ANNA Money Secures HMRC Making Tax Digital Software Approval, Simplifying Tax Filing for Small Businesses

WHY THIS MATTERS: The upcoming shift to quarterly tax reporting under Making Tax Digital (MTD) in the UK represents a massive burden—and an equally massive opportunity—for the fintech sector. For millions of sole traders and small business owners, the move from annual to quarterly filings is a disruptive shift in regulatory compliance. Traditional bookkeeping methods cannot handle this frequency without significant administrative overhead. This development is crucial because it signals the successful application of AI to solve a genuine, high-friction problem for the small business economy. By integrating an HMRC-approved filing solution directly into a business account, providers are moving beyond simple money management to offering full-stack, autonomous back-office functionality. The introduction of an “agentic operating system” demonstrates how AI is evolving from offering insights to executing mandatory, real-world tasks on behalf of the user, making compliance seamless and reducing the risk of penalties. This will become the standard expectation for SME financial platforms.

ANNA Money, the AI-powered business account and tax app, has today announced that it has been approved by HMRC as a provider of software for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax, enabling customers to submit their quarterly tax filings directly to HMRC through ANNA’s intuitive and automated platform.

With Making Tax Digital for Income Tax Self Assessment launching for higher earners in April 2026, small businesses and self-employed individuals such as sole traders, freelancers and landlords will need to keep digital records and submit tax information using compatible software on a quarterly basis – representing a fundamental change from the current annual system. As MTD requirements continue to expand, businesses must ensure they are prepared to adjust to the new system. 

With its inclusion on HMRC’s list of compatible software providers, ANNA Money can now support customers in meeting these requirements seamlessly. Designed to remove complexity from tax administration, once customers are set up on the platform, ANNA’s AI technology automatically categorises transactions, keeps digital records and prepares the information required for quarterly MTD filings. This ensures submissions are accurate, on time, and require minimal manual work.

Eduard Panteleev, co-founder and co-CEO of ANNA Money, said: “Today’s HMRC approval is a huge vote of confidence in ANNA Money and our offering to small businesses owners across the UK. While many SME owners and sole traders are still feeling uncertain about their future with the introduction of MTD, we’re making sure cost and complexity don’t stand in the way growing their businesses. We are delighted to be included on the approved providers list.” 

To support the transition to digital record keeping ANNA is launching Auto Accountant – the UK’s first agentic operating system that can prepare and file small business and sole trader tax returns, including Corporation Tax, VAT and Self Assessment (MTD ready). Auto Accountant is available for free for MTD Self Assessment – including quarterly and year end filings for the 2026/27 tax year.

Those earning over £50,000 must start using HMRC-approved software to report their income under Making Tax Digital for Income Tax by 6th April. While the introduction of quarterly filings may seem like an overwhelming admin burden for many sole traders, ANNA Money’s tech completely automates this process. Customers simply need to sync their bank accounts and let ANNA do the rest.

FF NEWS TAKE: This announcement decisively moves the needle by establishing a new competitive baseline for SME banking and accounting solutions. The approval from the tax authority de-risks the adoption of this platform for hesitant businesses. The true game-changer here is the free deployment of the agentic AI system, turning a significant administrative burden into a cost-free, automated process. We anticipate this will accelerate consolidation in the UK accounting software market as traditional players scramble to match this aggressive combination of feature depth and zero-cost convenience.

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