Record OS, a modern Self-Assessment and Making Tax Digital platform, has raised £1.75 million in a pre-seed round led by Episode 1, with participation from a group of angel investors including former CFOs and senior leaders from Wise, Revolut, Deliveroo and Alphabet. Founded by Dhruv Chadha and José Luis De La Peña, the platform is aimed at individuals, sole traders, freelancers and professionals with increasingly complex finances. New funding will be used to continue developing the platform and expanding its United Kingdom customer base.
Built for taxpayers navigating a filing process that has long combined high cost, low transparency and persistent errors, Record OS combines modern software with expert human review. Every filing is reviewed by a qualified tax professional before submission, giving customers the reassurance of a traditional adviser alongside the price, speed and convenience of a digital platform. Pricing starts at £125 for standard filings, £250 for more complex returns and £500 for specialist cases involving trusts, offshore income and complex investments.
The launch follows the United Kingdom's Making Tax Digital rollout, which required self-employed workers and landlords earning more than £50,000 to submit quarterly digital updates to HMRC from April 2026. Record OS originally built software for accounting firms handling self-assessment before expanding into a direct-to-consumer service after the co-founders identified that the same frustrations existed for taxpayers themselves.
Both co-founders previously worked at Wise as early employees. Chadha discovered a significant error in his own tax return despite having paid for professional support while testing the platform. De La Peña experienced difficulties navigating HMRC processes after moving to the United Kingdom. Record OS currently has a six-person team based in central London, including engineers and tax specialists. New customers filing during June 2026 are eligible for 20% off their self-assessment filing.
The UK tax system is undergoing one of its biggest shifts in decades. Dhruv and José combine deep operational experience with a genuine obsession for solving customer pain points. We're excited to back them as they build what we believe could become the default platform for self-assessment and digital tax filing.
We started by building software for accountants, but realised the problem still existed on a personal level. When I found an error in my own tax return while testing the platform, I was shocked - I'd paid for professional help, I work in finance, and I was still left wondering whether everything had actually been done correctly. That simply shouldn't still be the case in 2026, and is the inspiration for the business today.
No one becomes an accountant to mechanically fill tax returns, and taxpayers often think of self assessments as almost a punishment for success, or for starting a venture. We want this friction gone and we know there's a better way. As Making Tax Digital brings more people online, we're building a platform that combines the speed of technology with the reassurance of expert review.
