The Making Tax Digital (MTD) Timeline

As you probably already know from our previous emails, Making Tax Digital (MTD) will come into play from the 1st of April 2019. With this in mind, it’s important you know that once the programme comes into force, many businesses will have to record data relevant to their taxes in a digital way.

Additionally, these businesses will have to use MTD-compliant software to transfer relevant information to HMRC’s systems.

But, instead of introducing Making Tax Digital based on the size of your business, the government is doing it tax by tax. This includes both individual and business taxes. Because of this, the implementation schedule is a little unclear. Not only this, there are currently delays to some aspects of the new programme due to Brexit.

At Newnham & Son, we believe it’s our duty to keep you in the loop regarding any information that may affect your finances. With this in mind, here is the current timetable to keep you in the loop.

The Making Tax Digital Timeline

1 April 2019: This marks the start of MTD for VAT. Companies above the VAT threshold will have to begin filing their reports according to the new programme’s guidelines. Consultation may also start for corporation tax.

1 October 2019: From this date onwards, Making Tax Digital will be applicable to all specialist businesses with a deferred start date.

April 2020: In 2020, the government will review the progress of MTD from the previous year. If the results are positive, the programme could roll out to all VAT-registered businesses.

April 2021: While the date isn’t confirmed yet, April 2021 should be the period where MTD becomes applicable to landlords and unincorporated businesses that pay tax on profits.

April 2022: As of now, we don’t know what the future holds. But, in 2022 we expect MTD to come around for corporation tax too.

MTD for Complex and Specialist VAT Registered Organizations

According to an announcement from HMRC this October, if you fall under any of the following specialist and complex VAT registered organizations, Making Tax Digital will only be applicable from October 2019. These include:

• Annual account scheme users
• VAT groups
• Certain public sector bodies
• VAT divisions
• Unincorporated charities
• Organizations that pay in excess of £2 million of VAT per annum who are required to make VAT payments on account
• Trusts
• VAT traders based overseas

The MTD for business project will only debut once Making Tax Digital for VAT has been properly established.

Source: Pixabay

What About the MTD for Business Project?

Moving forward, HMRC will only introduce MTD by types of tax. But, as you can see, Making Tax Digital is in its early days meaning the timetable is yet to be confirmed for a huge variety of elements. That’s where we come in.

At Newnham & Son, we take it upon ourselves to give you any relevant updates on MTD so that you’re not faced with any nasty surprises. We’ll also tell you about all the timetables and deadlines as they’re released.

If you’d like to find out more about the fundamentals of MTD, read our blog post here. For further assistance, email us at enquiries@newnhamandson.com or phone us on 01730 239645. One of our friendly team members will be happy to run you through the programme and what it entails.