Get ready for Making Tax Digital by ditching VAT paper receipts

A new YouGov survey commissioned by HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has found that two-thirds (65%) of senior decision makers in finance and accounting have lost paper VAT receipts.

The recent YouGov poll also found that 62% of senior decision makers support the digitisation of all tax accounts.

HMRC is keen to add weight to its calls encouraging VAT-registered small businesses to begin taking action towards the new Making Tax Digital (MTD) service for quarterly VAT reporting, 

From 1st April 2019, all small businesses with annual earnings above the current VAT threshold of £85,000 will be required to maintain a digital record of their VAT using MTD-compatible software.

With the clock ticking down until the beginning of April, HMRC is calling upon VAT-registered small firms to get involved with MTD for VAT early and test the service to familiarise themselves ahead of schedule.

Theresa Middleton, Director of HMRC’s Making Tax Digital for Business Programme, said: “We want to help businesses be ready for the changes which kick in for VAT periods which start on or after 1st April.

“We’ll have written to every business required to join this year by the end of February, but even back in December over 80% of them were aware of the changes they need to make and the vast majority of those are already preparing.

“More than 16,500 businesses have already signed up to do their VAT digitally – why don’t you join them?”

Award-winning bookkeeping automation

Are you one of the tens of thousands of small business owners struggling to keep on top of their paper-based VAT receipts?

It’s worth noting that TaxAssist Accountants typically uses data capture and processing tools such as Receipt Bank, which are linked to from within the TaxAssist Accountants app. This allows busy business owners to send their transaction data directly to their accountant within the app or via email.

This saves valuable time for small firms, with no paperwork necessary, allowing them to get on with doing what they do best and running their business.

Given that HMRC will not be recommending software to help VAT-registered businesses file their VAT returns quarterly, your TaxAssist Accountant can also advise you about Making Tax Digital-compliant software such as QuickBooks and Xero, to help make managing your accounts easy, wherever you are.

Date published 20 Feb 2019 | Last updated 23 Sep 2020

This article is intended to inform rather than advise and is based on legislation and practice at the time. Taxpayer’s circumstances do vary and if you feel that the information provided is beneficial it is important that you contact us before implementation. If you take, or do not take action as a result of reading this article, before receiving our written endorsement, we will accept no responsibility for any financial loss incurred.