You will probably have heard that HMRC have issued plans to require businesses (including sole traders and rental income businesses) to file quarterly information instead of annually, as is the case currently.  As a result, how businesses and individuals in receipt of rental income interact with HMRC is changing.

Keeping your financial records will become increasingly digital and most businesses, the self-employed and landlords will need to use software or apps to keep business records – the days of manual record keeping will be over. There are exemptions, but most businesses will need to start planning for Making Tax Digital (MTD).

For businesses and landlords with an annual turnover (not profit) in excess of £85,000 the start date for filing quarterly returns of their trading results was to be April 2018. However, following expressions of concern from businesses, the accounting profession and the accountancy software developers, the start date has been deferred to April 2019 – and will only be in respect of quarterly VAT returns as opposed to the originally planned purpose of filing all tax returns on a quarterly basis.

In respect of quarterly returns of trading results, the start date for all businesses has been put back to at least 2020. However, the change will still come and will be far reaching. Preparing for MTD will require a move from keeping manual records to finding suitable software or deciding if you would like Walsh and Co to help and manage your accounts digitally on your behalf.

We have experience of using cloud based software – we use it ourselves.  If you would like a demo of the software we use so you can decide whether it will be suitable for your business then please do not hesitate to contact us.

Alternatively if you would like more information with regards to Making Tax Digital please get in touch with us by phone: 01964 614234 or email: info@walshand.co.uk