TaxRoot vs Sage
Sage Accounting starts at £14/month for sole traders and scales up to £35+/month for small businesses. Sage provides MTD-compatible software but the filings, compliance review and HMRC correspondence are still your problem. TaxRoot bundles the software-compatible records, a UK accountant, all quarterly filings, EOPS, Final Declaration and Penalty-Free Filing Guarantee into one £34/month plan.
Feature by feature
The full breakdown.
Real scenario
Sole trader, £65k turnover, no employees
You're in the first wave of MTD for Income Tax (6 April 2026 for £50k+). You need compatible records, 4 quarterly updates, EOPS, and Final Declaration. Sage Accounting Start is £14/month for the software; filing yourself is free but time-expensive.
Why founders pick TaxRoot
4 reasons TaxRoot is the better choice for most UK founders.
Sage is software. TaxRoot is the software AND the accountant.
Sage Accounting Start at £14/month + an accountant to actually file MTD quarterly updates (£30-60/month) comes to £44-74/month. TaxRoot is £34/month flat, all-in.
For sole traders, Sage adds friction not value
Sage is designed for small businesses with bookkeepers. For a one-person sole trader or landlord, the UI has features you'll never use. TaxRoot keeps the bookkeeping lean and focuses the price on the MTD service itself.
No DIY risk on the year-end
EOPS + Final Declaration is where most self-prepared MTD submissions go wrong — capital allowances, disallowables, class 2 vs class 4 NIC, student loan, payments on account. TaxRoot's accountants handle all of it.
Penalty-Free Filing Guarantee
Miss a Sage-filed quarter and the £100 + £10/day penalty is yours. TaxRoot guarantees we cover any penalty caused by our error.
Where Sage genuinely wins
An honest acknowledgement.
No product is perfect. Here’s what Sage does well — if this matches your needs, they may be the right fit.
Which one is right for you?
A quick decision helper.
Choose TaxRoot if…
- You're a sole trader, freelancer, contractor or landlord — Sage is overkill
- You want MTD handled end-to-end, not just the software to do it yourself
- You want predictable monthly pricing with everything included
- You'd rather have a UK accountant on your side for HMRC correspondence
Choose Sage if…
- You're a small business scaling into 2-10 employees and need multi-user bookkeeping
- You already have an in-house bookkeeper who works in Sage
- You need deep payroll + stock management and the Sage ecosystem
Still comparing?
See how TaxRoot stacks up against other UK options.
Ready to switch from Sage?
We manage the full handover for free. Authorise us as your HMRC agent in under 2 minutes — we take it from there.