The one line on the official list that most CIS subcontractors miss
HMRC's software finder gives every listed product a separate status line for the Construction Industry Scheme, sitting alongside employment PAYE, UK dividends and student loan in the list of income sources and tax items. That line is set independently of whether the product is MTD compatible overall. Checked on 4 August 2026, Monzo showed Construction Industry Scheme as In development while showing sole-trader digital records as available now. On the same day, FreeAgent, Clear Books Free, My Tax Digital, TaxHeaven and Self Assessment Direct all showed the CIS line as available now.
The practical consequence is that "MTD compatible" is not a sufficient answer for a subcontractor. A product can be genuinely, officially compatible with Making Tax Digital for Income Tax and still not be ready to carry your CIS deductions through to your final tax calculation. This guide covers where the official list lives, how to read it, which lines matter for CIS work, and the three things the list deliberately does not tell you.
Where the official MTD software list actually is
There are two gov.uk pages and one live service, and they do different jobs.
- Find software that works with Making Tax Digital for Income Tax is the gov.uk guidance page that routes you into the finder service.
- Choose the right software for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax is the explanatory page covering software types, using more than one product, and what to check before you buy.
- The finder service itself runs on tax.service.gov.uk and holds the product data, one page per product.
Everything else is a copy. Vendor pages, comparison articles and accountancy blogs all restate the list, and all of them go stale as products move from "in development" to "available now" or as new products are added. HMRC used to maintain a separate "software in development" section on the guidance page; that was folded into the finder tool in July 2026, which is exactly the kind of change a copied list does not pick up. Check the finder itself.
How to read the finder as a subcontractor: five minutes, three steps
The finder opens by asking how you want to use it, and gives three routes:
- Find software based on my answers to questions. It asks which income sources you have under MTD (self-employment, UK property, foreign property), what other income you report on your tax return, whether you want to create new digital records or connect to existing ones, and which accounting period you use.
- Show a list of all available software and let me select filters. This is the route to take as a CIS subcontractor, because it lets you filter on the capabilities you care about rather than answering a generic questionnaire.
- Check if my current software is compatible. Use this if you already run QuickBooks, Xero, Sage, FreeAgent or a spreadsheet and simply want confirmation.
Open the product page for anything on your shortlist. Each page lists features (free version, digital records, bridging software, agent software, individual software, accounting period options), business income sources (sole trader, UK property, foreign property), then the longer list of income sources and tax items where the Construction Industry Scheme line sits. Each entry reads as available now, in development, or not included.
Verified CIS status on selected products (checked 4 August 2026)
The table below records what HMRC's finder showed for six products on 4 August 2026. It is a snapshot of capability, not a ranking, and statuses change as development completes. Re-check the finder before you commit.
| Product | Construction Industry Scheme | Free version | Bridging software | Agent software |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FreeAgent | Available now | Available now | Not included | Available now |
| Clear Books Free | Available now | Available now | Not included | Available now |
| My Tax Digital | Available now | Available now | Available now | Available now |
| TaxHeaven | Available now | Available now | Available now | Not included |
| Self Assessment Direct | Available now | Available now | Available now | Available now |
| Monzo | In development | Available now | Not included | Not included |
The point of the table is not that one product beats another. It is that four capability lines which a subcontractor genuinely needs vary independently across products that are all on the same official list. A tool with a free tier and no agent access is fine if you file yourself and wrong if your accountant files for you. A tool with no bridging is fine if you are happy to abandon your spreadsheet and wrong if you are not.
Want this checked against your specific situation?
Leave your details and a one-line summary. A CIS tax specialist will reply within 24 hours, with no obligation.
What "MTD compatible" covers, and the one-product-per-submission rule
HMRC defines compatible software by three functions: it creates digital records, it sends quarterly updates, and it submits the tax return. Products come in two shapes. Record-creating software builds your digital records by linking to your business bank account, scanning receipts and invoices, or manual entry. Bridging software connects to records you already keep in spreadsheets or other tools and handles the submissions.
