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Making Tax Digital

Making Tax Digital (MTD) is a fundamental change to the administration of the UK tax system. It affects how businesses and other organisations, agents and individuals maintain their accounting and tax records and how they transact and communicate with HMRC. MTD has two key elements, MTD for VAT and MTD for income tax self assessment (ITSA).

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Need to know

MTD: Overview

ICAEW's Tax Faculty outlines the key things businesses and agents need to know about Making Tax Digital, as well as a timeline for its phased introduction.
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MTD: What you need to know

The key information on MTD for VAT and MTD for ITSA, covering the rules, how to comply and ensuring your practice is prepared.

Exclusive MTD income tax self assessment
  • Helpsheets and support
  • 23 Nov 2021
Making Tax Digital (MTD) for income tax is mandatory from April 2024. ICAEW's Tax Faculty outlines how it is likely to work and the progress of the pilot.
Exclusive MTD and VAT
  • Helpsheets and support
  • 27 Aug 2020
The first stage of HMRC's Making Tax Digital (MTD) programme focuses on VAT and imposes new requirements keeping on some VAT registered businesses and organisations from April 2019.
Exclusive MTD for VAT penalties
  • Helpsheets and support
  • 20 Aug 2020
The introduction of Making Tax Digital for VAT has prompted discussion about the risk of penalties where introducing new processes breach of the regulations.
Exclusive Software for MTD
  • Helpsheets and support
  • 22 Sep 2020
ICAEW shares the latest information about the Making Tax Digital (MTD) software that taxpayers and agents will need to keep digital records and to submit information to HMRC.
Exclusive Signing up for MTD
  • Helpsheets and support
  • 22 Oct 2021
ICAEW's Tax Faculty provides step-by-step guides on how to sign up for MTD VAT for businesses and for tax agents.
Exclusive Preparing your practice for MTD
  • Helpsheets and support
  • 06 Dec 2018
Agents will need to take steps to prepare both their own practices and their clients for the disruption that Making Tax Digital and digitalisation will cause to the market for accounting and tax services.
Exclusive Engagement letters and privacy notices
  • Helpsheets and support
  • 07 Apr 2021
ICAEW has developed guidance for practice firms on what to include in engagement letters. This page provides a series of sample wordings to help you draft your own engagement letters.

Features and articles

 
MTD: additional VAT revenue raised following its launch
  • Article
  • 15 Mar 2022
HMRC publishes details of the estimated additional VAT raised on the back of the launch of Making Tax Digital. ICAEW’s Tax Faculty analyses the figures.
Exclusive New tax measures for 2022
  • Article
  • 28 Feb 2022
Angela Clegg outlines changes scheduled for April 2022 involving uncertain tax treatments, plastic packaging tax, residential property developer tax, MTD for VAT, trading licences, QAHCs, reliefs for the creative sector, tonnage tax, and national insurance.
MTD VAT: fully compatible or bridging software?
  • Article
  • 09 Feb 2022
Research commissioned by HMRC reveals that businesses choosing fully compatible software for Making Tax Digital for VAT are more likely to experience benefits.
Get ready for the MTD VAT extension
  • Article
  • 25 Jan 2022
Making Tax Digital for VAT extends to all VAT-registered traders from April 2022. ICAEW’s Tax Faculty highlights some points to consider, including the government’s newly launched Help to Grow: Digital scheme.
MTD ITSA: how to join the pilot
  • Article
  • 13 Dec 2021
Taxpayers can now sign up to the MTD ITSA pilot through their software provider only. The option to sign up directly from gov.uk has been removed pending publication of a pilot roadmap in early 2022.
MTD for ITSA: back to basics and myth-busting
  • Article
  • 08 Dec 2021
Making Tax Digital for income tax self assessment is scheduled to start in April 2024. ICAEW’s Tax Faculty answers questions from ICAEW members.
MTD: are you ready for the five-day conundrum?
  • Article
  • 23 Nov 2021
It looks unlikely that the government will heed recommendations for moving the end of the tax year to a calendar month-end date, instead adding options to quarterly reporting that require careful transition planning.
Tax news in brief
  • Article
  • 17 Nov 2021
Highlights from the broader tax news for the week ending 17 November, including: HMRC contacting taxpayers about the extension of MTD VAT from April 2022, designation of the first freeport tax sites and a warning about self assessment scams.

Webinar: MTD ITSA - back to basics

In this webinar, the Tax Faculty explains the regulations in detail and explain where we are with the development of the policy and the pilot, and what taxpayers and agents can do to prepare. 

  • Free
  • 30 November 2021
  • 11:00
Register to attend
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Recordings

Webinars, videos and podcasts from ICAEW on the MTD regime.

