tax return for you, for a monthly or yearly fee. Before 6 April 2027, check they have an HMRC agent services account and money-laundering supervision.
Making Tax Digital for Income Tax (MTD) means digital records, four quarterly updates a year and a tax return. A managed service takes that work off you and acts as your agent with HMRC. This page explains what these services usually cover and what to check before choosing one. It follows GOV.UK as checked on 15 October 2026.
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What a managed service usually covers
- Signing you up for MTD, once you have authorised them.
- Building your records from your bank feed, receipts or paperwork.
- Sorting income and expenses into the categories HMRC uses.
- Sending the four quarterly updates for each business and let property.
- Sending your tax return at the end of the year.
- Reminders before each deadline.
What you still do: pass on paperwork or connect your bank account, answer questions about unusual items, check the figures, and pay your tax on the usual dates. A quarterly update is a report, not a payment.
Some services use automated software, including AI, to sort transactions. Ask who checks the result and who is accountable for what is sent.
Examples listed in October 2026
These are examples, not a recommendation or a full list. Each price is as listed on the firm's website in October 2026.
| Firm (website) | What is listed | Listed price |
|---|---|---|
| Pie (pie.tax) | Sign-up, four quarterly updates and the year-end return | £199 a year, VAT not stated |
| Taxfix (taxfix.com) | Bookkeeping, quarterly updates and the year-end return | £39.99 a month including VAT |
| Mazuma (mazumamoney.co.uk) | Sole trader Basic: bookkeeping, return and quarterly updates | £38 a month plus VAT |
| Gorilla Accounting (gorillaaccounting.com) | MTD Comply: software, sign-up, quarterly updates and return | From £49 plus VAT, presented as a fixed monthly fee |
For comparison, a typical return fee from an accountant is £200–£500 + VAT, according to fee guides published in 2026, with quarterly updates usually extra.
What to check before you choose
| Check | What to look for |
|---|---|
| HMRC agent services account | An agent needs one to sign you up. HMRC is bringing in, in stages, a requirement for anyone paid to deal with it for clients to register |
| Money-laundering supervision | Ask who supervises them: HMRC or a professional body. HMRC rejects an agent services account application without it |
| Professional indemnity insurance | Not a legal requirement, but good practice. Ask whether they hold it |
| Plain pricing | The price including VAT, what it covers, and what it becomes after any introductory offer |
| Who reviews submissions | Whether a named person is accountable, and whether you see and confirm the figures before they are sent |
| Your HMRC password | They should never ask for it |
| Terms | Fees, how any repayment reaches you, and how to end the arrangement, agreed before work starts |
| Main or supporting agent | Only a main agent can send your tax return |
The point about insurance is medium confidence. GOV.UK's consultation on raising standards shows the government considered making it compulsory and did not.
What this means for you
If you start on 6 April 2027, the order is: choose a service, authorise it, let it sign you up, then send records from 6 April 2027. Your first update covers 6 April to 5 July 2027 and is due by 7 August 2027. 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 either, though the updates must still be sent. For them, the earliest a late update can earn a point is 7 August 2028.
Your 2025-26 return, due by 31 January 2027, sits outside MTD. Ask whether the service files that too, or whether it is separate.
Steps to choose a managed service
- Use the free MTD check to confirm your start date.
- List what you need covered: each business and let property, CIS, VAT and any other income.
- Shortlist two or three services and ask each the questions in the table above.
- Compare the yearly cost including VAT, and what happens after any offer ends.
- Read the terms, including the notice period.
- Accept the service's authorisation request in your HMRC account. Never share your password.
- Ask them to confirm your sign-up, and check after each deadline that the update has gone.
There are more guides for tradespeople in the trades section and for rental income in the landlord section.
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 a managed service mean I do nothing?
Not quite. You still pass on your paperwork or connect your bank account, answer questions, and pay your tax. A good service also asks you to check the figures before they go to HMRC.
Is a managed service the same as an accountant?
It can be run by an accountancy firm or by a company that combines software with people who check the work. Either way, it acts as your agent with HMRC, so the same checks apply.
Do they need my HMRC password?
No. HMRC's standard for agents says agents must never ask for a client's HMRC sign-in details. You authorise them through HMRC instead.
Does HMRC back any managed service?
No. HMRC does not recommend any software or provider, and its standard for agents says agents must not suggest HMRC endorses them.
Can I switch services later?
Yes. You can remove an agent in your HMRC online account. If you choose a new main agent, the old one loses access. Check the notice period in your terms first.
Sources
- Choose agents for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax (GOV.UK)
- Apply for an agent services account (GOV.UK)
- Check if and when you need to register with HMRC (GOV.UK)
- The HMRC standard for agents (GOV.UK)
- Check if you need to register for money laundering supervision if you're an accountancy service provider (GOV.UK)
- Raising standards: strengthening the regulatory framework and improving registration (GOV.UK consultation)
- Penalties for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax (GOV.UK)
- Pie: Making Tax Digital
- Taxfix: Making Tax Digital
- Gorilla Accounting: MTD packages
- Mazuma: Pricing
- 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.