Making Tax Digital update – VAT first up

The government recently indicated that they are still fully committed to their plans to operate a digital tax system. From April 2019, when submitting quarterly VAT returns, businesses will be required to keep supporting information in qualifying digital format and submit their VAT returns to HMRC through API (Application Programming Interface) enabled software.

Presently around 86% of VAT returns are submitted electronically via HMRC’s government gateway. HMRC have stated the government gateway route will be closed down – so VAT returns will need to be submitted using API enabled software.

This change will affect a lot of business, so we highly recommend ensuring that you acquire and use some API enabled software as soon as possible, so when the first MTD compliant VAT return is submitted, you will be comfortable that the relevant underlying information is where it should be. We will of course be happy to help with this, and run regular free sessions explaining how to use Xero, one such API enabled software.