untied vs Xero for Making Tax Digital

We checked these prices on 25 October 2026.

By the selector's own rules, untied and Xero both work for landlords and sole traders, including people with both kinds of income, so the choice comes down to the three points where they differ. Xero offers handling for holiday lets and MTD for VAT returns, which untied does not. Their cheapest plans are listed as £129.99 a year including VAT, about £10.83 a month (Pro including MTD) for untied and £7 plus VAT a month (Simple) for Xero.

untied suits people with mixed income (property + self-employment or PAYE), sole traders who want a phone-only workflow and non-resident and joint-owner landlords with complex returns. Xero suits landlords with multiple properties, sole traders who also need payroll and anyone already using an accountant on Xero.

The facts on this page come from each provider’s own pages and from HMRC’s software list, and how we compare products explains how we check them.

If you are thinking of moving from one to the other, the guide to changing your MTD software explains what GOV.UK says about when you can move and what happens to your records.

Where they differ

These are the points where our checks of the two products came out differently. A “No” means we did not find that feature on the provider’s own pages when we last checked them. Where we had nothing to go on for one of the two, we leave the point out here rather than guess.

Where untied and Xero differ
Point	untied	Xero
Cheapest plan	£129.99 a year including VAT, about £10.83 a month (Pro including MTD)	£7 plus VAT a month (Simple)
Holiday lets and former FHL	No	Yes
MTD for VAT returns	No	Yes, from the Ignite plan

On the other points we compare (free plan, more than one property, jointly owned property, self-employment income, bank feeds, receipt capture, phone apps and accountant access), they give the same answer, or at least one provider does not say. The full list is under each product’s own page.

If you are registered for VAT, the guide to one product for MTD for VAT and Income Tax explains what GOV.UK asks you to check and which of the products we compare say they handle both.

What HMRC’s software list says about both

HMRC’s list marks each feature as available now or intended for later. This is what HMRC’s list says, not something we have tested ourselves. Where HMRC lists a product under more than one name, we show the strongest answer and the listing it comes from.

What HMRC’s software list says about untied and Xero
Feature	untied	Xero
Your tax return and other income
Sending your tax return	Available	Available
Foreign property	Available	Available
Construction Industry Scheme (CIS)	Available	Availablesince 16 October 2026
Employment (PAYE)	Available	Intended
UK dividends	Available	Availablesince 16 October 2026
UK interest	Available	Availablesince 17 July 2026
Capital gains	Available	Intended
How it works
Bridging software that connects to your records	Available	Not stated
Calendar update periods (1 April to 31 March)	Available	Available
A free version	Not stated	Not stated
Welsh language	Not stated	Not stated
Accessibility
Blindness or impaired vision	Not stated	Not stated
Deafness or impaired hearing	Not stated	Not stated
Motor or physical difficulties	Not stated	Not stated
Cognitive impairments	Not stated	Not stated

This is HMRC’s list as it stood on 30 October 2026, at HMRC’s commit 201b34e. A date beside a feature is when HMRC’s list changed it from intended to available. HMRC’s software finder shows the current answers. How we read HMRC’s list

Does HMRC’s software list show untied and Xero as available for sending your tax return?

For sending your tax return, HMRC’s software list as it stood on 30 October 2026 marks it “Available” for untied and marks it “Available” for Xero.

Does HMRC’s software list show a free version of untied or Xero?

For a free version, HMRC’s software list as it stood on 30 October 2026 says nothing either way for untied and says nothing either way for Xero.

How many features does HMRC’s software list mark as available for untied and Xero?

HMRC’s software list as it stood on 30 October 2026 covers 15 features, and it marks 9 “Available” for untied and 6 “Available” for Xero. For untied, it marks 0 “Intended” and gives no answer on 6. For Xero, it marks 2 “Intended” and gives no answer on 7.

The cheapest plan for your situation

A product’s cheapest plan is not always one you can use, because some plans are only for landlords or only for sole traders. These are the lowest prices the selector would show each reader, as each provider states them. Where a price grows with the number of properties, it is shown as a starting price. The figure over 12 months is the same plan at its regular price, worked out the way the software cost calculator does it.

untied

For landlords: £129.99 a year including VAT, about £10.83 a month
For sole traders: £129.99 a year including VAT, about £10.83 a month
For people with rental and self-employment income: £129.99 a year including VAT, about £10.83 a month
Cheapest plan over 12 months: £129.99 including VAT

We checked untied’s prices on 25 October 2026.

Xero

For landlords: £7 plus VAT a month
For sole traders: £7 plus VAT a month
For people with rental and self-employment income: £7 plus VAT a month
Cheapest plan over 12 months: £84 plus VAT

We checked Xero’s prices on 25 October 2026.

Notes from our checks

untied

untied is often listed as free in roundups, but the free version is a 30-day trial and filing requires a paid plan. Plans are priced per tax year with VAT included, which is unusual for this market, so compare like-for-like against ex-VAT monthly prices carefully. untied also sells a cheaper Lite plan, but its pricing page shows Making Tax Digital and property income as not included on Lite, so we do not list it.

Xero

Regular prices include the September 2026 increase. Xero advertises one month free or 90% off for the first six months for eligible new customers. Simple is for non-VAT-registered businesses. Payroll, Expenses and other add-ons depend on the plan.

Neither product is ranked above the other here: the page sets out what each provider says so you can weigh it against your own situation. How we compare products

Check which fits your situation

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We’ll email you a link to confirm first. Once you confirm, Acrenvo will send one email a month summarising the MTD software price changes we have checked and any changes to HMRC’s list of software for MTD for Income Tax, with links to the pages on Acrenvo where each change is recorded. Each email may also pick out one dated finding from that month’s record and list the coming MTD for Income Tax deadlines. If nothing changed in a month, we send nothing. In future it may also carry one advert and news of paid guides or templates from Acrenvo, each clearly labelled for what it is. Every email has a stop link, and stopping takes a single click.

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