Making Tax Digital for VAT – vital steps not to be missed

Most VAT-registered businesses with a taxable turnover above £85,000 need to sign up for Making Tax Digital (MTD) for VAT. There are specific stages to complete this process and, where clients submit their own VAT Return, we are seeing some of these vital steps missed.

Firstly, you need to ensure that you are using MTD compliant software. You then need to sign up to the Government Gateway at a specific time, depending on whether you pay VAT by Direct Debit or not.

Once you have completed this process, HMRC will send an email which can take up to 72 hours to say you are now signed up for MTD. Do not submit a VAT Return until you receive the confirmation email.

You will then need to activate your software for filing VAT Returns via MTD which will then connect you to the Government Gateway.

A guide to process can be found at www.gov.uk/guidance/sign-up-for-making-tax-digital-for-vat but please do contact us if you need assistance.