Best Tax and Accounts Software for UK Accountants

Tax and accounts software helps accounting firms prepare client tax returns and year-end accounts, then file them with HMRC and Companies House.
It is different from bookkeeping software such as Xero or QuickBooks. We compared UK options using features, pricing, ease of use, software connections and independent customer reviews. Affiliate relationships do not affect Viaqo scores or rankings.

Quick answer

Best overall: TaxCalc — 94/100
TaxCalc is our top choice for UK accounting firms that want clear pricing and strong tools for both tax returns and year-end accounts.

Best all-in-one option: Capium — 90/100
Capium brings accounts, tax, bookkeeping, payroll and other tools together in one online system. It is a good option for firms that want to use one provider for most of their work.

Best for existing IRIS users: IRIS Elements — Not scored*
IRIS Elements offers tax and accounts tools online and may make the most sense for firms already using other IRIS software.

Compare our top picks

ToolBest forScorePrice
TaxCalcOverall94/100£351+/yr
CapiumAll-in-one90/100£60+/mo
IRIS ElementsIRIS users—*£15.16+/mo

Prices are starting prices.TaxCalc’s £351 starting price combines Accounts Production 12 (£164/year) and Individual Tax 12 (£187/year). Corporation Tax is sold separately from £235/year. Capium’s £60 + VAT/month figure combines Accounts Production, Corporation Tax and Self Assessment modules for up to 100 clients. IRIS Elements shows starting prices of £10.83/month for Tax and £4.33/month for Accounts Production, but the final price depends on client numbers and users. Prices checked October 2026.

TaxCalc — Best overall

TaxCalc is made for UK accountants and tax advisers. Its Accounts Production software prepares year-end accounts, while its tax software covers personal, partnership, trust and company tax returns.

The different TaxCalc products share client information, which helps reduce the need to enter the same details more than once.

Why we like it

  • Made for UK accounting firms
  • Covers several types of tax return
  • Prepares accounts for different types of client
  • Files with HMRC and Companies House
  • Connects with Xero, QuickBooks and FreeAgent
  • Clear price bands
  • Good amount of independent customer feedback

What to watch

TaxCalc sells tax and accounts tools separately. As a result, the total price depends on which types of clients you have and how many returns or sets of accounts you need to prepare.

The cheapest price shown on the website should therefore not be treated as the total cost for a full practice.

Customer reviews

TaxCalc currently has 4.1/5 from 353 Trustpilot reviews. Capterra shows 4.7/5 from only 7 reviews, while G2 has 4.6/5 from 8 reviews. Because the Capterra and G2 samples are small, we give more weight to the larger Trustpilot sample rather than relying only on the headline ratings.

Pricing

Examples of current annual prices:

  • Accounts Production: from £164
  • Individual Tax: from £187
  • Corporation Tax: from £235
  • Higher client limits cost more

Prices exclude VAT.

Viaqo score: 94/100

Capium — Best all-in-one option

Capium is online software made for accountants and bookkeepers. Firms can use it for accounts, tax returns, bookkeeping, payroll and practice management.

You can buy individual tools or choose a larger package if you want more of the system.

Why we like it

  • Accounts and tax tools in one system
  • Self Assessment and Corporation Tax
  • Bookkeeping and payroll are also available
  • Clear monthly prices
  • Unlimited users on its accounting suites
  • E-signatures and storage included with the main suites
  • Good independent customer feedback

What to watch

Capium can become more expensive as you add more tools.

Its normal subscriptions also have a 12-month contract, even when you pay monthly. Some tools, such as company secretarial work and other extras, are not included in the standard accounting suites.

Customer reviews

Capium currently has 4.3/5 from 92 Trustpilot reviews. Recent reviewers often praise the support team and value for money, although there are also complaints about setup and some technical problems.

Capterra shows 5/5, but from only 8 reviews, so we would not give that small sample much weight on its own.

Pricing

For firms with up to 100 clients:

  • Accounts Production: £20 + VAT/month
  • Corporation Tax: £20 + VAT/month
  • Self Assessment: £20 + VAT/month

The Small accounting suite costs £140 + VAT/month and includes a wider set of tools.

Viaqo score: 90/100

IRIS Elements — Best for existing IRIS users

IRIS Elements offers online software for tax returns and accounts production.

It may be particularly useful for firms that already use other IRIS products and want to keep more of their software with the same provider.

Why we like it

  • Made for UK accounting firms
  • Tax returns can be sent to HMRC
  • Accounts can be prepared for different types of client
  • Direct Companies House filing
  • Connects with bookkeeping software
  • Different plans for smaller and larger firms
  • 30-day free trial

IRIS Elements Tax supports personal, partnership and company tax returns, while Accounts Production supports sole traders, partnerships and limited companies, among other client types depending on the plan.

What to watch

The pricing is harder to understand than TaxCalc or Capium because the final cost can depend on the number of clients, the plan and the number of users.

Independent feedback specifically for IRIS Elements is also fairly limited. Capterra currently shows 3.6/5 from 17 reviews, including several recent complaints about support, bugs and missing features.

IRIS also has thousands of reviews on Trustpilot, but those reviews cover the wider IRIS business and several products. We therefore would not use the overall IRIS Trustpilot score as if it were an IRIS Elements rating.

Pricing

IRIS currently advertises:

  • Tax: from £10.83/month
  • Accounts Production: from £4.33/month

The exact price depends on the plan, number of clients and users.

Viaqo score: Not scored

Also considered

BTCSoftware / BrightTax

BTCSoftware has joined Bright and its tax and accounts products are moving towards BrightTax.

Bright says BrightTax will cover Self Assessment, Corporation Tax, annual accounts and MTD. However, the product is still going through this change, and we do not yet have enough independent review evidence for BrightTax itself to rank it alongside the main picks.

What to look for in tax and accounts software

The tax returns you need

Check whether the software covers the clients you work with, such as individuals, partnerships, companies and trusts.

Accounts production

Make sure it can prepare the type of year-end accounts your clients need and file them with Companies House where required.

HMRC filing

The software should let you prepare and send the tax returns you need directly to HMRC.

Software connections

If your clients use Xero, QuickBooks, FreeAgent or other bookkeeping software, check whether you can bring their figures into the accounts software without entering everything again.

Making Tax Digital

Check that the software supports the MTD work your practice needs now and is being updated as HMRC requirements change.

The real total price

Do not look only at the cheapest advertised price. Check how the cost changes with more clients, more users and extra types of tax return.

How Viaqo compares tax and accounts software

We compare the tax and accounts tools each system offers, how well it works for UK accounting firms, pricing, ease of use, software connections and independent customer reviews.

Rather than using the headline review score alone, we also look at how many reviews there are, how recent they are and where they come from.

Affiliate commissions never affect Viaqo scores or rankings.

Internal links

Need help managing clients and deadlines too? Compare practice management software for UK accountants.

See all software for accountancy practices.

Sources

Official product and pricing information

Independent customer reviews