Since the implementation of Making Tax Digital (MTD) for VAT in April 2019, more than 1.3 million businesses with a turnover of £85,000 or more have been making quarterly digital returns to HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) using compatible software.
The first year of MTD was subject to a one-year “soft landing period”, which has seen HMRC holding back from pursuing businesses that should have signed up.
Similarly, HMRC has taken a lenient approach in cases where businesses that have signed up to MTD have had problems with making their first returns for whatever reason.
However, this is expected to change in the coming weeks as the “soft landing period” reaches an end.
Businesses that have not signed up to MTD will risk a fine of up to £400, depending upon the size of the business.
We now have little more than a year remaining until the earliest point at which the next stages of MTD could come into effect for other businesses, the self-employed and landlords.