MTD Bridging Software — Can You Keep Using a Spreadsheet?
Yes. HMRC has a whole category for it: 72 of its 135 recognised Income Tax products connect to spreadsheets rather than replacing them, and 19 of those have a free version.
The short answer
Yes — you can keep the spreadsheet. HMRC has a whole category for it: 72 of its 135 recognised Income Tax products are bridging tools that connect to records you already keep, and 19 of those have a free version. What changes is that the spreadsheet must be the real record, kept through the year, not typed up in January.
Who we are, before you read a word of this. We sell one product, the Landlord Tax Pack (a £19 Excel workbook). It is not MTD software, it is not on HMRC’s list and it cannot file your quarterly update. HMRC’s developer guide, updated 7 August 2026, states: “HMRC is no longer accepting production credential access requests for new 2026–27 quarterly update products, as the market window for these products has now closed.” — so no new product joins the list for this tax year. That is exactly why this page counts the official list instead of ranking anything of ours at the top of it.
“MTD bridging software” is the single most-searched thing in this whole subject, and most of what ranks for it is about VAT. MTD for VAT and MTD for Income Tax are different regimes with different software lists — HMRC's VAT finder shows 465 products, its Income Tax finder shows 135. If you are a landlord, the Income Tax list is the only one that matters.
What HMRC means by bridging
In the finder, the option reads: “Bridging software that connects to records — connects spreadsheet records to HMRC for digital submission”. The guidance puts it in plainer English: “if you use spreadsheets to record income and expenses, bridging software can connect to them and make your submissions to HMRC”.
So the tool does not hold your bookkeeping. Your spreadsheet does. The tool reads the totals and sends the quarterly update.
The numbers
| Count | |
|---|---|
| Bridging products on HMRC's Income Tax list | 72 of 135 (53%) |
| Of those, with a free version | 19 |
| All-in-one products (no spreadsheet) | 112 |
| Products on HMRC's separate VAT finder | 465 — a different regime, different list |
Counted from HMRC’s software finder on 2 September 2026, filtering as a sole trader or landlord. HMRC’s guidance pages were last updated 13 July 2026. The list is HMRC’s and it moves — check it before you buy.
The 19 free bridging products, named
Every one of these is on HMRC's list with both the bridging and free-version filters applied. Listing is not recommending — HMRC does not recommend, and neither do we. Check the vendor's own pricing page: HMRC's note is that free tiers suit “those with simple tax affairs but there may be limits on how the product can be used”.
- Abridge (MTD for Excel/Sheets)
- AccountsDesk
- Acxite
- Affordable MTD
- Aligned.tax MTD for Spreadsheets
- Coconut Free
- DIY Tax
- GetGround
- MTDone
- My Tax Digital (Free)
- Pandle
- RentalBux Free
- Self Assessment Direct
- SimplifyMTD
- Tax Mouse
- TaxBridge UK MTD by Amelia GB
- TaxHeaven
- TaxUpdates
- flonancial
Counted from HMRC’s software finder on 2 September 2026, filtering as a sole trader or landlord. HMRC’s guidance pages were last updated 13 July 2026. The list is HMRC’s and it moves — check it before you buy.
What still has to change about your spreadsheet
Bridging is not permission to carry on exactly as before. The digital-records requirement bites on the spreadsheet itself:
- It has to be kept as you go, not reconstructed from bank statements after the year ends. The quarterly update is due 7 Aug 2026 for the first quarter of 2026/27.
- Each property business is its own source. UK property, furnished holiday lets (now abolished as a separate regime) and self-employment are separate update lines, not one total.
- The link to the bridging tool must be digital. Retyping a total into a web form defeats the point of the regime.
- Keep the underlying detail. A single figure for “expenses” is not a digital record of your expenses.
Spreadsheet or app — how to actually decide
| Your situation | Where it points |
|---|---|
| One or two properties, an agent's statement, few transactions | A spreadsheet plus a bridging tool is usually the cheaper, calmer answer |
| Bank feed matters more than control | All-in-one, so transactions arrive and categorise themselves |
| You also have self-employment, or VAT | Check one product covers everything — 76 of the 135 also do VAT |
| An accountant already files for you | Ask which product they use before buying your own; agent access is a filter in the finder |
| You are behind and it is nearly the deadline | Bridging will not save you: the records have to exist through the year, which is the whole point |
Questions the search results keep dodging
“How long can I use bridging software for?” For MTD for Income Tax there is no announced end date for the bridging category — it is a permanent option in HMRC's own finder, not a temporary easement. That is different from the transitional story people remember from MTD for VAT.
“Is free bridging really free?” 19 products carry the free filter. HMRC's caveat is that limits may apply. The common ones are number of submissions, number of income sources, or support.
Quick answers
Yes. gov.uk states there are “free and paid choices, plus bridging software if you prefer to keep using spreadsheets”, and 72 of the 135 products on HMRC's Income Tax finder are bridging tools. The spreadsheet has to be the actual digital record, maintained through the year, and the figures must reach HMRC digitally from it.
HMRC's own definition in the finder is “Bridging software that connects to records — connects spreadsheet records to HMRC for digital submission”. It does not store your bookkeeping; it reads your existing records and sends the quarterly update.
19 products carry both the bridging and free-version filters on HMRC's list as at 2 September 2026: Abridge (MTD for Excel/Sheets), AccountsDesk, Acxite, Affordable MTD, Aligned.tax MTD for Spreadsheets, Coconut Free and others. HMRC warns that free products suit simple affairs and “there may be limits on how the product can be used”.
No. They are separate regimes with separate lists. HMRC's VAT software finder shows 465 products; the Income Tax finder shows 135. Most pages ranking for “bridging software” are about VAT, which is why the advice on them often does not fit a landlord.
Nothing announced. Bridging is a standing category in HMRC's Income Tax finder rather than a transitional concession, so treat claims that it is “being phased out” as sales pressure unless they cite an HMRC source.