Making Tax Digital, the return(s)!

We’ve been advising many of our NHS clients on how to be Making Tax Digital (MTD) ready for some time now.  In fact, during our webinar this week we were advising on the new deadlines and who needs to be ready by 1 April 2019 and who has now been given a further six months to be MTD ready by October 2019.

It’s important to make sure you qualify for the recent six-month extensions from the HMRC.  The reason for the new extended deadlines is around complex businesses and their differing VAT regimes.  Within the NHS in England, any subsidiary companies (Pharmacy, Estates, etc) will require to be ready by 1 April 2019, whereas NHS organisations including trusts will be entitled to the extension of October 2019.

At our London VAT Conference last month, 90 per cent of the attendees felt that they were not yet MTD ready. We’re advising clients not to be lethargic around the fact that they have been given a further six months to prepare for the introduction of MTD.

Key MTD points to remember are:

• Capture transactions relevant to the VAT return
• Prepare the VAT return
• Send and receive information to HMRC using MTD software
• NO MORE MANUAL TRANSFER OF DATA!

It could take around six months to ensure that your accounts are in order and that you have the correct software or APIs in place to directly submit your VAT returns digitally in October 2019. Unless, of course, the date is put back again.

If you are a Liaison Financial customer, contact your advisor who can provide guidance on the relevant process for your NHS organisation or trust.