TapTax vs Pie
for self-employed tax

Pie (pie.tax) and TapTax both want to take the dread out of self-employed tax, but they start from opposite ends of the timeline. Pie is built around the annual Self Assessment return and files it to HMRC for free. TapTax is built around the quarterly Making Tax Digital updates that become mandatory from April 2026, with one-tap filing, open-banking auto-import and AI categorisation, on a low-cost freemium plan. Neither is strictly "better", they answer different questions.

Here is the honest version. If your priority is filing this year's Self Assessment for nothing, with optional paid human help when you want it, Pie is an excellent, award-winning choice and its recognition is live now. If your priority is automated, continuous bookkeeping and getting ready for one-tap quarterly MTD filing, TapTax is the sharper everyday tool. We will not overstate TapTax position: it is MTD-compatible and going through HMRC recognition process, and it did not appear on HMRC find-MTD-software directory at our 5 August 2026 scrape. Read on for where each genuinely wins.

Where Pie sits on HMRC's MTD directory

HMRC runs a service called "Find software that works with Making Tax Digital for Income Tax". We scraped every listing on it on 5 August 2026, all 122 products, and recorded HMRC's own grades for each.

Pie did not appear on that directory at the 5 August 2026 scrape. Directory listings change as vendors join, update their entries or are re-listed, so check HMRC's service for the current position before you decide anything on this basis.

It is worth being precise about what that does and does not tell you. It is a dated fact about one HMRC list. It is not a statement that Pie is non-compliant, cannot file, or is unsuitable, and we are not making that claim. Products can be perfectly good at what they do without appearing on the MTD for Income Tax directory, and some serve Self Assessment or bookkeeping needs that the directory does not cover at all.

What it does mean practically: if your requirement is specifically MTD for Income Tax, HMRC's directory is the list you can filter and check, and anything absent from it is something you will need to verify directly with the vendor.

For context on the field as a whole, most listed products are far less complete than their marketing suggests:

87of 122 (71%)cannot complete a single tax-return itemHMRC MTD for Income Tax directory, scraped 5 August 2026

HMRC lists what each vendor declares. Feature flags, mobile-app support in particular, are vendor claims rather than verified facts, and listings change. Check with the vendor before you buy. Data: HMRC find-MTD-software service (tax.service.gov.uk), scraped 5 August 2026.

You can filter every listed product in the MTD software directory, and the full analysis is in our review of all 122 HMRC-listed MTD tools.

The single biggest difference: annual return versus quarterly automation

Pie's core job is the annual Self Assessment. It is structured around the SA100 main return and its supplementary pages, so it asks the questions HMRC asks once a year and submits the answers for free. Its "Best Tax App UK 2025" reputation comes from doing that cleanly, with the option to buy in human expertise, a return check or a done-for-you service, exactly when you want reassurance rather than as a forced subscription.

TapTax starts a layer earlier, with your day-to-day money. It connects to your existing bank via open banking, auto-imports transactions, applies AI categorisation, lets you snap receipts and tracks mileage, then rolls all of that into one-tap quarterly MTD updates. The philosophy is "Tap. File. Done." Less an annual scramble, more a continuously-maintained record that is always submission-ready.

Pricing in detail: what you actually pay

On raw price for one annual return, Pie is exceptional, the filing itself costs nothing and recognition is live. TapTax Starter at £59.88 a year is not competing on "free annual filing"; it is buying you year-round automation and a one-tap quarterly workflow. If you value never doing a manual year-end pile-up of receipts, that automation is the thing you are paying for.

Before you choose either, the TapTax sole trader tax calculator gives you a free, no-signup estimate, and if your numbers look off it is often a wrong code, so check your tax code too.

Where Pie genuinely wins

It would be dishonest to gloss over Pie's real advantages, so let us state them plainly.

It files the annual Self Assessment return for free, today. That is not a marketing flourish, it is a live capability, and for filing a 2025/26 annual return this season Pie can do something TapTax cannot yet.

On the MTD side, be precise about what is known. Pie did not appear on HMRC find-MTD-software directory at our 5 August 2026 scrape, and neither did TapTax, whose recognition is in progress. That is a dated fact about one HMRC list. It is not a claim that either product is non-compliant or cannot file, and listings change, so check HMRC service for the current position.

