File MTD ITSA vs Absolute Excel Income Tax Filer
Absolute Accounting Software has 30+ years in tax software and 15,000+ firms trust their products. Their Excel Income Tax Filer is an affordable, download-based bridging tool that covers self-employment and UK property — plus non-mandated sources like Dividends, CIS, and Gift Aid. File MTD ITSA is a web-based platform with all three income sources (including foreign property), a dedicated firm portal, and on-demand tax calculations. Absolute is the budget choice for Excel-centric practices; File MTD ITSA is the all-in-one web platform.
Platform & Workflow
Absolute Excel Income Tax Filer is a standalone Excel spreadsheet that you download each quarter. You enter your income and expense totals (or link them from your existing bookkeeping spreadsheet), and the software handles submission to HMRC via its built-in bridging technology. There's no web dashboard — everything happens in Excel on your local machine.
File MTD ITSA is a web application accessible from any browser. You log in, enter your quarterly figures into a guided dashboard, review and submit to HMRC, then request a tax calculation — all without leaving the platform. Your data is stored securely online, accessible from any device.
The trade-off
Absolute's approach is brilliant for accountants who live in Excel. If your entire workflow is spreadsheet-based and you want the simplest possible bolt-on for HMRC submission, downloading a pre-built spreadsheet and filling it in is a minimal-disruption approach. The downside is that you don't get an always-on dashboard, deadline tracking, or the ability to check your filing status from your phone.
File MTD ITSA's approach means you always have an up-to-date view of where every client stands — submissions made, deadlines approaching, calculations reviewed — without opening a spreadsheet. But it does require entering data into the web platform rather than your existing Excel setup.
Feature Comparison
| Feature | File MTD ITSA | Absolute Excel |
|---|---|---|
| Platform type | Web application (SaaS) | Standalone Excel download |
| UK property income | ✓ | ✓ |
| Self-employment income | ✓ | ✓ |
| Foreign property income | ✓ | ✗ Not listed |
| Non-mandated sources | ✗ | ✓ Dividends, CIS, Pensions, Gift Aid, Student Loans, HIBC, Marriage Allowance |
| Quarterly submissions | ✓ One-click | ✓ Via Excel |
| BSAS support | ✓ | ✓ |
| Annual adjustments | ✓ | ✓ Including capital allowances |
| Final Declaration | ✓ | ✓ |
| On-demand tax calculations | ✓ In-platform | Not mentioned |
| Deadline reminders | ✓ Email alerts | ✗ |
| PDF reports | ✓ Professional | ✗ |
| Firm management portal | ✓ Full dashboard | ✗ |
| Client impersonation | ✓ | ✗ |
| Compliance tracking | ✓ Cross-client | ✗ |
| Link to existing spreadsheets | Via CSV import | ✓ Native Excel linking |
| Access from any device | ✓ Browser-based | ✗ Requires Excel |
| Support | Email (1 day), phone on higher tiers | Free unlimited email support |
Pricing
Absolute is the most affordable MTD ITSA software we've compared. Their pricing starts from £40 + VAT for 5 National Insurance numbers (taxpayers) for a full tax year. That works out to roughly £9.60 per taxpayer per year including VAT. For accountancy practices filing for many clients, this is extremely cost-effective.
File MTD ITSA's individual DIY plan is £69 per year. Firm plans start at £299/year for up to 25 clients (about £12/client) and £599/year for unlimited clients. At scale, the per-client cost difference narrows, but Absolute remains cheaper in absolute terms.
The difference is what you get for the price. Absolute gives you the submission bridge in Excel with strong income source coverage. File MTD ITSA gives you a full web platform with dashboard, firm tools, PDF reports, tax calculations, and deadline tracking. Whether the extra features justify the higher price depends on your practice's needs.
Non-Mandated Income Sources
This is a genuine strength for Absolute. Their Excel Income Tax Filer covers non-mandated income sources that go beyond the core MTD quarterly obligations — including Interest, Dividends, CIS deductions, Pension Contributions, Gift Aid, Student Loans, High Income Child Benefit Charge, and Marriage Allowance transfers. All of these feed into the Final Declaration.
File MTD ITSA currently focuses on the three mandated quarterly income sources (UK property, self-employment, foreign property) plus annual adjustments and the Final Declaration. Non-mandated sources are not yet supported in the platform. If your clients have significant non-mandated income that needs to be included in the Final Declaration, this is a meaningful gap that Absolute fills.
Foreign Property
File MTD ITSA supports foreign property income as a full quarterly income source — with country-by-country tracking and foreign tax credit relief support. This is one of the three qualifying income sources under MTD, and many landlords with overseas properties need this alongside their UK property reporting.
Absolute's current product page lists self-employment and rental (UK property) quarterly submissions but does not mention foreign property income. If you or your clients have overseas rental income, this is a gap in Absolute's coverage.
For Accountancy Firms
Absolute's product is used by 15,000+ firms and is clearly well-regarded in the accountancy community. However, their workflow is per-spreadsheet — you download the Excel file, fill it in or link it to your client's bookkeeping, and submit. There's no centralised dashboard showing all clients' compliance status, no impersonation feature, and no bulk operations.
File MTD ITSA's firm portal is built specifically for multi-client management. You get a dashboard showing every client's filing status at a glance, one-click impersonation to file on their behalf, deadline alerts across your entire book, firm branding on all reports, and team member accounts with role-based access. For practices managing dozens or hundreds of MTD clients, this operational tooling saves significant time.
Who Should Choose Which?
Choose File MTD ITSA if you:
- Want a web-based dashboard accessible from any device
- Have clients with foreign property income
- Need a firm management portal with compliance tracking
- Want on-demand tax calculations and branded PDF reports
- Prefer a guided workflow over a raw spreadsheet
- Value deadline reminders and at-a-glance status tracking
Choose Absolute Excel Income Tax Filer if you:
- Want the lowest possible cost per taxpayer
- Work entirely in Excel and want to stay there
- Need non-mandated income source coverage (Dividends, CIS, Gift Aid, etc.)
- Have an existing spreadsheet-based workflow you want to preserve
- Trust the 30+ years of tax software experience behind the product
- Don't need a centralised firm management dashboard