Making Tax Digital has now been introduced but when will you need to file your VAT Return under the new system? This will depend on your business and whether you currently file your VAT Returns monthly or Quarterly.
Monthly:
For most businesses filing monthly returns the first VAT Return will be the month of April 2019 and the deadline for these returns is 7 June 2019.
Quarterly:
For most businesses filing quarterly returns their deadlines will be as follows:
- April to June 2019 VAT Returns due 7 August 2019.
- May to July 2019 VAT Return due 7 September 2019.
- June to August 2019 VAT Returns due 7 October 2019.
It is important to remember you need to sign up to MTD on the HMRC website. Once you have signed up to MTD you will no longer be able to submit VAT Returns under the old system so ensure you have filed your last non-MTD VAT Return correctly.
If you pay by Direct Debit you need to sign up seven days after your last VAT return, and at least 2 weeks before your next return is due so that the Direct Debit isn’t disturbed and payment for both returns are taken on time.
It has been advised that you sign up for MTD at least 3 weeks before your submission date. This gives you plenty of time to receive confirmation from HMRC (which can take 72 hours).
If your system for processing your VAT Returns is not MTD compliant then you would need to consider your options and we would be happy to advise you on this and would recommend using a software such as QuickBooks. We would be happy to provide the software for you and appropriate training or we can offer a full bookkeeping service. Please contact us for more information.