What the HMRC Making Tax Digital for VAT emails and letters mean for your business

Have you received an e-mail or letter from HMRC about Creating Tax Electronic for VAT?

If you have, you are not on your own.

HMRC is sending a series of Building Tax Electronic (MTD) for VAT e-mail and letters to eligible VAT-registered corporations.

This is to allow them know that the way VAT documents are held and VAT Returns are submitted has modified, and that they need to commence subsequent MTD for VAT now.

Having said that, if your company hasn’t acquired a single yet, that’s not to say it will not.

Go through this posting to uncover out about the rewards of Making Tax Electronic, what HMRC’s communications mean for you, and what measures you ought to choose future.

Here’s what we include:

Why Making Tax Digital will advantage your business

Building Tax Digital is 1 of the most significant improvements to United kingdom companies ever.

Not only does it help to decrease faults when it will come to dealing with business enterprise admin, it improves productivity for your corporation far too.

Spending significantly less time on admin so you can aim on your company is critical – by going to electronic accounting, businesses can help you save an common of £17,000/27.6 times for each year, according to research by Sage.

Why has my company received an e-mail or letter from HMRC?

If your organization has acquired a single of the MTD for VAT email messages or letters from HMRC, it’s because you will need to get started keeping digital documents and change the way you submit your VAT.

The contents give you with a collection of techniques that need to have to be taken so your business enterprise is next the MTD for VAT procedures.

In the phrases of a single piece of communication from HMRC, it claims:

“Even if you now use software to retain your records and file your VAT returns on the net, don’t neglect you ought to signal up for MTD in advance of you file your future return.”

What do the e-mails and letters (and Building Tax Electronic) imply for me?

It usually means that because 1 April 2022, the way all VAT-registered companies preserve their information and submit VAT returns transformed.

Now, HMRC calls for your enterprise to keep records digitally, whilst the submission of VAT data wants to be performed through MTD suitable software program or bridging computer software.

What transpires if I’ve not obtained anything from HMRC?

HMRC will be sending out a lot more letters to enterprises, so there’s a probability you will get just one if your enterprise is VAT registered and you have not previously signed up for MTD for VAT.

On the other hand, you really don’t have to wait to acquire a letter from HMRC to get started using MTD for VAT – you can sign up for it now.

What do the HMRC Building Tax Digital e-mails and letters say?

They begin by telling you that you want to get motion to get completely ready for Generating Tax Electronic.

They condition that all VAT-registered enterprises require to sign up for MTD for VAT, no matter of taxable turnover.

Future, they include a collection of ways for you to choose (the e-mail and letters go into additional detail):

  • You have to have MTD suitable software package or bridging software program
  • You ought to use your application to hold your electronic documents
  • You should go to the Gov.british isles web page so you can sign up for MTD for VAT
  • You have to let your software package to get the job done with MTD, then you can start submitting your VAT Returns employing MTD.

They also alert that if you really don’t start off utilizing MTD just before your first MTD for VAT return deadline (your specific deadline really should be on your e-mail or letter), there is a opportunity you’ll be penalised.

Also, there’s a reference to MTD exemptions (obtain out extra at Gov.uk), and a note pointing out that if you use an accountant or agent to assistance you deal with your business taxes, they can help your shift to MTD for VAT.

Vital dates to be knowledgeable of

Producing Tax Digital is mandated for all VAT-registered organizations as of 1 April 2022, but what other dates need to you preserve in thoughts?

Very well, that relies upon on when your initial whole VAT interval starts on or after this day.

If you are a business with the common quarterly VAT accounting intervals, you need to keep digital information and post your VAT Return by MTD from the following start out dates:

  • 1 April 2022: If the previous VAT quarter finished on 31 March 2022.
  • 1 May possibly 2022: If the past VAT quarter finished on 30 April 2022.
  • 1 June 2022: If the earlier VAT quarter finished on 31 Might 2022.

The exact same logic applies to every month and once-a-year VAT accounting durations, so continue to keep in brain when your initial whole VAT accounting intervals begins.

And due to the fact there is nonetheless a will need to file VAT Returns by a person calendar thirty day period and 7 days, at the latest, this suggests the original VAT Returns for MTD for VAT have to be submitted by the pursuing:

  • 7 August 2022 for a VAT quarter commencing 1 April 2022.
  • 7 September 2022 for a VAT quarter starting 1 Might 2022.
  • 7 Oct 2022 for a VAT quarter starting 1 June 2022.

There are also deadlines to sign-up for MTD for VAT to keep in mind.  

If you already spend by Immediate Debit, don’t sign up much too near to the date your VAT Return is owing or you may possibly fork out two times.

To stay away from this, make guaranteed you do not indication up a lot less than:

  • 7 times before your return is because of
  • 5 days soon after your return is because of

And if you really don’t spend by Immediate Debit, make sure you indicator up at the very least a few times in advance of the due date for your VAT Return.

The place you can get support getting ready for MTD

To support you with your preparations for Generating Tax Electronic, HMRC’s letters protect a couple sources that will deliver you with the guidance required to make the shift to MTD for VAT a easy one particular.

They consist of common info on Generating Tax Electronic and specifics on digital history retaining (gross sales and acquire documents need to be stored digitally, although invoices nonetheless have to have to be retained for at the very least six decades).

In addition, at Sage, we’ve made a Producing Tax Digital Hub, which has answers to concerns you could have about MTD for VAT, and you can indicator up for a webinar to information you alongside the way.

There’s also data to assistance you make guaranteed you have MTD suitable application, so you can manage and submit your VAT Returns in the proper way.

And we’ve place alongside one another the subsequent MTD for VAT article content, so you can make the transfer to all points digital a breeze:

Last ideas on Producing Tax Electronic

Going to Earning Tax Digital for VAT might seem like a chore – one particular a lot more thing to fret about, on top of all of the other problems you have to experience with your company.

Nevertheless, it will make a genuine big difference to the way you regulate your small business admin. In addition, acquiring clarity on your enterprise funds and the tax you owe will necessarily mean you can deal with your cash much more proficiently.

The exact same goes for holding electronic records – the times of looking for paper paperwork or submitting them in a cupboard will be above.

Owning effortless access to every thing by means of a few clicks of your pc or mobile cell phone will necessarily mean you help save time – and decrease a ton of strain way too.