Making Tax Digital for VAT checklist: How to get up to speed with MTD for VAT
Use this MTD checklist to help you get clarity on Making Tax Digital for VAT and the requirements you need to follow.
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The digital tax revolution is here.
If you have a VAT-registered business, you must use Making Tax Digital (MTD) for your VAT accounting.
You must submit VAT Returns using “functional compatible software” and digitally store your VAT accounting records.
This Making Tax Digital checklist will help you get up to speed with MTD for VAT.
The critical thing to know is that it’s no longer possible to submit VAT Returns manually via HMRC’s website. You must do it with software.
This is a significant change from before, and you need to know how to make a Making Tax Digital VAT Return submission.
This Making Tax Digital checklist covers the following:
- Figure out if your business is impacted by MTD for VAT
- Exemptions and deferrals from MTD for VAT
- Work out which business processes to adapt for MTD for VAT
- Ensure you have functional compatible software for MTD for VAT
- Work out when to switch to MTD for VAT
- Final thoughts on Making Tax Digital
Figure out if your business is impacted by MTD for VAT
You must use Making Tax Digital for VAT if your business is VAT-registered.
Making Tax Digital is about more than merely filing your VAT Return digitally. You’re also legally required to digitally store some of your VAT information (known as digital record keeping).
And if you use more than one piece of software to store your VAT information and do your VAT return, they must be “digitally linked”.
The transition might have been relatively straightforward if you were already using accounting software.
It could involve little more than activating the feature in your software.
Alternatively, your accountant might have done this for you.
However, this might not have been the case if you had used older software. You need functional compatible software.
If you’re using spreadsheets or other manual records to prepare your VAT Return, you should have replaced this with a software-driven approach for recording VAT details and filing VAT Returns.
Exemptions and deferrals from MTD for VAT
Your business can claim exemption from MTD for VAT if HMRC accepts you’re digitally exempt.
This includes people whose religious beliefs are incompatible with the requirements or those whose age, disability or remoteness mean it’s not reasonably practical for them to use digital tools.
Insolvency procedures also affect MTD for VAT.
Get in touch with HMRC via its VAT helpline for more information and arrange alternative measures.
Work out which business processes to adapt for MTD for VAT
Look at all your processes around generating your VAT Return. While this might be time-consuming, the investment might be necessary to avoid penalties.
Here are some examples:
- How do you raise sales invoices?
- How do you capture expenses?
- Do you use a cash accounting scheme, or are you invoice-based?
- What other areas of your VAT accounting are still paper-based or exist outside of your accounting software?
For example, you can still create paper-based notes or invoices with Making Tax Digital for VAT. But you must transfer some invoice-level data into your MTD-compatible software.
You can no longer update your accounting software with the monthly total of all invoices.
If you have access to an accountant, you might find it beneficial to speak to them about these issues and potentially use their experience to review your existing processes efficiently.
If your business uses an alternative VAT scheme such as the Flat Rate, Retail or Margin Scheme (including the Tour Operators Margin Scheme)—or group VAT—your requirements and processes will be different.
Making Tax Digital for VAT software
Discover how Sage Accounting can help you get your MTD for VAT submission right, calculate your bill and submit your VAT Return with ease.
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Ensure you have functional compatible software for MTD for VAT
Use software compatible with HMRC’s Making Tax Digital for VAT programme.
In addition to keeping digital records relating to your VAT, the software should be able to communicate with HMRC’s computers so you can file your VAT Returns.
In technical language, this is sometimes referred to as “connecting to HMRC’s APIs”.
If you’re using desktop accounting software (installed on your computer and data is stored there—which can make data sharing harder), you might need to update it for MTD if you haven’t updated it recently.
Speak to your software vendor immediately about this.
Older software might not have been updated for MTD, so you may have to transfer your VAT accounting (at least) to more modern software to file returns.
If you’re using a cloud accounting software package (where data is saved in the cloud and accessible in real time on any device—computer, mobile phone, tablet), it should update automatically for MTD.
Although again, you may wish to speak to your software vendor for details on accessing the functionality.
If you keep your VAT records using a spreadsheet, it might be possible to use MTD-compatible bridging software to file returns.
But the process will not be as robust or intuitive as accounting software.
It’s so easy to accidentally delete data in a spreadsheet or break a formula—and it could mean you’re no longer legally compliant with MTD for VAT.
Despite rumours to the contrary—and although MTD for VAT is legally mandated (and enforced with fines for failing to comply)—HMRC has never made any free end-user software available for MTD for VAT, or offered any software by other means, such as subscription.
Businesses must acquire functional compatible software from third parties.
Work out when to switch to MTD for VAT
MTD for VAT has been up and running since April 2019. If your business is VAT-registered, you should already be signed up to MTD unless you are exempt or have applied for exemption.
These are the four steps you need to follow:
- Step 1: Choose MTD-compatible software that’s right for you (such as Sage Accounting).
- Step 2: Check the VAT configurations in the software ahead of authentication with HMRC.
- Step 3: Keep digital records for current and future VAT returns.
- Step 4: Allow the software to work with MTD and file future VAT returns directly to HMRC.
Final thoughts on Making Tax Digital
Dealing with business admin and compliance can be a challenge.
But while adapting to Making Tax Digital for VAT rules may seem like a burden, there are definite long-term benefits to be aware of.
You can efficiently deal with your VAT Returns and stay on the right side of HMRC.
Perhaps, just as importantly, you’ll have better visibility of your business finances and will keep good records, so you know how things are functioning at any time.
MTD for VAT will be a help, not a hindrance, to you and your business.
Editor’s note: This post was originally published in October 2018 and has been updated for relevance.
Sage wanted a ridiculous £30 a month EXTRA for an MTD “upgrade” to Sage 50 (non -cloud) so sacked off that idea. Now I am going for 3rd party bridging software at £1 per per month. No change to current Sage subscription…. good result.
Couple of questions:
1) We’re currently using SAGE 50 ACCOUNTS PLUS version 24.2.228.0 Are we MTD compliant?
2) What are the benefits of using SAGE50Cloud over our current package?
3) Where is our data stored if using SAGE50Cloud?
Where is the Sage200 Fact Sheet on how to reconcile your VAT submission BEFORE you transmit it?
Spent most of the afternoon trying to find out if my non-cloud sage 50 subscription will be compatible. Still none the wiser. Sage is OBSESSED with getting everyone on to its completely pointless (for most businesses) cloud software. I think its time to move away from SAGE.
As I understand things, all of the Sage Cloud packages are compliant (they will automatically update where necessary). Everything else is in Beta Testing and your system will require either a patch or an upgrade. We are running Sage 200, and I have yet to see the new MTD functionality demonstrated. Our VAR is pushing to schedule an update, but my guess is that the software won’t be finalised until January 2019.
I called the Sage renewals line and told them I had been advised to switch from Sage to Xero in order to be compatible with MTD for VAT.
It’s amazing how informative and helpful they were with that already said.
Apparently my on premise Sage 50 isn’t compatible but if I move to Sage50 Cloud then it would be and it is available cheaper than my current Sage package.
So that’s good.
But you’re right a responsible organisation woul have already contacted all their customers who aren’t currently compatible to give them the options.
If I hadn’t called in I’m sure I wouldn’t have heard from them between now and the date that I needed to make the first MTD submission, which I wouldn’t have been able to do.
That would have been annoying.
Just wasted 10 minutes of my life reading this – all I want to know is if I continue to use SAGE will I be ok!
What would be more useful is a straightforward guide from Sage to say if you’re on this Sage package you need to do ‘x’ or that package do ‘y’.