A Crunch alternative for UK Self Assessment

Crunch: Online accountancy with software attached. TaxEase UK guides you through your own return, in your own language, for £39 per tax year, or £49 with MTD.

If you start with TaxEase UK and your return turns out to be genuinely complex, the app tells you so and points you to a verified accountant through Find an Accountant. You are not stuck.

Comparison last verified 2026-09-21 from their own pricing page. Crunch pricing and features change; check their site before deciding.

Crunch is an accountancy practice with software attached, not software with support attached. From £27 a month plus VAT you get ACCA or AAT certified accountants, a tax saving review and unlimited support, which is why it costs roughly eight times a software-only tool. Compare it to hiring an accountant, not to filing software.

For comparison, TaxEase UK is £39 per tax year for Self Assessment or £49 with Making Tax Digital, with no introductory rate that expires and no separate fee for a second income source. One licence covers one person’s return, on all of their own devices.

We are not going to pretend otherwise. Crunch is the better fit if:

• You have no interest in understanding your return. A finished return with no effort from you is worth real money to some people, and that is a legitimate choice.
• Your affairs are genuinely complicated. Multiple properties, capital gains across several assets, a partnership, or a year with an HMRC enquiry open. A human should look at those.
• You want someone accountable. An accountant carries professional indemnity insurance. Software does not.

• English is not your first language. Every label, explanation and error message is translated into 10 languages, not just the interface but the guidance too. Few UK tools offer this.
• Your return is straightforward. One self-employment, or a job plus a side income, or a single rental property. Most returns are.
• You file every year. A yearly £39 against a per-return fee compounds quickly.
• You do not want to hand over your data. Your calculations run in your browser, with no bank link. Your figures leave your device only if you choose to send them to your accountant or to HMRC.
• You want to see the workings. The tax breakdown shows how the number was reached, and the optimizer shows where you could legally reduce it.

Everything in the free version, plus the full tax summary and optimizer, the filing checklist, a PDF report, unlimited OCR document scanning, the HMRC letter scanner, the audit risk checker, and annual rate updates each April. One licence key covers all your devices.

The free version is not a trial. The main steps stay unlocked permanently, covering SA100, SA102, SA103S, SA105 and SA106, in all 10 languages.

TaxEase UK prepares your return and gives you a filing checklist. You then submit it through your own HMRC account on gov.uk.

Direct submission to HMRC via the Making Tax Digital API is in development, pending HMRC production access.

TaxEase UK walks you through your Self Assessment step by step, in your own language, with every box explained in plain words.

Scan your statements and invoices with the built-in OCR and the figures fill in themselves. The deductibility checker tells you yes, no or partial for any expense you are unsure about.

Your tax data stays on your device unless you choose to send it to your accountant or to HMRC. No bank account link, no data sharing.

Try free, no credit card required →

• Pricing
• How TaxEase UK works
• Frequently asked questions
• Find a verified accountant