Coconut – What You Need to Know

How Coconut Handles MTD for Landlords and Sole Traders

Coconut is HMRC-recognised for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax and supports all three qualifying income types: sole trader income, UK property income, and foreign property income. Users can connect their bank accounts via Open Banking, automatically import and categorise transactions, snap and store receipts, and submit quarterly MTD updates directly to HMRC from within the app. A real-time tax estimate is displayed throughout the year so users can set aside funds as they go. The +MTD plan (£129.99/year inc. VAT) is required for quarterly MTD submission and the MTD year-end return. The +Self Assessment plan (£129.99/year inc. VAT) is required for Self Assessment filing, which integrates directly with GoSimpleTax. The Full plan (£159.99/year inc. VAT) combines both MTD and Self Assessment. Accountants can access clients' records via the Coconut Partner Portal and file on their behalf.

Coconut: No Built-in Property Management

Coconut supports UK property and foreign property income for MTD purposes and allows landlords to track rental income and expenses per property via its income streams functionality. However, Coconut explicitly positions itself as built for unincorporated landlords with simpler needs — not those requiring full property management. There is no built-in property portfolio management, tenant management, rent tracking dashboard, HMO support, or joint ownership profit-splitting. The app's Income Streams feature enables landlords with multiple properties or mixed income types to keep separate digital records for each income source for MTD submission purposes, but this is distinct from dedicated property management functionality.

Coconut has publicly acknowledged the complexity of joint ownership scenarios for MTD, with its CEO commenting on AccountingWEB about the challenges of multiple-property ownership structures. The platform's approach is to focus on simplicity and let more complex cases be handled through accountant support.

Coconut: Simple Digital Record Keeping for MTD

Coconut deliberately takes a simplified approach to bookkeeping, avoiding the complexity of formal accounting structures. It connects to over 25 UK banks and credit cards via FCA-regulated Open Banking to automatically import and categorise transactions. Receipts can be photographed and stored against transactions. Income and expenses are categorised into allowable expense types relevant to sole traders and landlords (aligned to SA103 and SA105 categories), but there is no formal chart of accounts, no journal entries, and no double-entry bookkeeping. Coconut provides an instant profit and loss overview, but this is a simplified dashboard view rather than a formal accounting report. The platform's design philosophy is that most sole traders and landlords do not need complex accounting — they need organised, accurate digital records that can be submitted quarterly to HMRC.

Coconut: Simple Invoicing and Mobile Receipt Scanning

Coconut enables users to snap photos of receipts and store them securely in the cloud, attached to the relevant transaction. Automatic expense categorisation is powered by the bank feed connection, with transactions categorised against SA103 (self-employment) and SA105 (property) categories as they are imported. Invoice creation is available on all plans — unlimited, own-branded professional invoices can be created and tracked from the mobile app or web browser. A running tax estimate is updated in real time as income and expenses are recorded, helping landlords and sole traders know how much to set aside monthly. Coconut does not use AI-powered OCR for receipt scanning — it is a photograph-and-store function rather than automated data extraction.

Coconut: Simple Real-Time Financial Dashboard with Tax Estimate

Coconut provides a clean, real-time financial dashboard showing profit and loss, cashflow, and transaction summaries. Its standout reporting feature is the running tax estimate — an up-to-date calculation of estimated tax owed based on income and expenses recorded so far, updated in real time throughout the year. This helps sole traders and landlords plan ahead and avoid year-end surprises. Coconut does not produce formal accounting statements such as a balance sheet or trial balance.

Ease of Use, Customer Support & Security

Coconut is designed to be as simple as possible, and this is central to its identity. Its director has described the platform as focused on "what sole traders and landlords actually need" without unnecessary complexity. The Coconut app is well-regarded for its clean mobile experience and non-technical approach. Support is provided via email and chat, with extended hours closer to tax deadlines, and the support team includes ex-HMRC staff with deep tax expertise. Phone support is not available. GoSimpleTax, Coconut's parent company, holds a 4.6-star Trustpilot rating from 2,665+ reviews, with users consistently praising its ease of use and responsive email support. Coconut's own Trustpilot profile is listed under the GoSimpleTax family and rated "Excellent."