Tax is officially going digital!

Digital announcement confirms new era of tax reporting for business owners says local specialist

As HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) finally announces the results of consultation into its Making Tax Digital plans, local business owners are being urged to prepare for a new era of tax reporting.

Mark Jury who runs TaxAssist Accountants in Crowborough said: “The announcement this week gave very little ground to the concerns raised by small businesses and their advisors. April 2018 remains the deadline for introduction of Making Tax Digital, following a new series of pilot schemes with businesses across the UK, which starts this April.

“The draft legislation is clear in its intention that the majority of small businesses will have to submit quarterly reports to HMRC online, replacing the annual tax return. We’re urging local business owners to continue their vital progress on preparing for the new rules.

“Many of our clients are already operating digitally so won’t be too concerned, with some taking advantage of our latest app for their smartphones and tablets. Our national accounting software partner, Intuit QuickBooks, is also seeing more small businesses get ahead of the legislation by moving to the cloud now to take advantage of all the time saving benefits.”

Draft legislation and the results of Government consultation on the Making Tax Digital proposals were announced on 31st January, giving some concessions to small businesses on the original plans:

• Landlords reporting annual income under £150,000 will be able to account for income and expenditure on a simple ‘cash in, cash out’ basis
• Penalties for late submission of accounts will be delayed for at least 12 months to allow businesses to become familiar with the changes.

TaxAssist Accountants Crowborough is a local business providing tax and accountancy advice and services purely to small businesses.

For more information on this new development, see our February issue cover story from McPhersons Chartered Accountants.