Taxmo

Taxmo is UK bookkeeping and tax software for sole traders, freelancers, contractors, expats and small businesses. It is best suited to people who want a running view of tax liabilities alongside day-to-day records. Its main strength is direct VAT filing; it does not submit Self Assessment returns to HMRC.

Overview

As income and expenses are entered, Taxmo updates estimates for Income Tax, National Insurance and VAT. That ongoing view can help users keep likely liabilities in sight during the year, while invoice generation and financial reports support routine bookkeeping. It is a more natural fit for smaller operations than for businesses that need an unrestricted accounting workflow on an entry-level budget.

Paid plans submit VAT returns directly to HMRC through the Making Tax Digital API. For Self Assessment, Taxmo prepares and reviews returns but leaves submission to the user; MTD for Income Tax submission is marked as coming soon. That boundary matters if the goal is to complete all tax filings in one service.

Key features

Records, receipts and bank data

Receipt capture extracts supplier, amount, date and VAT from photos and PDFs. Starter includes WhatsApp capture, while Pro adds email capture and a higher WhatsApp allowance. The extraction can reduce manual entry, but Starter's 50-per-month WhatsApp cap and Pro's 200-per-month allowance may constrain high-volume users; Pro charges £0.05 for each additional WhatsApp receipt.

Bank imports use read-only, on-demand Open Banking authorization, and CSV statement uploads have no history limit. That gives users a way to bring in older records without a stated CSV lookback cap, although bank-import allowances still differ by plan.

Filing and integrations

Direct MTD VAT filing is the clearest filing advantage for VAT-registered users. The accountant platform also supports live two-way sync with Xero, QuickBooks and FreeAgent, and calendar deadlines can be exported as an iCal feed. Pro's read-only REST API is capped at 300 requests per 15-minute window, so it may be adequate for modest integrations but is not an unlimited data-access route.

Taxmo says its native iOS and Android apps accompany its web service. Its security documentation describes HTTPS with TLS and HSTS, AES-256-GCM encryption for HMRC OAuth tokens, and passwordless sign-in by magic link or Google OAuth. The company states that it follows UK GDPR, identifies processors in its privacy policy, and lets users export or delete their data.

Pricing

Taxmo has a free plan and paid plans from £9.99/mo. Paid-plan prices exclude VAT, and a free trial is offered.

The free tier gives up the larger entry and bank-import allowances and direct VAT filing found on Starter. Starter, in turn, caps entries, imports and WhatsApp receipts; Pro removes the stated entry and import limits, but retains a WhatsApp receipt quota. Prices exclude VAT, so the displayed plan amounts are not the full tax-inclusive bill.

Platforms

Taxmo supports web, iOS, Android and API access. Native mobile apps give users a phone-based option for receipt capture, while the API is read-only and available to Pro subscribers subject to its request limit.

Who it's for

Taxmo is a good fit for UK sole traders, freelancers, contractors, expats and small businesses that want bookkeeping, changing tax estimates and MTD VAT filing together. Starter is the practical choice for businesses with moderate records that need direct VAT submission; Pro makes more sense for higher volumes, team access or API use. It is less suitable for anyone who needs Taxmo itself to submit a Self Assessment return.

Pros and cons

• Pros: Paid plans file VAT returns directly with HMRC through MTD, reducing the gap between bookkeeping and VAT submission.
• Pros: Tax estimates update as income and expenses are added, giving users a continuing view of Income Tax, National Insurance and VAT.
• Pros: Photo and PDF receipt extraction, read-only Open Banking imports and unrestricted-history CSV uploads give several ways to bring records into the service.
• Cons: Self Assessment returns are prepared and reviewed but not submitted to HMRC, leaving that final step elsewhere.
• Cons: Free and Starter plans impose entry, bank-import or receipt quotas, which can make them a poor fit for higher-volume activity.
• Cons: The Pro API is read-only and limited to 300 requests per 15-minute window, constraining integrations that need frequent or write access.

Alternatives

For broader tax-software options, browse Tax Compliance Software. Consider LOVAT if its free plan's single data-import integration or its €27 a month Start-up plan fits better. Zamp offers a 30-day sandbox on its free plan and a U.S. compliance focus, so it is a better direction for teams centered on U.S. tax exposure. Kintsugi may suit teams looking for global nexus monitoring and historical liability auditing on a free plan. Tax1099 is worth considering for individuals or small businesses that want to pay per form filed, or teams considering its $249 a year plan. UFile is an alternative for qualifying taxpayers seeking a free return option. For businesses seeking indirect-tax technology or outsourced compliance, compare CCH SureTax, ONESOURCE Indirect Compliance and Vertex Cloud Indirect Tax; each uses custom pricing.

Verdict

Choose Taxmo if you are a UK sole trader or small business that wants current tax estimates, bookkeeping tools and direct MTD VAT filing in one service. Its most important advantage is the VAT filing workflow, backed by multiple ways to capture records. Look elsewhere if you need Taxmo to submit Self Assessment returns, or if your entry, receipt or integration volume exceeds the plan limits that suit your budget.