Originally written by Anna Jordan on Small Business
HMRC is dismissing fines for around 120,000 businesses who missed the first Making Tax Digital deadline on August 7.
A significant one in four businesses failed to file on time, meaning that HMRC could have issued tens of millions of pounds worth of fines. Officials said that they wouldn’t issue the penalties because businesses are ‘fully focused’ on exiting the EU come October 31.
Fines sit between £100 and £400 (linked to the gross turnover of the business) but the Government did say back in February that there would be a “light touch” approach to penalties, but this is the first time no fines have been issued.
The move comes amid a series of leniency measures to help businesses ahead of a possible no-deal Brexit.
MTD bothersome for businesses
HMRC said that it wanted to help businesses transition into Making Tax Digital, supporting the 490,000 companies with sales above the VAT threshold of £85,000 who were due to file by August 7.
Though some missed the deadline, nearly a million businesses registered for MTD beforehand and 900,000 VAT returns were successfully submitted through the service.
Deputy CEO of HMRC, Jim Harra, said: “We are very pleased that nearly a million
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Making Tax Digital bridging software: what is it and how much does it cost?
by Anna Jordan • • 0 Comments
Making Tax Digital comes in on 1st April and VAT-registered businesses with a taxable turnover of more than £85,000 must have the right software in place for it. However, it seems that many don’t. HMRC’s own research indicates that one in five firms (19%) that are required to be MTD-compliant by the beginning of April haven’t even
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Making Tax Digital exemptions deadlines are unrealistic
by Stephanie Spicer • • 0 Comments
VAT registered individuals and businesses needing to apply for an exemption from the new digital VAT requirements- Making Tax Digital (MTD) – have little time to do so, according to the Low Incomes Tax Reform Group (LITRG) MTD for VAT applies to businesses with taxable turnover exceeding £85,000 but as the threshold is based on
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Making Tax Digital: what do I need to do before it’s introduced?
by Anna Jordan • • 0 Comments
We are now less than a year away from the start of Making Tax Digital (MTD). Margaret Laidlaw, partner at Mazars, provides an overview of what MTD is and what you need to do before it’s introduced. What should I expect? The first raft of affected businesses will be those with a turnover above the
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Why Making Tax Digital could make a large dent in the UK’s tax gap
by Anna Jordan • • 0 Comments
The UK has one of the lowest tax gaps in the world, with the latest available figures (covering the 2015-16 financial year) showing a gap of 6 per cent between the amount of tax due and actually collected. When these figures were first announced, HMRC was quick to herald the fact that this gap is
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Why accountants should embrace Making Tax Digital
by Ben Lobel • • 0 Comments
Making Tax Digital (MTD) is HMRC’s plan to make it easier for businesses and individuals to get their tax in order and manage their finances – spelling the end for the annual tax return. By 2020, the government wants the UK to be the most ‘digitally advanced tax administrations in the world’. However, the speed
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Four things to know about Making Tax Digital in the new tax year
by Ben Lobel • • 0 Comments
The start of a new tax year is almost upon us, which means many business owners are currently gearing up to make changes that could help their business flourish in the next 12 months. But while these short-term improvements can be incredibly valuable, it’s also a good idea to start looking at other potential issues
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Act now to prepare for new HMRC digital tax system
by Owen Gough • • 0 Comments
Businesses in the South West should take urgent action ahead of the government’s sweeping changes to the digital tax system. That’s the advice from chartered accountants Thomas Westcott, ahead of the introduction of the new Making Tax Digital regime. Making Tax Digital is an HMRC initiative to compel businesses to keep digital records and file
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Sole traders spend 9.5 million hours doing their tax returns
by Owen Gough • • 0 Comments
With the self-assessment deadline looming, new research highlights the huge burden that the current tax returns system puts on sole traders. The research, carried out by YouGov for 1Tap Receipts, finds that 45 per cent of sole traders spend five hours or more completing their tax returns, and 22 per cent say they spend ten hours or more
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SME owners to tackle Making Tax Digital reforms without support
by Owen Gough • • 0 Comments
As HMRC closes the latest consultation round of its Making Tax Digital reforms, new research from Geniac reveals the potential impact on SMEs across the UK. At Budget 2015, the government set out the vision for a transformed tax system and in December 2015 launched the Making Tax Digital Roadmap, outlining more detail about what
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