MTD for ITSA Delayed Until 2026

In a statement made by the Financial Secretary to the Treasury, Victoria Atkins MP, the timetable for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax Self Assessment will once again be delayed.

The mandation of MTD for ITSA is now planned to be introduced from April 2026, with businesses, self-employed individuals, and landlords with income over £50,000 mandated to join first.

The spreadsheet is dead, long live the spreadsheet

In 2015, then Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, announced the biggest change to the UK tax system since the introduction of Self Assessment, as he declared “the death of the annual tax return” accompanied by “a revolutionary simplification of tax”. Neither has yet to be delivered but, if you look past the headlines and rhetoric, HMRC’s Making Tax Digital programme is less about making tax digital and more about making bookkeeping digital.

MTD legislation day: The BIG reveal

The full MTD regulations have been made public for the first time today. Until now, we have only had an early draft of the regulations to work with and it is fair to say that there were some glaring holes in that draft document – particularly in relation to partnerships, basis periods and when taxpayers could enter or leave the MTD regime. 

We have been waiting a long time for those draft regulations to be updated and our tax experts are now pouring over the contents to disseminate the fine detail. 

Have your say on basis period reform

HMRC has opened a consultation on basis period reform which asks for views on how best to implement a proposal to simplify the rules under which profits of an unincorporated trading business are allocated to tax years using basis periods.

Mandatory digital links for MTD for VAT. What to do now.

Since the introduction of MTD for VAT a ‘soft landing period’ has been in place, allowing businesses time to get their systems digitally-linked to comply with the full MTD for VAT requirements. This period enabled businesses to use ‘cut/copy and paste’ methods to move data from one system to another before filing to HMRC. From 1 April 2021, this will no longer be permitted. However, there is no need to panic. It is likely you already have everything you need to continue being compliant, or some simple adjustments could be all that’s required. 

The Science Behind Compliance

We’ve all learned the necessity of compliance. Face masks, elbow handshakes, two-metre distancing, remote working, showing up for your jab – it may all be tough and go against impulse, but we understand that we need to comply with the rules. There is a cost to our society, our economy and our mental health, but putting it bluntly this is a matter of survival. If anyone is familiar with Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, our basic requirements are physiological well-being, plus safety and security. Though we may not agree with every single rule, we have to act en-masse to preserve our way of life.

Do I need to complete an EC Sales List after Brexit

For the export of goods or the supply of services made to EU businesses on or after 1 January 2021, you will not need to submit an EC Sales List (ESL). You will have until 21 January 2021 to submit ESLs for sales made before 1 January 2021.

HMRC to Remove VAT100 XML Filing Service

Recently, HM Revenue and Customs shared news of changes to its IT infrastructure, involving the migration of VAT Customer Accounts to a new system. Following this migration, HMRC will decommission the current XML submission service from 8 April 2021.