Best Accounting Software for Landlords UK 2026

Introduction

Being a landlord in the UK comes with specific bookkeeping challenges that generic accounting software often handles poorly. From tracking rental income across multiple properties to navigating the mortgage interest restriction, you need software that understands property accounting.

In this guide, we review the best accounting software options for UK landlords in 2026, looking at what each platform offers and where it falls short.

What Landlords Need from Accounting Software

Before comparing platforms, it helps to understand the specific requirements. Landlords need to track rental income per property, manage allowable expenses (repairs, insurance, letting agent fees), handle the mortgage interest restriction correctly, distinguish between repairs (deductible) and improvements (capital), track capital gains for property disposals, file Self Assessment with property income pages, and prepare for MTD for Income Tax.

Not all accounting platforms handle these requirements equally well.

Accounted

Accounted's multi-business support module was built with landlords specifically in mind. You can set up each property as a separate business entity, tracking income and expenses independently while seeing a consolidated view across your portfolio.

Key landlord features include automatic categorisation of property expenses by Penny (the AI bookkeeper), correct handling of the mortgage interest restriction (the finance cost restriction at the basic rate), distinction between repairs and improvements with guidance from Penny when a cost could be either, property-specific profit and loss reports, and MTD-compliant filing with property income included in Self Assessment.

Penny understands landlord-specific tax rules. When you send her a receipt for work done on a property, she will ask which property it relates to and whether the work was a repair or an improvement. She does not guess on this distinction because it has significant tax implications.

Pricing starts at £14 per month. See the pricing page for details. The multi-business support for managing multiple properties is included in the Professional plan.

FreeAgent

FreeAgent handles property income reasonably well. You can set up property income as a separate income stream and track expenses against it. The platform supports Self Assessment filing with property income.

However, FreeAgent does not have dedicated landlord features. You need to manually ensure the mortgage interest restriction is applied correctly, and there is no built-in guidance on the repairs versus improvements distinction. If you bank with NatWest, the free access makes it an attractive option despite these limitations.

Xero

Xero is powerful enough to handle property accounting, particularly with the help of an accountant. You can set up tracking categories for each property and run reports by property. However, Xero is designed for businesses generally, and its property-specific features are limited.

Xero's strength is its accountant ecosystem. If you have a property-specialist accountant who uses Xero, this can be a good combination. Pricing starts at around £15 per month.

QuickBooks

QuickBooks can handle property income through its class tracking feature, allowing you to separate income and expenses by property. The Self-Employed version is cheaper but lacks the multi-property tracking you need if you own more than one rental.

QuickBooks does not have UK-specific landlord features and does not handle the mortgage interest restriction automatically.

Hammock

Hammock is purpose-built for UK landlords. It offers property-specific income and expense tracking, tenant management, rent tracking, and property performance reports. It understands the UK property tax landscape.

The downside is that Hammock is relatively new and has a smaller user base. It also does not offer the AI automation or WhatsApp-based interactions that reduce the time you spend on bookkeeping.

GoSimpleTax

GoSimpleTax is primarily a Self Assessment filing tool, but it handles property income well. You can enter your property income and expenses, and it calculates your tax liability correctly, including the mortgage interest restriction.

It is not a full bookkeeping solution. You still need to track your income and expenses throughout the year using another method and then enter the totals at filing time.

Landlord Vision

Landlord Vision is another purpose-built platform for UK landlords. It offers property management alongside accounting features, including tenant tracking, rent management, and maintenance logging.

The accounting features are adequate for basic record-keeping but lack the depth of a full bookkeeping platform. There is no AI automation and no MTD filing capability.

Key Considerations for Landlords

When choosing software, prioritise the mortgage interest restriction handling. Since April 2020, mortgage interest is no longer deductible as an expense. Instead, you receive a basic rate tax reduction. Some platforms handle this automatically while others require manual adjustment.

Also consider how the platform handles furnished holiday lettings, which have different tax rules (although HMRC has announced changes to this regime). And if you are planning to sell a property, capital gains tracking and reporting becomes important.

Our Recommendation

For landlords who want their bookkeeping handled with minimal effort, Accounted's combination of AI-powered automation, landlord-specific features, and WhatsApp-based receipt management makes it the strongest choice. Penny understands property tax rules and applies them correctly, so you spend less time worrying about whether a boiler replacement is a repair or an improvement.

For landlords who want maximum control and have an accountant who uses a specific platform, Xero with a property-specialist accountant is a proven combination.

For landlords on a tight budget who bank with NatWest, FreeAgent is hard to argue against at free.

Sign up for Accounted and let Penny take the complexity out of your property bookkeeping.