How to delay the start of digital reporting

Changing your accounting date can delay the start of digital reporting

The legislation in the latest Finance Bill specifies that Making Tax Digital (MTD) will apply to accounting periods commencing on or after 6 April 2018.

This means that if you currently prepare accounts to 30 April then the first quarterly update to be submitted to HMRC will be for the period to 31 July 2018.

A possible way for businesses to delay the start of MTD would therefore be to change their year-end date. For example by changing the accounting date of a business to 31 March the first quarterly update would be for the period to 30 June 2019.

Update – 26th April 2017 – Please note that in view of the impending election in June the measures to introduce MTD have been dropped from the Finance Bill 2017.  It is expected that most, if not all, of the measures will be reintroduced in a Bill after the election, regardless of which party wins.

Contact us to discuss the full tax implications of such an action.