Free MTD software through your bank: who qualifies

We build QuarterFile, a competing MTD tool, so read this knowing that. Every fact below is dated so you can check it.

Some of the best value in Making Tax Digital (MTD) software is not a free tier at all. It is a full product, handed to the people who happen to bank in the right place. The FreeAgent prices and conditions below were verified on 28 July 2026 on FreeAgent’s pricing page (opens in a new tab); the wider list of banks comes from our own notes in July 2026.

Which banks include MTD software free?

Verified 28 July 2026: FreeAgent is free for business account customers of NatWest, Royal Bank of Scotland and Ulster Bank, “for as long as you retain the account”, and free for Mettle customers who “make at least one transaction a month”. Optional add-ons may be chargeable on top. Verified 11 August 2026 on Monzo’s own site: business accounts, including the free Lite plan, can file Income Tax quarterly updates to HMRC from inside the app, built in partnership with Sage. And when we filtered HMRC’s software finder (opens in a new tab) for free versions on 14 August 2026, Lloyds, Starling, Tide, SumUp and Coconut all appeared alongside Monzo with free offerings for individuals. Conditions vary and offers change, so check the bank’s own offer page rather than trusting our snapshot: the finder’s “free version” flag has been wrong before.

Is bank software a stripped-down version?

No. This is not a cut-down tier with a cap you outgrow halfway through a busy quarter: it is the same product a paying customer gets, free because of who you bank with. FreeAgent supports MTD for Income Tax, with quarterly updates and the final declaration filed directly to HMRC, verified 28 July 2026. The catch sits in the bank requirement, not in the software.

What would it cost without the bank?

FreeAgent’s own prices, from the same page on 28 July 2026: the Sole Trader plan at £9.50 a month introductory, normally £19 a month, and the Landlord plan at £5 a month introductory, normally £10 a month. Optional add-ons may be chargeable. Those normal prices are what the bank offer is worth to you each month, which is the fairest way to weigh it up.

The conditions to read before you rely on it

• The offer follows the account. FreeAgent is free “for as long as you retain the account” at NatWest, Royal Bank of Scotland and Ulster Bank, so closing the account ends the free part.
• Mettle’s version asks for activity: at least one transaction a month, verified 28 July 2026.
• Add-ons can still cost money: FreeAgent notes that optional add-ons may be chargeable.
• The terms are the bank’s to alter. Lloyds, Starling, Tide, SumUp and Coconut all showed free versions on HMRC’s finder when we checked on 14 August 2026, and each bank sets its own conditions, so read the bank’s page on the day you decide.

Should I switch banks to get free software?

That is your call, and it is a bigger decision than the software alone. A business account is fees, cash and cheque handling, lending, card readers, other integrations, and the hours it takes to move standing orders and tell customers your new details. Software worth roughly £10 to £19 a month can be outweighed by any one of those, or not be. We cannot tell you which way it falls, and no software company can: if the banking side matters to your business, that is a conversation for your accountant or your bank.

Where QuarterFile fits

If your bank already gives you a full MTD product free, that is very hard to beat on price. QuarterFile’s HMRC recognition is in progress. We are for people whose bank offers nothing like this, or who want one narrow job done, the quarterly update and the final declaration, without an accounting system built around it.

Next steps: check your own bank’s offer page first, because a full product for nothing is the best price there is. If your bank has nothing to offer, the best free MTD software covers the options that are free to everyone, with each limit spelled out. And whichever you land on, let us email you 7 days before each deadline: no account, no software sign-up.