Skip to content
Search
AI Powered
Latest Stories

Less than one week to go for mandatory MTD

Businesses have less than a week to prepare for Making Tax Digital (MTD) for Value Added Tax (VAT) becoming mandatory for VAT-registered businesses on 1 April, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) said Monday.

All VAT-registered businesses must use MTD for VAT for their first VAT return starting on or after 1 April 2022.


HMRC revealed that nearly 1.6 million taxpayers had joined MTD for VAT as of December 2021 with more than 11 million returns successfully submitted. Around a third of VAT-registered businesses with taxable turnover below £85,000 have voluntarily signed up to MTD for VAT ahead of April 2022.

“Businesses using MTD are saving time on their tax affairs, streamlining their processes and boosting their productivity as a result,” Lucy Frazer, Financial Secretary to the Treasury, commented. “Our first move towards a modern, digital tax service – MTD makes it easier for businesses to get their tax right first time.”

HMRC claimed that MTD is succeeding in its central aims of reducing errors, while also making it faster to prepare and submit returns, and boosting productivity for businesses. New research, conducted by HMRC and peer reviewed by independent academics, shows MTD is likely to have generated increased revenue through reducing errors in both 2019 and 2020.

The agency urged the businesses to use the time left to choose the software that is right for them, whether that is one of the simple free options available, or a more advanced product for those with more complex affairs.

There are a range of compatible software products available for MTD for VAT, allowing businesses to choose which tools they use to run their business and tax affairs. A list of software compatible with MTD for VAT, including free and low-cost options, can be found here.

Agents can sign up on behalf of a business, although businesses remain responsible for meeting their VAT obligations. Those who do not join may be charged a penalty for failure to do so.

Some VAT-registered businesses may be eligible for an exemption from MTD, if it is not reasonable or practicable for them to use digital tools for their tax. If a business has previously been granted an exemption for VAT online filing, this will carry over to MTD VAT requirements. More information on whether an exemption may apply can be seen here.

Since April 2019, businesses with a taxable turnover above £85,000 have already been required to follow MTD. In July 2020, it was announced that all VAT-registered businesses must file digitally through MTD from April 2022, regardless of turnover.

More for you

Cans of soda are displayed in a case at Kwik Stops Liquor in San Diego
REUTERS/Sam Hodgson/File Photo

Lawsuit accuses major food companies of marketing 'addictive' food to kids

Major food companies, including Kraft Heinz, Mondelez and Coca-Cola, were hit with a new lawsuit in the US on Tuesday accusing them of designing and marketing "ultra-processed" foods to be addictive to children, causing chronic disease.

The lawsuit was filed in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas by Bryce Martinez, a Pennsylvania resident who alleges he developed type 2 diabetes and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, diagnosed at age 16, as a result of consuming the companies' products.

Keep ReadingShow less
Brits to spend '£10bn on grocery' this Christmas: NIQ

iStock image

Brits to spend '£10bn on grocery' this Christmas: NIQ

Retailers should prepare for late rush of shoppers looking for fresh food, centre pieces for the dinner table and last-minute gifts, suggests experts forecasting that grocery spend is set to hit £10 billion in the two weeks leading up to Dec 21 with £6bn being spent at the grocery multiples

According to new data released NIQ today (11), total till sales growth steadied at UK supermarkets (+3.7 per cent) in the last four weeks ending Nov 30 2024, down from 4.0 per cent in the previous month. This slowdown in growth is likely due to milder weather, Black Friday distraction and shoppers holding out until early December for the big Christmas shop.

Keep ReadingShow less
iStock 1341375943
iStock image
iStock image

New survey shows rise in 'propensity to quit' in retail workers

More than two in five UK retail employees (43 per cent) were at risk of quitting their jobs between July and September this year, an 11 per cent increase from the previous three months of 2024, according to the Retail Trust and AlixPartners’ latest Retail People Index.

The index, which surveyed 1,100 UK retail employees in July, August and September, found the percentage of people working whilst physically or mentally unwell, also increased to 41 per cent over this time. This is a 14 per cent year-on-year increase, and a 7 per cent rise from the previous quarter of 2024.

Keep ReadingShow less
UK Gov needs to spend over £5.6b to become smoke free
Photo: iStock

UK Gov needs to spend over £5.6b to become smoke free

The government has made significant changes to the law in recent years to further push the UK towards becoming a smoke free country. Most notably, the government's "smoke-free generation" plan aims to create a generation that will never be able to legally buy tobacco products. Local authorities across the UK also deliver a wide range of services to help smokers to quit. Despite these efforts, around six million people in the UK are still smoking and it’s costing local authorities on average £936 to help a smoker to successfully quit.

The research, compiled by Haypp, looked at how much local authorities are spending on stop smoking services, vs the number of successful quitters. Based on current figures, it would cost local authorities a total of £5.61 billion to help every smoker in the UK to successfully quit.

Keep ReadingShow less
Volumatic: findings show importance of payment choice – especially cash

Volumatic: findings show importance of payment choice – especially cash

Cash-handling captains Volumatic are drawing attention to key findings from a recent survey conducted by payments platform Paysafe.

The survey, Inside the Wallet: How Consumers are spending and saving in 2024, reveals the ongoing importance of payment choice and secure transactions in consumer purchasing behaviour, alongside the vital role in global finances.

Keep ReadingShow less