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Making Tax Digital (MTD) Still Some Way Off

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Making Tax Digital (MTD) Still Some Way Off

Whilst HMRC are making positive noises about the progress of MTD, those businesses which pay VAT had to start submitting quarterly returns this year.  Of the one million businesses affected, nearly one quarter missed the August 7th deadline to submit their 1st return.

Recognising that implementation was not as easy as advisors had told them, HMRC has even gone as far as to waive fines altogether for those who missed the 7 August deadline, as long as the VAT return was filed on time using the old HMRC portal, in favour of supporting those businesses who are doing their best to make the transition.

Despite not levying fines, HMRC did confirm that those who had failed to meet the deadline would 'receive a letter telling them that they missed the deadline and asking them to take action" and that 'sanctions will remain possible in cases of deliberate non-compliance".

What does this mean for landlords?  The last published date for landlords to move onto the MTD scheme was April 2020 but unofficially, we have been hearing that this is not possible - simply because the relevant details of how it would all work would need to be published by now, if accountant and software companies were to be ready in time.  However, until it is officially changed, you do need to consider that sometime in the next year or two, you will need to submit quarterly returns.

Our advice is as follows:

  1. Wait until the date is clearly set and the details fully outlined
  2. In the interim, do not switch to any 'MTD-ready" solutions as we cannot tell what is MTD-ready until the details are confirmed
  3. Also, don"t change the way you do things just because of new tax requirements. If what you do today works well for you, you should look for a solution that allows you to carry on with maybe small changes rather than have to change your whole administration system

As always, we will keep members up to date via news items and on our MTD dedicated site,  landlordmtd.com

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About the author

Martin Silman

Martin began his landlord journey 30 years ago, while working in an international role for a global telecommunications company. Since retiring he has extended his portfolio, which he manages with his wife, but has always focussed on the ‘small student HMO’ sector preferring to offer homes in the community for small groups to the more common ‘pack them in and take the money’ mentality. He has chaired the PDPLA for the past 12 years and has overseen the Associations transition from small local self-help group to a much larger and more professional institution which is recognised and listened to nationally. Alongside his PDPLA role, he also has leadership roles in a number of other local organisations – bringing his unique perspective, driving for change and increased use of technology while respecting the history that brought us here.

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