Making Tax Digital for VAT: First quarterly deadline

Remember Making Tax Digital (MTD) – the Government’s flagship scheme to modernise tax collection on behalf of the Treasury?

It’s hard to believe three months have passed since the scheme came into force for VAT-registered businesses with annual taxable turnover of more than £85,000.

We did our bit to help businesses that were preparing for MTD, and the first quarterly returns under the new regime are already being submitted.

Businesses that submit monthly VAT returns shared the mantle of filing the first digital returns under MTD on 7 June 2019.

In fact, more than 180,000 quarterly VAT returns have been submitted using HMRC-approved software for MTD so far.

A similar amount of monthly VAT submissions are expected before 7 July 2019, ahead of the first quarterly deadline on 7 August 2019.

Some businesses with complex accounts have a little longer, until 1 October 2019, while NHS trusts and Government departments have a deferral beyond this date.

Making Tax Digital: What’s the fuss about?

Most of our clients have been submitting digital VAT returns for some time now, so not a great deal will change for them.

The fuss surrounds identifying clients or prospects who we can help migrate to digital accounts before the first deadline for quarterly returns.

We understand that clients can be reluctant to move accounts online, but it’s easy to move data onto our provider (more on that later).

Bridging software is also available to help you comply with MTD using standard spreadsheet packages, should you resist a move to our digital accounting software.

You’re in safe hands

As a practice that submits VAT returns through MTD on behalf of our clients, everything is in hand.

We already have your VAT-registration number and all the relevant details on your business to submit its return on time, every time.

Everything has been set up with HMRC, and we have linked existing client relationships to our agent services account for a seamless transition.

Xero-certified advisors

Existing clients who submit VAT returns will be familiar with our digital software provider Xero, which we use to submit your returns to the Revenue.

If you are leaving things to the last minute, there is still time to sign up for Xero and we can provide on-site training to get you up to speed.

Just be aware that it can take up to 72 hours for HMRC to register your business for MTD, so allow at least that amount of time to prepare.

Get in touch

From providing training to outsourcing your digital accounts to us, our team of digital specialists can talk you through all your options when it comes to MTD.

Contact us on info@stapletonsaccountants.co.uk or call 01363 773191 for more information.