Some companies are asking whether Chancellor Philip Hammond used his 2018 Budget speech to make adjustments to the Government’s implementation plans for Making Tax Digital, says Clare Elsby of Elsby & Co Accountants and Business Advisors.
BY way of a reminder, Making Tax Digital, or MTD, is set to transform the way VAT-registered businesses, including landlords, process their taxes and comes into force from April 2019.
This means that all VAT registered businesses with a turnover in excess £85,000 will have to report their headline figures to HMRC on a quarterly basis using approved accounting software.
After this date there will be a phased timetable for all other businesses to comply in the same manner, beginning in 2020.
As far as the Budget 2018 question goes, in short the answer is ‘no.’ Nothing has changed with next year’s MTD targets, which remain firmly on schedule. This restates the importance for VAT-registered businesses to get ready for MTD now by looking at how they currently keep accounting records and how they will comply with VAT returns after 1 April 2019.
Remember, your business is already used to producing quarterly VAT returns and this remains the same, the only change is how the information gets to HMRC.
At Elsby & Co we’ve been preparing for MTD over the last year and our team of advisors have been fully trained in cloud accounting to help our clients review their needs before making the switch to digital.
We offer all of the latest expertise in setting up a business tax account, reviewing cloud accounting software that best suits your needs and taking additional precautions to protect information online.
However, be warned. This is new territory for the way many businesses, accountancy firms and even HMRC have been operating for many years. We are advising all of our clients to contact us at the earliest opportunity to take advice and be prepared.
For further details call Elsby & Co on 01604 678470 to register for our Cloud Accounting workshops in 2018, email or visit www.elsbyandco.co.uk