Government publishes Making Tax Digital for VAT legislation

07 Mar 2018

The government has published the Value Added Tax (Amendment) Regulations 2018, which outline the requirements for Making Tax Digital for VAT.

The new regulations are set to take effect from 1 April 2019, and will apply to VAT-registered businesses with a taxable turnover above the VAT registration threshold (currently £85,000).

The new Making Tax Digital (MTD) regime will ultimately move taxpayers to a fully digital system, which will require businesses and individuals to register, file, pay and update their information via a secure online tax account.

However, keeping digital records and making quarterly updates will not be compulsory for taxes other than VAT before April 2020.

HMRC is live piloting MTD for VAT from April 2018 and a number of UK businesses have been invited to participate in the pilot scheme. Participating businesses will be able to submit VAT returns using the new digital system, and will have the opportunity to influence how the system looks and feels.

HMRC plans to widen the pilot over the coming months.