If you’re a landlord in the UK, chances are you’ve already heard the phrase “Making Tax Digital” thrown around by HMRC, letting agents or other property owners. And if you’ve looked into it at all, you’ve probably come across a sea of MTD-compatible tools promising compliance, simplicity and automation.
But here’s the problem: most of them weren’t made for landlords.
They were designed for small businesses, shopkeepers or self-employed consultants, not for individuals managing rental properties. As a result, landlords are left trying to force square-peg software into a round-hole problem.
That’s where purpose-built MTD software for landlords makes all the difference.
The Problem with Generic MTD Tools
Most digital tax software was designed for businesses that sell products or services. Their dashboards show things like invoices, inventory, customer balances and profit margins. For a landlord who just wants to track rent, expenses and mortgage interest, it can feel like stepping into someone else’s office.
Worse still, these tools often require you to manually create “sales” for rental income or force you to categorise property repairs as if they were office supplies. It’s clunky, counterintuitive and off-putting.
The Reality of Landlord Finances
Being a landlord doesn’t mean you’re running a complex enterprise, but it does mean you’ve got recurring income, irregular expenses and tax rules that don’t always play nicely with general-purpose software.
Here’s what landlords actually need:
- A way to log rental income without fiddling with fake invoices
- Tools to track repairs, agent fees, mortgage interest and insurance
- A simple way to upload receipts on the go
- A clear breakdown of quarterly tax obligations
- A stress-free way to submit directly to HMRC under MTD for ITSA
RentalBux: Built Specifically for Landlords
That’s why RentalBux stands out. It’s not an accounting app that’s been awkwardly adapted for property. It was built from the ground up for landlords by people who actually understand what landlords do.
RentalBux lets you do everything we just listed and more. It works beautifully whether you have one Buy-to-Let or a portfolio of HMOs. And it cuts through the complexity with a user-friendly design that doesn’t assume you’re a finance expert.
Why Now’s the Time to Ditch the Spreadsheet
With MTD for Income Tax Self Assessment coming into effect, landlords earning over a certain amount will soon be required to keep digital records and file tax updates quarterly. That means your old Excel file, no matter how colour-coded or cleverly formula’d, won’t cut it anymore.
The good news? You don’t need to become a tech whiz to stay compliant. You just need the right tool.
Purpose-built MTD software for landlords (which RentalBux is working towards soon becoming) offers a simple, stress-free alternative to outdated systems and overcomplicated apps. It’s made for landlords, not businesses — and that makes all the difference.