What is the best tax app for Australian sole traders?

Hnry if you want obligations deducted and paid automatically from each payment; Thriday if you want banking, accounting and BAS bundled; Solo by MYOB if you have never used accounting software before. All three target sole traders specifically rather than companies.

Do Australian tax apps automatically set aside money for tax?

Thriday auto-allocates funds for tax and BAS as income arrives. Hnry goes further by deducting and remitting the obligation immediately, so no set-aside is required at all.

Does ATO prefill work with these apps?

Etax Prefill pulls ATO pre-fill data straight into the annual return and prompts for likely deductions. The sole-trader cash-management apps work alongside this rather than replacing it.

Do I still need a tax agent as an Australian sole trader?

Not necessarily, but many use one. Etax operates as an online tax agent with two-accountant review, and Hnry includes filing in its service. Apps that only track and estimate leave the lodgment decision to you.

Comparison

The best AI tax tools for Australian sole traders

ATO prefill does half the work already. What matters is what handles BAS, deductions, and setting the money aside.

Independent analysis · Figures verified August 2026 · Methodology

Australia starts from a better position than most countries: ATO pre-fill supplies income and health insurance data directly, so the work shifts away from data entry toward deductions, BAS, and cash management. That changes what good software looks like here.

For sole traders specifically, the products divide by how much of the money movement they take over — from an app that categorises and reminds, to a system that intercepts every payment and remits tax before you ever see it.

How they compare — figures drawn from each company's profile, last verified August 2026
Product	Best-rated source	Regions	Built on AI	HQ
Hnry	4.7/5 Trustpilot	NZ · AU · UK	AI features added	Wellington, New Zealand
Thriday	4/5 Trustpilot	AU	AI-native	Melbourne, Australia
Solo by MYOB	4.8/5 Google Play	AU	AI features added	Melbourne, Australia

Hnry: tax that never accumulates

Hnry is the most structurally different option. Every payment a sole trader receives passes through their Hnry account, where income tax, GST and levies are calculated and deducted instantly, then filed when due. Pricing is roughly 1% of self-employed income, capped.

Founded in Wellington in 2017 and now operating across New Zealand, Australia, and the UK, it holds 4.7 on Trustpilot across 681 reviews, with customers repeatedly describing tax as becoming invisible. The trade-off is that your income flows through a third party — worth being deliberate about.

Thriday: banking, accounting, and BAS in one

Thriday bundles a business bank account with invoicing, accounting, and BAS lodgment. Its AI categorises and reconciles every transaction in real time, forecasts tax and BAS obligations, and auto-allocates funds so the money is there when the ATO asks.

Founded in Melbourne in 2020, it raised roughly AUD $9M including a NAB Ventures-led round and was acquired by payments company Tyro in December 2025, with the brand continuing to operate. Its review base is thin — 4.0 on Trustpilot across just 9 reviews — so weight that lightly in either direction.

Solo by MYOB: for people who have never used accounting software

MYOB launched Solo in February 2025 aimed at Australia's roughly 1.6 million sole operators, two-thirds of whom had never used accounting software at all. It is deliberately mobile-first: invoicing, snap-and-track receipt capture, AI smart matching of bank transactions, and a generative AI assistant for real-time help.

An embedded Solo Money account and Tap to Pay arrived mid-2025. It holds 4.8 on Google Play, with early reviewers highlighting fast invoicing and Tap to Pay, though some want parity with fuller accounting apps. The backing of MYOB, established in 1991, is the reassurance here.

Filing the annual return itself

None of the above replaces the annual return decision. Etax has operated as an online tax agent since 1998, pulls ATO pre-fill into the return, prompts for likely deductions, and has two accountants check every return before lodgment. It holds 4.8 on ProductReview.com.au across 8,702 reviews and 4.0 on Trustpilot across 2,780 — an unusually deep record for this market.

If your complexity is investment rather than trading — property, shares, crypto — TaxTank maintains a live personal tax position across income types with automated rental depreciation and CGT tracking, from around AUD $6/month.

The verdict

Sole traders who want tax handled invisibly

Hnry

Deducts and remits income tax, GST and levies from each payment as it arrives, for roughly 1% of income, capped.

Anyone wanting banking, accounting and BAS in one place

Thriday

Real-time AI categorisation with automatic BAS forecasting and tax fund allocation.

First-time software users

Solo by MYOB

Mobile-first, built explicitly for sole operators new to accounting software, with a generative AI assistant.

Lodging the annual return with a safety net

Etax

Two accountants check every return, on a 4.8 rating across 8,702 ProductReview submissions.

Property and share investors

TaxTank

Live tax position across income types with automated depreciation and CGT tracking.

Frequently asked

What is the best tax app for Australian sole traders?: Hnry if you want obligations deducted and paid automatically from each payment; Thriday if you want banking, accounting and BAS bundled; Solo by MYOB if you have never used accounting software before. All three target sole traders specifically rather than companies.
Do Australian tax apps automatically set aside money for tax?: Thriday auto-allocates funds for tax and BAS as income arrives. Hnry goes further by deducting and remitting the obligation immediately, so no set-aside is required at all.
Does ATO prefill work with these apps?: Etax Prefill pulls ATO pre-fill data straight into the annual return and prompts for likely deductions. The sole-trader cash-management apps work alongside this rather than replacing it.
Do I still need a tax agent as an Australian sole trader?: Not necessarily, but many use one. Etax operates as an online tax agent with two-accountant review, and Hnry includes filing in its service. Apps that only track and estimate leave the lodgment decision to you.