From April 1st 2020, most UK VAT registered businesses with a taxable turnover above the VAT threshold (currently £85,000) are due to come out of the soft landing period. This is effective for the first VAT period starting on or after April 1st.
What is the soft landing period?
The soft landing period was put in place by HMRC to help businesses ease into Making Tax Digital compliance. It refers to the first year after MTD for VAT mandation, which is coming to an end for most UK VAT registered businesses on April 1st 2020. During the soft landing period, it was still acceptable to copy or cut and paste your data into your VAT return as long as the submission was made using MTD compatible software – like BTCHub.
What happens after the soft landing period?
Once the soft landing period ends, businesses will have to maintain digital records and link those records digitally to their VAT return. This change means that copy or cut and pasting of data is no longer accepted. Businesses who keep their digital records in a spreadsheet can continue to use this method, and use a bridging software to collate the data with digital links into an MTD-compliant return.
What is digital record keeping?
The full list from HMRC of records that must be kept digitally covers:
Can I link my data in a spreadsheet?
You can record the data that makes up your VAT return in a spreadsheet even after the soft landing period ends. Using BTCHub, you can either use your existing spreadsheet and link the data using formulas to summarise the information into the VAT return or start using the template spreadsheet provided with the software to do this.
BTCHub also handles multiple imports from spreadsheets and sales and bookkeeping systems, allowing you to bring in your data from various digital sources and create the VAT return within the software.
I use a bookkeeping and sales system. Can I become MTD for VAT compliant?
BTCHub uses imports from your bookkeeping and sales systems to build up a VAT return within the software, which you can then submit directly to HMRC in Making Tax Digital compliant format.
See how it works
Get in touch
April 1st is just around the corner, so now is the perfect time to sign up for BTCHub and become MTD for VAT compliant. HMRC is prepared to start fining organisations that do not comply – get in touch with our friendly consultants today on 0345 241 5030 or email sales@btcsoftware.co.uk
