Making tax digital

[eps]

Mr Pointy said:

BlimeyCharlie said:

Reading through the recent replies I don't think Zoho Books is compatible with Mac. Possibly.
I couldn't enter boxes 6 or 7 for example, but the whole thing was massively chaotic. Maybe it is like that anyway.

So I'll attempt to do this the old way, just to be safe, but if anyone has any recommendations for a Mac user then please say. I hadn't thought to check Mac compatibility, which given we are in 2022 seems a bit weird.

Thanks!

Have a look at VitalTax as it's recommended quite often:
https://vitaltax.uk/#landing

It claims to work with Excel for Mac:
"VitalTax supports Microsoft Excel 2013 and later versions for Windows, Excel 2016 and later versions for Mac, Office 365, Office Online and Excel for the iPad. So whatever platform your business uses, VitalTax is here to help"

I use it on a MacBook with Excel

[Smiler.]

Anyone else got the "HMRC error = 500 Internal Server Error" when attempting an online return submission?

Tried phoning them, navigated numerous menus & listened to loops hold music, then the message: “sorry, we are too busy to deal with your call right now, goodbye”.

They really are spectacularly ste.

[snuffy]

Smiler. said:

Anyone else got the "HMRC error = 500 Internal Server Error" when attempting an online return submission?

Tried phoning them, navigated numerous menus & listened to loops hold music, then the message: “sorry, we are too busy to deal with your call right now, goodbye”.

They really are spectacularly ste.

I did mine on Tuesday and it worked fine. I actually forgotten about it until I saw this thread again, because the lazy stehawks can't even be arsed to send you a reminder by via email anymore (which oddly, before MTD, they could manage).

[akirk]

snuffy said:

I did mine on Tuesday and it worked fine. I actually forgotten about it until I saw this thread again, because the lazy stehawks can't even be arsed to send you a reminder by via email anymore (which oddly, before MTD, they could manage).

Why would you need an email acknowledgement?
MTD process includes a confirmation / success code back to the software…
100% reliable, where email is very unreliable
makes no sense any longer to send an email

[Ham_and_Jam]

snuffy said:

I did mine on Tuesday and it worked fine. I actually forgotten about it until I saw this thread again, because the lazy stehawks can't even be arsed to send you a reminder by via email anymore (which oddly, before MTD, they could manage).

Just set a recurring reminder on your phone.

[snuffy]

akirk said:

snuffy said:

I did mine on Tuesday and it worked fine. I actually forgotten about it until I saw this thread again, because the lazy stehawks can't even be arsed to send you a reminder by via email anymore (which oddly, before MTD, they could manage).

Why would you need an email acknowledgement?
MTD process includes a confirmation / success code back to the software…
100% reliable, where email is very unreliable
makes no sense any longer to send an email

Who said anything about an email acknowledgement? I certainly didn't.

[akirk]

snuffy said:

akirk said:

snuffy said:

I did mine on Tuesday and it worked fine. I actually forgotten about it until I saw this thread again, because the lazy stehawks can't even be arsed to send you a reminder by via email anymore (which oddly, before MTD, they could manage).

Why would you need an email acknowledgement?
MTD process includes a confirmation / success code back to the software…
100% reliable, where email is very unreliable
makes no sense any longer to send an email

Who said anything about an email acknowledgement? I certainly didn't.

Apologies - misreading!

[snuffy]

akirk said:

Apologies - misreading!

I did wonder if you'd read "receipt" for "reminder".

I've noted the idea of setting something on my phone above, good idea.

It's just pisses me off that I still use the same software, but instead of typing the VAT numbers it gives me into a webpage, I know have to type those same numbers into one spreadsheet, then link those cells to another spreadsheet, because, somehow, in HRMC's head, that makes it better.

Oh, and I have to now pay for the privilege of doing that, and I'm still an unpaid tax collector as well.

[Ham_and_Jam]

snuffy said:

I did wonder if you'd read "receipt" for "reminder".

I've noted the idea of setting something on my phone above, good idea.

It's just pisses me off that I still use the same software, but instead of typing the VAT numbers it gives me into a webpage, I know have to type those same numbers into one spreadsheet, then link those cells to another spreadsheet, because, somehow, in HRMC's head, that makes it better.

Oh, and I have to now pay for the privilege of doing that, and I'm still an unpaid tax collector as well.

Can you not just export the numbers from your existing software into a spreadsheet?

[LeighW]

Some excellent news regarding the proposed extension of MTD to income tax. The original plan to mandate from April 24 for all self-employed and landlords with over £10k income has been put back and amended.

Now the measures will only affect those with income above £50k from April 26, and with £30k from April 27. It has been scrapped for partnerships for the forseable.

Full announcement here:

https://questions-statements.parliament.uk/written...

[Eric Mc]

I'll be recommending all my self employed clients to form partnerships if at all possible.

[Steamer]

Eric Mc said:

I'll be recommending all my self employed clients to form partnerships if at all possible.

Sill question (possibly two)...

If you are a Sole Trader - can you still form a partnership?

Also - if they have pushed it right back to 2027 - is that a sign it just isn't feasible / workable for them to achieve what they want from a blanket enforcement of 'MTD Tax'?

