The Making Tax Digital Deadline is Here… Is Your Business Ready?

After a long wait, the Making Tax Digital (MTD) deadline is finally upon us. As of the 1st April 2019, all VAT-registered businesses who are above the £85,000 threshold will have to use this more effective and efficient tax system to submit their returns. Going digital has been a long time coming, if you’re yet to embrace the new way of doing things however, it’s not too late to set your business (and its accounts) on the right track. In this blog post, we ask if your business is ready to go digital…

Why MTD makes perfect sense?

As a leading accountant assisting hundreds of clients with their accounting and payroll requirements, we make it our job to keep up with the latest so our clients don’t have to. We may have been around for a long time (since 1988 to be exact) but we’re loving the benefits that going digital brings to our client base.

The Making Tax Digital system offers an effective way to process your VAT returns. Tax recording is made even more accurate with the new, improved and rigorously tested system, ensuring less opportunity for the mistakes many of us are guilty of. It also makes the process of submitting tax returns far more efficient, meaning your valuable time can be saved and spent growing other parts of your business. Using compatible software, MTD makes it simpler to record and file your VAT returns online. You’ll no longer be able to file through the government gateway. Instead your MTD-compatible software prepares your return and integrates with HMRC systems to submit it.

How can you prepare post-deadline?

Finding the right MTD-compatible software is the first step when preparing. HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has been busy collaborating with over 150 software suppliers to make MTD systems accessible to businesses of all sizes and with all budgets. All approved systems are deemed Making Tax Digital compliant. Our accountants are happy to advise on the right, fully compliant software that will be the best fit for you.

Once you have the right software, familiarising yourself with the new system long before your next VAT return deadline is your next task. If you use Excel spreadsheets to maintain your records, you can continue to utilise these in conjunction with compatible software. Manual records however will no longer be acceptable to HMRC.

Don’t go digital alone

You don’t have to embrace the new digital system alone. Our experts are well-versed in Making Tax Digital and already have experience using compatible systems to record and file VAT returns electronically. Contact us today for further advice.