Making Tax Digital, from Andrew Stant, Johnson Murkett & Hurst accountants

"Do you remember the newspaper headlines “The end of the Annual Tax Return?”" says Andrew Stant, Partner at accountancy firm Johnson Murkett & Hurst.

"The government proposal was to replace the annual tax return with compulsory electronic reporting under their “Making Tax Digital” programme or MTD. Although the former Chancellor suggested that this would make tax compliance easier for taxpayers, there were not many who agreed that this would be the case as MTD would require reporting rental income and expenses from property letting on a quarterly basis within the tax year, with a final confirmation to be made after the end of the year to include any adjustments and annual tax claims such as capital allowances. Many taxpayers struggle to find the time to complete one tax return each year with many still choosing to submit their return in paper form, so it is difficult to see how compulsory electronic filing of information on a quarterly basis is going to make life easier for landlords."

"The first phase of this was intended to start in April 2018 but the snap election led to the withdrawal of the proposal from the 2017 Finance Act much to the relief of all concerned. However, do not expect this reprieve to be permanent. The Government have invested significant sums in the MTD programme and it is almost certain that this is merely a postponement and it is likely to be revived in the very near future."

If you would like to find out more, please contact Andrew direct on 01530 412877.