[Eric Mc]

Steamer said:

Sill question (possibly two)...

If you are a Sole Trader - can you still form a partnership?

Also - if they have pushed it right back to 2027 - is that a sign it just isn't feasible / workable for them to achieve what they want from a blanket enforcement of 'MTD Tax'?

Yes to both questions.

It's not unusual for sole traders to take on partners. Partnerships were once very, very common. Over the past 30 years or so they faded in popularity with the rise of the "one (or two) man band" limited company. However, limited companies are no longer as attractive as they once were so I see an explosion in small partnerships - especially as April 2026 nears.

This is now the 4th date we have had regarding the implementation of MTD ITSA (Income Tax Self Assessment). It was originally scheduled for 6 April 2018, then 6 April 2023, then 6 April 2024 and now 6 April 2026 - and then in a rather random and illogical mannerr based on some arbitrary income thresholds.

And of course, there are hundreds of questions arising from today's statement.
For example, the £50,000 threshold announced - is it Sales or Profits?
If a person is both a landlord and a sole trader (not an unusual situation), is the £50,000 based on a combination of their business income and their rental income? I expect it is.


Of course the whole project is unfeasible. It always was. I still think it will be unworkable in 2027.

[Steamer]

Ham_and_Jam said:

snuffy said:

I did wonder if you'd read "receipt" for "reminder".

I've noted the idea of setting something on my phone above, good idea.

It's just pisses me off that I still use the same software, but instead of typing the VAT numbers it gives me into a webpage, I know have to type those same numbers into one spreadsheet, then link those cells to another spreadsheet, because, somehow, in HRMC's head, that makes it better.

Oh, and I have to now pay for the privilege of doing that, and I'm still an unpaid tax collector as well.

Can you not just export the numbers from your existing software into a spreadsheet?

We've got a few threads on this topic - just realised I'm in two.

I would not pay (out of principle) as per Snuffy's comment - but I found: https://www.mtdsorted.co.uk

Its off the list that HMRC recommend.

All web based - no cost for basic VAT submissions / bridging - very simple.

In practice all you need is you 9 box figures in an excel spreadsheet - upload and link to those in the right order...

...however - I've been told this is not being 'compliant'. They should be linked to your WHOLE spread sheet - but when I tried that with some of the other software templates it wouldnt work. So far MTDsorted is the only one / quickest.

There is no way I was forking out for 'quickbooks' to do the simple job I've been doing myself for years.. and no, I don't need any of the other functions it offers either.

Quite how this has been any benefit to HMRC is beyond me.

[Eric Mc]

VAT MTD and ITSA MTD are two VERY different animals. They really should be discussed in separate threads.

[Steamer]

Eric Mc said:

VAT MTD and ITSA MTD are two VERY different animals. They really should be discussed in separate threads.

Arr yes - that might be me straying into ITSA MTD. Although I've just noticed I'm in two different threads that are just VAT based too.

[Ham_and_Jam]

Eric Mc said:

I'll be recommending all my self employed clients to form partnerships if at all possible.

Ooh that’s good news. My business is a partnership.

[Eric Mc]

HMRC can't work out how to handle partnerships under MTD ITSA. That's why they have given up on them.

Under Self Assessment, a trading partnership submits its own partnership tax returns and the individual partners involved submit their own personal tax returns which show their share of the partnership income - along with any other income they may have from other sources.

Under MTD ITSA, there would ne a requirement for the partnership to submit four quarterly updates.

Their SHOULD be a requirement for each partner to submit their own quarterly submissions but ONLY for their share of partnership profits. There other income would be outside the scope of the MTD ITSA rules.

There are also really difficult issues regarding appointing agents to cover all these separate submissions which HMRC could not resolve.

Edited by Eric Mc on Monday 19th December 17:41

[akirk]

Eric Mc said:

For example, the £50,000 threshold announced - is it Sales or Profits?

If I were to guess, would this possibly tie in with the new corporation tax boundaries...
where sub-£50k profits = remaining at 19%

would make sense to be targetting the same companies

[Eric Mc]

akirk said:

Eric Mc said:

For example, the £50,000 threshold announced - is it Sales or Profits?

If I were to guess, would this possibly tie in with the new corporation tax boundaries...
where sub-£50k profits = remaining at 19%

would make sense to be targetting the same companies

I'm pretty sure it's a turnover threshold - so nothing to do with profits. You could be making losses and still have to comply with MTS ITSA (which actually makes sense as booking your losses with HMRC is pretty crucial). Indeed, HMRC has not really been very clear about how annual claims for loss reliefs, capital allowances etc are to be managed under MTD ITSA.

The one thing I know for sure is that you cannot make loss relief claims on a quarterly basis. The same goes for Capital Allowance claims. The legislation just doesn't allow them to be made quarterly. So the data you are submitting regularly to HMRC every quarter is, in many cases, singularly useless in them in having any idea at all as to what your final tax position is going to be at the end of the tax year.

At the moment, there is no timetable at all for bringing limited companies into the MTD system. However, it's stated as a long term goal.