TaxPrepUK vs Hammock: Comparing MTD Tools for UK Landlords

TaxPrepUK vs Hammock: Comparing MTD Tools for UK Landlords

If you're a UK landlord with rental income above £50,000, MTD for Income Tax is now a reality. Both TaxPrepUK and Hammock can help you comply, but they take very different approaches. Here's a straightforward comparison to help you choose.

What Each Tool Does

Hammock is a property finance and tax management platform built specifically for landlords. It connects to your bank account via open banking, automatically identifies rent payments, categorises expenses against HMRC SA105 categories, and provides a running tax estimate throughout the year. It's HMRC-recognised for MTD and handles quarterly submissions directly. Hammock also offers investment analytics — loan-to-value ratios, rental yields, and occupancy tracking — with dedicated iOS and Android apps.

TaxPrepUK is a data preparation tool that transforms messy spreadsheets into clean quarterly summaries ready for any bridging tool. It accepts Excel, CSV, OFX, and QIF files, uses AI classification for automatic transaction categorisation, and generates a 4-page PDF Health Check Report. Everything processes in your browser — your data never leaves your device.

Key Differences

Feature	TaxPrepUK	Hammock
Primary function	Spreadsheet data preparation	Landlord property & tax management
Target audience	Sole traders, landlords, accountants	Landlords only
HMRC-recognised	No (prepares data for tools that are)	Yes
Bank feed integration	No (imports spreadsheets and bank exports)	Yes (open banking)
Spreadsheet import	Core feature (5 file formats)	No
AI categorisation	Yes (85%+ accuracy)	Automated but rule-based
Self-employment income	Yes	No
Property analytics	No	Yes (yields, LTV, occupancy)
Mobile app	No (browser-based)	Yes (iOS and Android)
Data privacy	100% in-browser processing	Cloud-based with bank connection
Pricing	Free tier; Solo £9.99/month or £79/year	From £8 + VAT/month (1–3 properties)

Where Hammock Has the Edge

Hammock is excellent if you want a purpose-built landlord platform that handles everything from bank feeds to HMRC submission in one place. The open banking integration means transactions flow in automatically — no manual data entry or spreadsheet management required. The investment analytics (rental yields, LTV ratios, occupancy rates) are genuinely useful for portfolio decisions, and the running tax estimate helps avoid year-end surprises. If you're a landlord who wants to leave spreadsheets behind entirely, Hammock is a strong contender.

Where TaxPrepUK Has the Edge

TaxPrepUK wins in three specific scenarios:

• You have existing spreadsheet data. If you've been tracking rental income in Excel for years, Hammock doesn't import that history. TaxPrepUK does — and cleans it up in the process.
• You're also self-employed. Hammock covers property income only. If you have both rental and self-employment income (as many landlords do), you'd need a second tool for the non-property side. TaxPrepUK handles both.
• You receive data from letting agents in varied formats. Letting agent statements often arrive as messy CSVs or PDFs. TaxPrepUK can process OFX and QIF bank exports alongside Excel files, handling the format chaos that comes with multiple properties and agents.

The browser-only processing also matters for landlords handling sensitive tenant and financial data. With TaxPrepUK, none of that information ever leaves your computer.

Can You Use Both?

It depends on your situation. If you're starting fresh with a small portfolio (1–3 properties), Hammock's all-in-one approach may be simpler. If you have years of historical spreadsheet data that needs cleaning before you can move to any new system, TaxPrepUK can prepare that data first. Some landlords use TaxPrepUK to handle the messy transition period — cleaning up historical records and producing clean quarterly summaries — whilst evaluating longer-term platforms like Hammock.

The Bottom Line

Hammock is the better choice if you want a dedicated landlord management platform with automatic bank feeds and direct HMRC submission. TaxPrepUK is the better choice if you prefer spreadsheets, have self-employment income alongside property income, or need to clean up existing messy data. Both are solid tools — they just solve different parts of the MTD puzzle.

Not sure where your data stands? Try TaxPrepUK free at taxprepuk.com to see what your spreadsheets look like after AI-powered preparation.