Free core filing. Most people with a straightforward return pay nothing: as checked in August 2026 Pie's free app tier covers all app features including direct HMRC submission, bookkeeping, receipt reconciliation, open banking and invoicing. The paid extras are Tax Support at £89 a year for unlimited access to a tax assistant, and an accountant-handled MTD add-on at £199. An earlier version of this page cited a £59.99 return check and a £149 done-for-you service; neither appears on Pie's current pricing page, so treat those as withdrawn. Both are opt-in, so you only spend money when you actively want a human involved.

Income breadth. Because Pie is built around the SA100 and its supplementary pages, it comfortably handles rental income, dividends and several unrelated freelance income streams in one return. For genuinely mixed tax lives, that coverage is currently broader than TapTax's sole-trade-plus-property focus.

Where TapTax genuinely wins

Automation that runs all year. Open-banking import plus AI categorisation means your records build themselves as you trade, rather than being reconstructed at year-end. Receipt scanning and mileage tracking close the gaps that usually leak allowable expenses, two things Pie either does lightly or not at all.

Built for the quarterly MTD era. From April 2026 the job changes from one annual return to four quarterly updates plus a final declaration. TapTax was designed around that cadence with one-tap filing. Pie's heritage is the annual return, so as MTD bites, a quarterly-native tool reduces friction. The plain-English guide to MTD for sole traders walks through the timeline and what each submission must contain.

Predictable low cost with no upsell. TapTax's tiers are £0, £4.99 and £9.99 a month with everything included at each level. There is no per-task fee. If you would rather a flat, tiny monthly cost than a free base with paid human add-ons, the TapTax model is simpler to budget.

Allowable expenses and tax angles both tools should capture

Whichever you pick, the same UK rules decide your bill for 2026/27. The personal allowance is £12,570, basic rate 20% to £50,270, higher 40% to £125,140 and additional 45% above, with the allowance tapering between £100,000 and £125,140 (an effective 60% band). Class 4 National Insurance is 6% between £12,570 and £50,270, then 2%, with Class 2 settled through Self Assessment. Scottish taxpayers use an S code with six bands (19/20/21/42/45/48%); Welsh taxpayers use a C code at rates that currently match the rest of the UK, while NIC stays UK-wide.

Key reliefs to make sure your software captures: the £1,000 trading allowance (if expenses are below this, claim the allowance instead); the VAT registration threshold of £90,000 on a rolling 12-month basis; the £500 dividend allowance with rates of 10.75/35.75/39.35%; and for landlords, mortgage-interest relief restricted to a 20% tax credit on SA105 (note the Furnished Holiday Lettings regime was abolished from April 2025). If you have multiple income streams, model them together with the multiple-income calculator, and landlords can sanity-check property numbers with the rental income calculator.

If you work in construction under CIS, contractors deduct 20% from registered subcontractors (30% if unregistered) on labour, which usually leaves subcontractors due a refund through Self Assessment. Pie handles that within the annual return; TapTax tracks the deductions as you go so the refund position is visible before year-end.

Who should choose which

If you have one straightforward return and want it filed free this year

Pie. It files the annual return to HMRC today, the core filing is free, and you can add paid support only if you want reassurance. There is little reason to pay a monthly fee for a single simple annual return.

If you are a sole trader heading into mandatory MTD over £50,000

TapTax. From April 2026 you need quarterly updates, not one annual return. TapTax's free tier lets you connect your bank and test the full flow before paying, then Starter at £4.99 a month keeps you automated and submission-ready every quarter.

If your income spans rental, dividends and several freelance sources

Pie's SA100 supplementary-page breadth is currently the stronger fit for a single mixed annual return. Pair it with the multiple-income calculator to pressure-test the numbers, and revisit TapTax once your MTD obligations begin.

If you hate year-end admin and want it to disappear

TapTax. Continuous open-banking import, AI categorisation, receipts and mileage mean there is no annual pile-up to reconstruct. You trade a small monthly fee for never doing a frantic January again.

The bottom line

Pie and TapTax are not really rivals so much as answers to different questions. Pie asks: what if filing your annual Self Assessment was free and backed by optional human help? It answers that brilliantly and deserves its 2025 acclaim. TapTax asks: what if your books maintained themselves all year and quarterly MTD filing took one tap?

For a free annual return today, especially with mixed income, Pie is the honest recommendation. For automated, continuous bookkeeping and a quarterly-native MTD workflow as the rules tighten through 2026 to 2028, TapTax is the sharper everyday tool, with a free tier so you can judge it against your own numbers before spending a penny.

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