For UK landlords, tax compliance has become more than just an annual task. With the rollout of Making Tax Digital for landlords from April next year, HMRC requires property owners to keep digital records and submit quarterly updates for their rental income. While this may seem daunting, the right tools can make the process straightforward, accurate and less time-consuming.
One of the key enablers in this transition is bridging software. Bridging software acts as a connector between your property management or accounting system and HMRC’s digital platform, ensuring seamless submissions while keeping your records compliant.
Why bridging software matters for landlords
Many landlords rely on spreadsheets or legacy accounting software that isn’t MTD-compliant. This creates a risk: manual calculations can be prone to errors, and reconciling property income, expenses and ownership details can quickly become complex. Bridging software solves this problem by automating the flow of data from your existing systems to HMRC, ensuring that Making Tax Digital for landlords obligations are met without mistakes.
Key benefits of using bridging software
- Seamless compliance: By linking your accounting or property management software directly to HMRC, bridging software guarantees that submissions meet all MTD requirements.
- Time-saving automation: Automated uploads reduce hours of manual work, allowing landlords to focus on managing properties rather than reconciling spreadsheets.
- Accuracy and audit readiness: Every transaction is recorded digitally and linked to the submission, creating an audit-ready trail that can withstand HMRC scrutiny.
- Support for complex property structures: Bridging software accommodates joint ownership, multiple portfolios, and varying profit-sharing arrangements, which traditional accounting systems often struggle to handle.
How RentalBux bridges the gap
For landlords who want to delay switching away from spreadsheets, RentalBux offers a way to satisfy the basic requirements of Making Tax Digital for landlords without a wholesale change in workflow. Rather than reconfiguring your day-to-day bookkeeping straight away, you can:
- Continue using spreadsheets or your current records
- Connect those records via RentalBux
- Submit the required quarterly updates to HMRC
- Maintain a digital link between your data and HMRC’s systems
This transitional approach helps landlords stay compliant while they assess longterm MTD compatible software strategies. However, it’s widely acknowledged — including by those writing about the topic — that bridging software is best for simpler records, and that moving to full accounting platforms will ultimately offer better automation and fewer errors.
Conclusion
Making Tax Digital for landlords is transforming the way property owners handle tax reporting. Bridging software, particularly platforms like RentalBux, offers an elegant solution: it automates compliance, handles complex ownership structures, and keeps records organised and audit-ready. For any landlord looking to stay ahead of HMRC requirements, integrating bridging software is no longer optional — it is essential.
