Initiated in 2019 for businesses above the £85,000 VAT threshold, the government’s Making Tax Digital for Business initiative will soon start to affect more businesses and individuals across the nation, completely overhauling the way that tax is currently paid.
Initially introduced by George Osborne in 2015 as a way to reduce the tax administration burden on individuals and businesses, the Making Tax Digital regime will require all businesses to report their tax online on a quarterly basis.
From April 2019, VAT registered businesses (including self-employed and landlords) with a vatable turnover above the VAT threshold (currently £85,000) were told to:
The government widened the scope of Making Tax Digital to include VAT registered companies below the threshold to ensure all VAT registered businesses take steps to a modern, digital tax service from April 2022.
Businesses and individual taxpayers will have to register with HMRC to use the new system. They will then have access to pre-populated information and can make submissions or updates at any time.
A cloud accounting package can help you to make a seamless transition to the new regime, but isn’t just useful for the new tax regime. While cloud packages allow you to make accurate submissions, they also offer real-time information about your accounts, so that you know exactly where you stand at any time.
If you’d like to transition to a cloud-based system, we can talk you through the options. We are proud to be a Xero gold partner and support Sage Business Cloud. These are our preferred software packages, but we will support others such as Quickbooks and Sage 50c if that is your preference. We set the system up for you and provide full training so you can make the most of the information at your fingertips.
We are working with our clients to ensure that an efficient structure and plan, taking advantage of the benefits of the technology, is put in place ready for the start of the legislation, and we are keeping them up to date with all of the latest information. Our recommendation would be to consider making the change at the earliest point in order that you can understand, utilise and report accurately from your chosen system prior to the required start date. We would also recommend considering what information you require reporting on to help achieve your goals in order that the chosen system can be set up in the correct manner.
If you are concerned about Making Tax Digital or would like to make the transition to a cloud-based package ahead of its introduction, please contact us by calling 01242 776000 or by completing the contact form below.
James Geary has assisted me with planning a number of corporate restructures both for my business and for a few of my clients. He has the ability to consider the goals of all concerned to come up with a solution which not only works for everyone, but maintains tax efficiency and has always managed to secure the necessary advance clearance from HMRC without any hiccups. Very responsive and thoroughly recommended.
The team helped select case studies to best illustrate the research and development elements of what we do and assisted at every stage of making a submission. I can’t recommend them enough.
I’d like to say a big thank you to Shaun Pegler and the team at Randall & Payne for always being there and for the invaluable support they give to me and the Applied Change team. They regularly go above and beyond and recently have delivered quickest turn round in year-end accounts so far, including an R&D tax credit. In my case, they haven’t just talked about clients’ success they have actually delivered it, time and time again and in all areas of finance, from tax to payroll to year-end and now book-keeping too. Thank you all and looking forward to continuing to raise the bar together!
We instructed James Geary at Randall & Payne to redistribute some shares for our small business after finding him through one of his blog posts. Not only did he advise us on what we needed in a clear and simple way, he answered all our questions quickly and in a friendly, non-condescending way. The price was very reasonable for the service we received. James went above and beyond, and even liaised with our accountant on our behalf. We would recommend Randall & Payne, and especially James for his knowledge and professionalism, and the ease of working with them.
Randall & Payne have been our accountants, auditors and financial advisors for well over 25 years and continue to be a trusted partner. They act quickly and efficiently, covering all aspects of the fiscal side of our business, including administering our payroll, looking after our tax affairs, year-end accounting and financial planning. As we look to the future, we are happy in the knowledge that Randall & Payne will be working with us to face the challenges ahead.
I wasn’t aware of R&D before engaging with the firm and they guided me through the process brilliantly, extracting the right information and presenting it in a way that was successful. Nothing was too much trouble, even jumping on a screen share with my current Accountant to do things I don’t need to understand! Was delighted with the service as well as the lovely refund we received, and will happily (and frequently do!) recommend them to anyone!
I have been a client of Randall & Payne’s for many years now, both for personal and company accounting services, and I cannot fault them. The firm is excellent across the spectrum, from business leadership coaching and financial planning to practical tax advice. I feel I know the advisers personally now and am always met with the same level of professionalism and friendliness. Even when I feel I may be asking very ‘simple’ questions, they still make me feel valued.
Officeworx Ltd have been using the services of Randall & Payne for 25 years. In this time, they have supported us with everything from our standard year-end accountancy through to business advice, consultancy, acquisitions and mergers. They have experts for every requirement and offer a wide range of services. With the team at Randall & Payne behind us, we can get on with doing what we do best – running our business.
The Partners and team at Randall & Payne simply gave us what we needed to turn our plans into reality. We are excited about the future and are already working with them on the next three-year plan.
