We were pleased to hear Theresa Middleton’s announcement this week that businesses joining the Making Tax Digital for Business (MTDfB) pilot scheme won’t have to complete a self-assessment tax return for 2017-18. This has since been confirmed to us by our HMRC contacts.
Removing the need for duplicate data submissions in the MTDfB pilot
Prior to this point we had stressed to HMRC that there was little incentive for businesses to take part in the pilot as the information they’d key in and submit on a quarterly basis would have to be resubmitted in the 2017/18 return due by 31 January 2019.
It is really good to learn that HMRC has taken this on board. Our HMRC contacts are however at pains to point out that, anyone who joins the MTDfB pilot programme in the first quarter of the 2017/18 tax year, will not have to submit a 2018 Self-Assessment Tax return provided they submit all of their other taxable income via the MTDfB system. This may be quite a feat for some businesses.
Timeframes
Those looking to take up this pilot opportunity and be an early adopter of the MTDfB initiative would be looking to submit their first quarterly account information a maximum of 30 days after July 6th this year.
In terms of having systems up and running ready for the pilot, we’ve been advised by HMRC that the current stumbling blocks like the two-step agent verification issue will be resolved during May.
They have also indicated that the MTDfB API will be extended to cover ALL elements of the existing Self-Assessment tax return. It will also be released in time for software developers to provide working solutions well before the end of the 2017/2018 tax year.
How to get involved in the pilot
At BTCSoftware we are working closely with the HMRC digital team to create accounting and tax software that is MTDfB compliant. Those accountancy practices and businesses who do want to be part of the MTDfB pilot will be able to use our solutions for this, provided HMRC deliver on their promises. This will now mean they will no longer have to complete their 2017/18 self-assessment return due by the end of January 2019. You can read a summary of Theresa Middleton’s announcement here.
For more information please contact us on tel 0345 241 5030 or by emailing
