UK Issues Making Tax Digital VAT Regulations

by Jason Gorringe, Tax-News.com, London

18 December 2017

The UK tax authority has released draft regulations and a draft explanatory memorandum to introduce changes to the UK VAT regime to require businesses with taxable turnover above the VAT registration threshold to keep and preserve digital records and provide VAT returns using compatible software from April 1, 2019.

The changes are necessary to implement the Government's proposed Making Tax Digital reforms.

On July 31, 2017, the Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General announced that Making Tax Digital for VAT will come into effect from April 1, 2019. From that date, businesses with a turnover above the VAT threshold (currently GBP85,000, or about USD112,500) will have to: keep their records digitally (for VAT purposes only), and provide their VAT return information to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) through Making Tax Digital (MTD) functional compatible software. MTD will be available on a voluntary basis to other businesses, for both VAT and income tax.

The second draft of Finance Bill 2017, published on September 8, 2017, included legislation allowing the introduction of Making Tax Digital for VAT. This primary legislation gave HMRC the powers to introduce these new regulations, which set out the detailed requirements that businesses will have to meet. They are The Value Added Tax (Amendment) Regulations 2018. It has also released a draft VAT notice on what Making Tax Digital for tax-registered persons will involve.

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