FileThat pricing: pay per submission, from £3.99
No subscription and no contract. You pay for each new quarterly update or VAT return, at a price set by your own income, and only once HMRC confirms it has received it. Your first 4 credits are free, with no card needed.
HMRC-recognised
4 free credits, no card
No monthly subscription
What it costs, all of it
You pay per submission, and the price follows your own income rather than how early you happened to sign up. Below is the whole of it, including the parts most software leaves for you to work out later.
Price per submission
One credit covers one new quarterly update, or one VAT return that is not a NIL return. Nothing else uses a credit.
| Who | Per submission |
|---|---|
Agents Once you connect through HMRC Agent Services | £2.99 |
First 500 to connect to HMRC, and anyone under £30,000 The first 500 to connect keep this price permanently | £3.99 |
£30,000 to £50,000 HMRC’s own MTD threshold | £4.99 |
£50,000 and over HMRC’s own MTD threshold | £5.99 |
What a full year actually costs
The range runs from the lowest band to the highest. Your first year is cheaper still, because the 4 free credits come off the total. For an individual, once you have paid £50 in a tax year the rest of that year is free.
| Situation | Paid submissions | A year |
|---|---|---|
Sole trader | 4 a year | £15.96 to £23.96 |
Sole trader who also lets a property | 8 a year | £31.92 to £47.92 |
VAT registered sole trader | 8 a year | £31.92 to £47.92 |
Free, and staying free
The Income and Expenditure ledger, in full
Your first 4 credits when you sign up
NIL VAT returns, always
Your annual submission and final declaration, always
Correcting a quarterly update you have already filed
Amendments, and additional information such as Capital Gains, Employment and Pensions
Any submission HMRC does not accept
Things we would rather tell you upfront
Once you have paid £50 in a tax year, everything else you file that year is free. Credits are bought in whole units, so the one that takes you past £50 is the last thing you will be charged, and the most we will ever ask you for in a tax year is £55. Agents are not capped.
Credits are used per submission, per business. Two businesses means two sets of quarterly updates, so twice the credits. The figures above already account for that.
If you run more than one business, your band is set by your total income across all of them added together, not by the largest one. That is the same figure HMRC uses to decide when you have to join Making Tax Digital.
Your band is worked out once a year from figures you have already filed through FileThat. Until there is anything to go on, you pay the lowest price.
If you file VAT and nothing else, your band comes from the sales figure on your VAT returns. That works whether you keep records here or upload a spreadsheet.
If your band falls, the lower price applies straight away. If it rises, it does not take effect until the following 6 April, so your costs never go up in the middle of a year.
Nothing is ever backdated. Credits you have already bought stay at the price you paid.
Credits do not expire, and there is no subscription to cancel.
When a credit is used
A new quarterly update
One credit for each new quarterly update, per business. A sole trader with one business sends four a year.
A VAT return with figures
One credit for a VAT return that is not a NIL return. A NIL VAT return is always free.
Only when HMRC confirms
A credit is used only once HMRC confirms it has received your submission. If it is not accepted, you keep the credit and can try again.
Everything else is free
Your annual submission, final declaration, amendments and supporting details such as Capital Gains, Employment and Pensions never use a credit.
Landlords pay the same, with no higher tier for property. See MTD for landlords.
Pricing for agents
£2.99 per filing
Agents pay one price, whatever their own income. An agent files for a number of clients, so banding them on their own turnover would say nothing useful about the work.
Earned by connecting
The rate applies once you have connected to HMRC through Agent Services. There is no threshold to cross and nothing to apply for.
No annual cap
The £50 a tax year cap is for individuals. Agents file for many clients, so the cap does not apply to them, and every filing is £2.99.
No early adopter place
Agent accounts do not take one of the 500 early adopter places, which are there for individuals.
Keep your figures in a spreadsheet? MTD bridging software files from it at the same price.
Straight answers
How much does FileThat cost?
£3.99 to £5.99 per new quarterly update or VAT return, set by your own income, and £2.99 for agents. Under £30,000 is £3.99, £30,000 to £50,000 is £4.99, and £50,000 and over is £5.99. The first 500 individuals to connect to HMRC keep £3.99 permanently.
Is there a subscription?
No. There is no subscription, no contract and nothing to renew. You buy credits when you need them, they do not expire, and you only use one when HMRC confirms it has received a new quarterly update or a VAT return with figures in it.
What is free?
Your first 4 credits, with no card needed. The Income and Expenditure ledger, NIL VAT returns, your annual submission, your final declaration, amendments, corrections to a quarterly update you have already filed, and supporting details such as Capital Gains, Employment and Pensions are always free.
What happens if HMRC does not accept my submission?
You keep your credit. A credit is used only when HMRC confirms it has received your return. If a filing fails for any reason, such as a validation error, HMRC downtime or a technical issue, the credit stays unused and you can try again at no cost.
How is my price band worked out?
From your qualifying income across all your businesses added together, the figure HMRC uses for Making Tax Digital. It is worked out once a year from figures you have filed through FileThat, and until there is anything to go on you pay the lowest price. A fall applies straight away; a rise waits until the following 6 April.
Is there a limit on what I pay in a year?
Yes. Once you have paid £50 in a tax year, everything else you file that year is free. Credits are bought whole, so the one that takes you past £50 is the last you are charged, and the most we will ever ask you for in a tax year is £55. Agents are not capped.
How does pricing work for agents?
Agents pay £2.99 per filing, whatever their own income. The rate applies once you have connected to HMRC through Agent Services, which is how we know you are an agent rather than taking your word for it at sign-up. Agent accounts do not take one of the 500 early adopter places.
Start with 4 free credits
No card needed and no subscription. Pay per submission after that, at a price set by your own income.
Get started free