FreeAgent launches new software to help landlords get set for Making Tax Digital
Bespoke solution - ‘FreeAgent for Landlords’ - is specifically-designed to help landlords keep digital records and file tax submissions to HMRC
New product will initially be available for accountancy firms so they can migrate landlord clients in time for MTD for ITSA being introduced in 2024
FreeAgent, the innovative cloud accounting provider, has today unveiled a brand new software solution specifically-designed to help landlords and their accountants comply with the next phase of the UK’s new digital tax legislation.
FreeAgent for Landlords is a bespoke new version of FreeAgent’s award-winning cloud accounting system that has been created for individuals who earn income from property. Through the software, landlords will be able to keep digital records of their property income and costs, as well as making tax submissions required under the government’s upcoming MTD for Income Tax Self Assessment (MTD for ITSA) legislation.
The software, believed to be the first of its kind to be launched specifically for landlords by a UK accounting software provider, will initially only be available to FreeAgent Practice Partners to use with their existing landlord clients. However, a fully iterated version will be available later in the year, enabling end users to sign up for FreeAgent for Landlords and use it independently.
As well as core FreeAgent features that landlords and their accountants will require - including Invoicing, Expenses, Contacts and Projects - FreeAgent for Landlords includes a new area called ‘Property’, which enables users to attribute income and costs to specific properties.
FreeAgent’s automation features including recurring invoices, invoice payment links and ‘guessed’ bank transaction explanations will also be available in the software, enabling accountants and clients to automate many aspects of the process of recording rental income. However, some features that are not relevant for landlords - such as Stock, CIS and Payroll - have not been included in the new software.
Roan Lavery, CEO and co-founder of FreeAgent, said: “From 2024, many landlords will be facing the prospect of having to use some form of accounting software - possibly for the first time ever - in order to comply with MTD for ITSA. That might seem like a long way off, but in order to introduce and train these clients to use digital software, accountants will really need to be thinking very soon about how they will do this.
“We wanted to help make the process as easy as possible, which is why we’ve created a version of FreeAgent that’s specifically for people who earn income through property. We’ve also decided to initially release it to accountants, so that they have plenty of time to get their landlord clients fully prepared and proficient with the software before MTD for ITSA comes into effect.
“MTD is the biggest tax change in a generation and we are committed to making it as stress-free as we can. With FreeAgent for Landlords, we want accountants and landlords to enjoy all the bookkeeping and compliance benefits of our core FreeAgent system, but in a bespoke way that works best for their specific needs.”
After setting up a client on FreeAgent for Landlords, accountants will be able to train them to use the software to record all the income and costs associated with each of their properties. This will automatically update their accounts and will build the data which will eventually be used to populate their MTD for Income Tax submissions - and be directly fileable to HMRC from within the software - when the legislation comes into effect in April 2024.