You can mix products, within a limit. HMRC's guidance is that you can only use one product for each separate submission you need to make. Different products for different income sources is permitted. One product for record-keeping and another for the tax return is permitted. Splitting one submission across two products is not. If you are running a pair, confirm that between them they support every income source you have, because a gap in coverage is your problem, not the vendor's.
The four capability lines a CIS subcontractor should check first
Working through the finder with construction work in mind, four lines matter more than the rest.
1. Construction Industry Scheme. This is the line that determines whether the product can carry your CIS deductions through to your final tax position as tax already paid. Without it, your quarterly updates and your end-of-year figures will show your income but not the £6,000 or £9,000 already sitting with HMRC on your behalf. Our guide to CIS deduction rates explained covers why that figure is almost always larger than your eventual liability.
2. Agent software. If your accountant files your quarterly updates, the product needs agent access. Several products on the list do not have it. HMRC also raises the question of whether a product allows multiple agents where more than one firm acts for you.
3. Bridging software. If you intend to keep working from a spreadsheet, you need a bridging product. If you are moving your records into the software itself, you do not. Our comparison of spreadsheets versus accounting software for CIS workers sets out where a spreadsheet stops being enough.
4. Free version. Free products exist and several carry CIS support. HMRC's own wording is that free products are available for those with simple tax affairs, but there may be limits on how the product can be used. Read the vendor's limits before you rely on a free tier for a full year of quarterly updates.
The gross income figure your MTD software has to record correctly
Qualifying income for MTD is turnover before expenses, taken from the Self Assessment return you submitted for the previous tax year. For a CIS subcontractor that is the gross figure on your payment and deduction statements, not the amount that reached your bank. The thresholds are over £50,000 from 6 April 2026, over £30,000 from April 2027 and over £20,000 from April 2028.
| Figure | Amount | Relevance |
|---|---|---|
| Gross labour invoiced 2026/27 | £58,000 | The qualifying income figure HMRC tests |
| CIS deducted at 20% on labour | £11,600 | Recorded as tax already paid, not as an expense |
| Received into the bank | £46,400 | Not the MTD test figure, and not the income entry |
| Materials invoiced separately | £7,000 | Outside the CIS deduction base, still business income and cost |
Software that treats the £46,400 as your income will understate your turnover and lose the £11,600 credit. That is why the Construction Industry Scheme line on the finder is not cosmetic. If you want to see how that credit lands against a final bill, run your figures through our CIS Self Assessment calculator.
Three things the MTD list does not tell you
The finder is an Income Tax tool, and its silence on other obligations catches people out.
- CIS300 monthly filing. If you pay your own subcontractors, you file a CIS300 by the 19th of the following tax month, including nil returns for months with no payments since 6 April 2026. MTD compatibility says nothing about whether the product can file it. See our CIS monthly return guide and check filing capability with the vendor directly.
- VAT domestic reverse charge. DRC coding is a VAT function with its own separate HMRC compatibility list. If you are VAT registered, HMRC suggests checking whether your existing VAT software is also compatible for Income Tax rather than running two disconnected systems. Our guide to the VAT domestic reverse charge in construction covers when it applies.
- Limited company reporting. MTD for Income Tax applies to sole traders and partnerships. A limited company subcontractor reclaims CIS through the Employer Payment Summary instead, which is a payroll function entirely outside this list. Our guide to the CIS limited company reclaim explains that route.
For a feature-by-feature comparison of the mainstream packages across CIS work rather than MTD compatibility alone, our guide to CIS accounting software covers CIS300 filing, verification and DRC handling side by side. For the MTD obligations themselves, including quarterly update deadlines of 7 August, 7 November, 7 February and 7 May, see Making Tax Digital and CIS.
The official list settles one question and only one: whether a product can keep your digital records and file to HMRC. For a CIS subcontractor, the Construction Industry Scheme status line, agent access and bridging support decide whether it will actually work for your books. Check those four lines on the HMRC finder before you subscribe, and re-check them if you change how you file.
If you would rather not audit the list yourself, our team sets up MTD-compatible software for CIS subcontractors and limited company directors, structures the digital records so gross income and deduction credits reconcile from the first quarter, and files the quarterly updates. See our services page for how that works.