Frequently Asked Questions
I am a sole trader, and I have two income streams – Self employed income and property income, will your software work with both of these types of income?
Yes, the software will be able to file both sets of self employment income as per the MTD requirements all for £40 plus VAT.
Each Income Tax filer licence is linked to the national insurance number for each taxpayer and will allow you to file for each self employment business and property that is required via MTD.
What is the cost of the software?
The cost is £40 plus VAT for up to 5 NI numbers (taxpayers) per tax year.
Are you going to cater for all expenses each quarter?
Yes, the software will replicate the boxes on the property and self-employment pages of the SA100. The software will also deal with consolidated expenses.
Can I get a free trial of the software?
We are not currently offering a free trial of the software whilst we are going through the process of signing users up to the HMRC pilot scheme.
We have produced a video that shows how the software will work https://absoluteexcelincometaxfiler.co.uk/excel-income-tax-filer/
If I needed to also add bank interest, could I?
Yes, the software also allows you to file bank interest to HMRC along with other types of non mandated income such as Interest, Dividends, CIS, Pension Contributions, Gift Aid, Student Loans, High Income Benefit Charge and Marriage Allowance transfer.
For any other types of income over and above those listed you can purchase our TopUp Tax software starting at £25 plus VAT.
I use your VAT Filer, will the Income Tax Filer work in the same way?
We have tried to follow the premise of VAT Filer as much as possible in terms of linking the boxes from a source spreadsheet and then submitting to HMRC. MTD for income tax also requires information to be requested from HMRC so it is more of a two way process but we have tried to keep ease of use at the forefront when developing the software.
We have also added a simple spreadsheet that allows users to record on a line by line basis any income and expenses which will then automatically be imported and filed to HMRC.
Could my client use this to file the quarterly income and then I complete their tax return?
Yes, the Absolute Excel Income Tax Filer is extremely flexible. Your client can purchase Absolute Excel Income Tax Filer to file their quarterly income and expenses. The cumulative/YTD income and expense figures can be downloaded into any tax package from HMRC and the MTD journey completed via that software package.
Alternatively, our software will also deal with certain types of non mandated income or alternatively we have our TopUp tax package that deals with all other types of income.
I don’t use any bookkeeping software I use Excel; do I need to purchase a bookkeeping package to comply with MTD?
The short answer is no. HMRC have confirmed that you can continue to use Excel to maintain your digital records software and then use a bridging package (like Absolute Excel Income Tax Filer) to file your quarterly information.
The beauty of the Income Tax Filer is that you can use it to file your quarterly information and then your accountant can continue with the rest of the journey as usual, or for certain types of non mandated income you can complete the whole journey in Income Tax Filer.
Can I be part of the HMRC pilot scheme using your software?
We would love you to join us and be part of the HMRC beta scheme and use our software. For further information please email sales@absolutetax.co.uk and we will be in touch.
Can I file for multiple clients?
Yes you can. We sell the software in batches of 5 licences and will be linked to the National Insurance number for each taxpayer that you add and subsequently file income and expense figures for.
You could purchase 5 licences as an accountant for 5 clients that you are working on behalf of or alternatively you could purchase a batch of licences for example a husband and wife.
Is your software compatible with my bookkeeping software?
If you can export the final figures (Income and Expenditure) from your bookkeeping software into Excel then you can link the cells on the spreadsheet to Income Tax Filer and file to HMRC, couldn’t be simpler.
Please watch the video on our website to see how it works.
Is this a one-off cost?
The licences that you purchase are for a given tax year and will allow you to make all related filings linked to that tax year but will need to be purchased each tax year.
Can the software deal with dividends?
Yes, the software will allow you to not only file your quarterly income and expenses for £40 plus VAT but it also deals with certain types of non mandated income such as Interest, Dividends, CIS, Pension Contributions, Gift Aid, Student Loans, High Income Benefit Charge and Marriage Allowance transfer.
For any other type of income not listed above then you will also need to purchase our TopUp Tax software for £25 plus VAT.
Can I do the final declaration using your software?
Yes, the software can not only deal with filing the quarterly income and expense figures, but also any accounting adjustments and certain non-mandated income along with the final declaration/tax return.
Alternatively you can just use the Absolute Excel Income Tax Filer to file your quarterly information to HMRC and then download the filed information from HMRC into the tax package that you are using.
I use VT software can I use your bridging software?
Absolutely!
You simply export the data from VT as a CSV file and then link the cells in the CSV file to the corresponding cell on ‘our’ spreadsheet and then file to HMRC.
What is Making Tax Digital for Income Tax?
MTD for Income Tax is replacing the current Income Tax Self Assessment process. It affects self-employed people and landlords with an annual income of over £50,000 and is being phased in from April 2026.
This new tax system requires taxpayers to digitally file quarterly income and expenses, along with an annual summary and final declaration that all sources of income have been confirmed.
