The VAT timeline from HM Revenue & Customs

The countdown is on In October this year the first VATregistered businesses in the UK began to use the system in a pilot scheme and private testing with partnerships and those customers who trade with the EU. The existing online VAT portal will close to some businesses from April and VAT returns must instead be submitted to HMRC using recognised MTD software. From this point businesses must record their VAT transactions and returns digitally using this type of software. For the rest of the UK’s VAT-registered businesses the time line is as follows Early 2019: Opens to other sole traders and companies who are not up to date with their VAT, users of the Flat Rate Scheme and businesses newly registered for VAT that have not previously submitted a VAT return. Spring 2019: Pilot open for Making Tax Digital customers that have been deferred. April 2019 Making Tax Digital becomes mandatory for all customers, except those that have been deferred. October 2019: Making Tax Digital mandatory for customers that have been deferred. The six-month deferral applies to

customers who fall into one of the following categories: trusts, ‘not for profit’ organisations that are not set up as a company, VAT divisions, VAT groups, those public sector entities required to provide additional information on their VAT return (Government departments, NHS Trusts), local authorities, public corporations, traders based overseas, those required to make payments on account and annual accounting scheme users. The deferral will apply to around 3.5 per cent of VAT registered operations.