On 1st April 2019, HMRC implemented fundamental new legislation to simplify the tax system, which meant all businesses registered for VAT with a taxable turnover above £85,000 must now store their VAT records digitally and file their returns using digitally compatible software.
The new rules affect 1.2 million businesses throughout the UK, so is no small undertaking. And whilst HMRC confirmed that no penalties will be recorded in the first year to ease the transition, it is now imperative that businesses take advice onboard and ensure a digital system is in place.
As a result, HMRC are now urging businesses to register for Making Tax Digital as soon as possible, given that the August 7th returns deadline (which is the first quarterly return to be submitted since the implementation of MTD) is now less than 3 weeks away.
So far, over 50% of qualifying businesses have registered for Making Tax Digital, with another 10,000 registering each day, which emphasises the importance of not getting left behind.
If you you’re still unsure about Making Tax Digital or how the changes affect you, or if you simply need a little more advice on a MTD system that you already have in place, then please get in touch with your usual Smith Cooper contact or click here.
