Digital Tax Update
The original plan from the government and HMRC would have forced the smallest businesses and sole traders to start quarterly reporting from April 2018, but those below the VAT threshold (currently £85,000) will now be exempt from requirements to quarterly report until the government can reassess the plans.
There will also be a one-year delay for the wider rollout, with an April 2019 start date for businesses with a turnover above the VAT threshold (currently £85,000) to start keeping digital records but only for VAT purposes.
Full-blown quarterly reporting will not start before ‘at least 2020’ according to the ministerial statement.
We believe this is a sensible delay HMRC, although at some date in the future VAT registered businesses will have to go digital. We are planning for this eventually by recommending to clients that they look at implementing a cloud based solution for their accounting records.
If you require any additional information obn how this might affect your business, do not hesitate to contact the team at Batten Hughes.