How does Hammock compare with our Making Tax Digital service?

Hammock is landlord software you use yourself, from £8 a month plus VAT on 15 October 2026. Our Landlord Tax plan will keep the books for you instead. Coming later. Not available yet: starts once our HMRC registrations are complete.

Making Tax Digital for Income Tax (MTD) means keeping digital records, sending HMRC four quarterly updates a year and filing a tax return. Hammock gives you the software to do that work yourself. Our service does it for you from your bank feed or records, and you check and confirm every figure before anything is sent to HMRC. Our tax plans start once our HMRC registrations are complete. Until then you can join the waitlist, and no payment is taken.

Prices compared

Each price below was checked on the provider's own website on 15 October 2026. Our prices include VAT. Hammock lists its prices plus VAT, so the brackets add 20% to compare like with like.

Hammock's yearly prices are 20% off paying monthly, and it offers a 30-day free trial. It also lists a Beyond plan for 21 or more properties at £31.50 a month plus VAT, which it asks you to confirm with it first. Our yearly plans give you 2 months free.

What each one does

We found no managed option on Hammock's own site when we checked on 15 October 2026.

When Hammock is the better choice

• You are happy to do it yourself. If you keep tidy records and do not mind pressing send each quarter, Hammock costs less than any managed service.
• You have more than 4 properties. Our landlord plans stop at 4. Hammock's go up to 20, and beyond on request.
• Your lets are outside England, or abroad. Hammock's GOV.UK finder entry covers UK and foreign property. Our plans cover rental property in England.
• You need to start now. Our tax plans are not open yet.
• You want to try before you pay. Hammock offers a 30-day free trial.

When our service may suit you better

• You would rather not do the bookkeeping. Your transactions are sorted for you, and your part is to check and confirm the figures.
• You want your landlord deadlines in the same place. The landlord tax plans come with a compliance calendar for each property (gas, EICR, EPC, deposit, Right to Rent, alarms and your PRS Database entry), with reminder emails before each date.
• You want a fixed price including VAT. It is a fixed monthly price, and you can cancel online.

What this means for you

If your rent and any self-employed turnover before expenses came to more than £30,000 in 2025-26, MTD starts for you on 6 April 2027. Your first quarterly update covers 6 April to 5 July 2027 and is due by 7 August 2027. Late quarterly updates can earn penalty points, and 4 points means a £200 penalty. At the Budget on 28 October 2026 the government said people who must join in April 2027 will get no penalty points for late 2027-28 quarterly updates, though the updates must still be sent. For you, the earliest a late update can earn a point is 7 August 2028.

Whichever route you choose, mortgage interest and other finance costs must be kept as a separate digital record and sent separately in each update. Check how any product records them before you rely on it.

On cost, Hammock Basic works out at £92.16 a year including VAT for 1 to 3 properties on yearly billing. Our Landlord Tax plan costs £150 a year for 1 to 2 properties, or £200 for 3 to 4. Our Landlord Tax plan: Coming later. Not available yet: starts once our HMRC registrations are complete. Once our registrations are complete, we'll send your quarterly updates and tax return to HMRC for you, after you confirm the figures. The difference is the books being kept for you, so the real question is whether your time is worth more than that gap.

Steps to choose between them

1. Use the free MTD check to see whether and when MTD starts for you.
2. Count your properties, note where they are, and list any other income, such as self-employment.
3. Decide whether you want to keep the records yourself or have them kept for you.
4. If you want to do it yourself, start Hammock's free trial and enter one real quarter of rent and costs, with mortgage interest as its own item.
5. If you would rather hand the work over, see the landlord plans and join the waitlist. No payment is taken.
6. Compare the yearly cost including VAT, and check exactly what each price includes.