We came together as friends, one a chartered accountant, one with software experience, and the other a landlord. When Making Tax Digital was announced, we watched the same thing happen to us, our families, and our friends, all landlords, one by one.
Our accountants started quoting fees two to three times higher than our usual yearly tax return, just to handle MTD compliance. And when we pushed back, the answer was always the same: "We'll need you to get all your income and expenses together in a spreadsheet first."
That stopped us in our tracks. If we were already doing all the hard work of gathering the data ourselves, why were we paying someone else to press the submit button?
When we went looking for an alternative, we found that most MTD software had been built with large businesses in mind, not landlords. It wanted to link to bank accounts, required complex setup, didn't handle joint property ownership well, and was costly on top of everything else. None of it was built for someone like our mums, dads, uncles, or aunts.
SimplifyMTD was built from scratch for UK landlords who want to comply with Making Tax Digital themselves, without paying an accountant to do it for them, and without needing an accounting degree to figure out the software.
It was designed with our own mums, dads, uncles, aunts, and friends in mind. If they can use it easily, we know we've got it right.
It's deliberately simple. Enter your income and expenses each quarter, and at year end enter your other income and allowances, such as pensions, savings interest, and reliefs, either manually or by uploading a spreadsheet if you prefer. Whichever works for you. We send everything directly to HMRC, and that's it.
SimplifyMTD doesn't just handle your quarterly updates. It's designed to replace your entire Self Assessment tax return. That means your quarterly submissions and your Final Declaration, which covers all your other income, reliefs, and allowances, are all done in one place. One login. One platform. All your HMRC filing requirements covered.
SimplifyMTD might not be right for everyone. Some people prefer the comfort and reassurance of working with an accountant, and that's completely understandable.
But it's worth knowing that under HMRC's new MTD rules, HMRC now calculates your tax for you. All you need to do is provide the correct information. That makes filing your own returns easier than it has ever been. Tax genuinely does not need to be taxing.
One thing worth being aware of, your biggest risk when using any MTD software is not providing complete and accurate information. But this is equally true when using an accountant. Most accountants caveat their work with exactly the same condition: their advice and submissions are only as accurate as the information you provide them. With SimplifyMTD, you're in control of that information from start to finish.