MTD ITSA: Your first 100 days plan
  • Webinar
  • 09 Mar 2022
With only around 500 working days before the start of MTD ITSA, this webinar will focus your attention and outline clear actions that need to be taken in the next 100 days.
Exclusive MTDtalk 2022
  • Webinar
  • 15 Feb 2022
In this series of webinars the ICAEW Tax Faculty (Anita Monteith and Caroline Miskin) and guests will provide the latest information and guidance on MTD ITSA, covering topics such as choosing software, the progress of HMRC’s pilot, the practicalities of signing up and answer questions from businesses and practitioners.
Big plans for the Small Practice – the future of accounting
  • Webinar
  • 15 Dec 2021
Sage are introducing new exciting and progressive ways to manage your clients, prepare for the next wave of MTD and benefit from the best technology, support, and expertise on offer.
MTD for ITSA - back to basics and myth busting
  • Webinar
  • 30 Nov 2021
This webinar recording from the Tax Faculty covers the regulations in detail explains where we are with the development of the policy and the pilot and what taxpayers and agents can do to prepare.
Exclusive MTD Phase 2 - Are you ready?
  • Webinar
  • 25 Aug 2021
In this February 2021 webinar we recap the MTD journey so far, outline HMRC's roadmap and timescales, and provide an overview of the legislation and what this means for your practice. In association with Sage and HMRC.
MTD Phase 2 - Are you ready?
  • Webinar
  • 11 Feb 2021
Everything you need to know to get ready for the MTD Phase 2 deadline, including what counts as a digital link.
MTD for Income Tax Self Assessment
  • Webinar
  • 11 Feb 2021
HMRC is expecting to lay the Making Tax Digital for Income Tax Self Assessment Regulations before Parliament in February 2021. This will give effect to the April 2023 start date for MTD for ITSA, as well as confirming many of the requirements (some of the detail will be in tertiary legislation which will follow later).
MTD for Corporation Tax
  • Webinar
  • 13 Jan 2021
On 12 November 2020, HMRC published the long-awaited consultation on Making Tax Digital for corporation tax (CT), confirming it's plans to extend MTD to companies. In this webinar ICAEW Tax Faculty explain HMRC's plans to roll out MTD for CT.

Bloomsbury Core Accounting and Tax Service

Eligible firms have free access to Bloomsbury Professional's comprehensive online library, comprising more than 60 titles from some of the country's leading tax and accounting subject matter experts. Find out who is eligible and how you can access the Core Accounting and Tax Service.

Exclusive Guide to taxpayers’ rights and HMRC powers
  • eBook
  • 2021
  • Robert Maas
Guide to the growing breadth of HMRC powers and the increasingly complex penalty regime for non-compliance.
Exclusive Tax returns
  • eBook chapter
  • 2021
  • Robert Maas
A chapter on taxpayers' rights and HMRC powers in relation to tax returns.
Exclusive Making tax digital tracker
  • eBook
  • 2021
  • Rebecca Cave, Jason Piper
The Tracker provides plain English guidance on the operation of MTD, with sections covering VAT, income tax, corporation tax and tax agents in relation to MTD. 
Terms of use

You are permitted to access, download, copy, or print out content from eBooks for your own research or study only, subject to the Acceptable usage terms.

HMRC guidance and other external resources

Some resources that we link to may pre-date the latest amendments to the relevant tax regulations. While these links contain useful information, please treat them with appropriate caution.

Making Tax Digital for VAT hub
  • Website
  • 22 Oct 2021
  • HMRC
Collection of practical guides for agents and businesses, including how to find compatible software and apply for an exemption.
Making Tax Digital for Income Tax hub
  • Website
  • 22 Oct 2021
  • HMRC
Collection of guides for agents and businesses on signing up and using MTD for income tax, including a list of compatible software available now.
VAT Notice 700/22: Making Tax Digital for VAT
  • Website
  • 07 May 2021
  • HMRC
Updated guidance on digital record keeping and returns. It explains the digital records that businesses must keep, ways to record transactions digitally in certain special circumstances, what counts as compatible software, and gives examples of when digital links are required.
Making Tax Digital for Corporation Tax consultation
  • Website
  • 11 Jan 2021
  • HMRC
HMRC consultation on how MTD could be implemented for corporation tax. The consultation period closed on 5 March 2021.
Case studies for Making Tax Digital
  • Website
  • 01 Dec 2020
  • HMRC
A series of short case studies from businesses in a range of industry sectors on how Making Tax Digital has worked for them.
Overview of Making Tax Digital
  • Website
  • 12 Nov 2020
  • HMRC
Policy paper explaining the foundations of MTD, with links to research reports and further guidance on MTD for VAT, income tax and corporation tax.
Finance Bill: Written statement - HCWS47
  • Website
  • 13 Jul 2017
  • UK Parliament
Statement made by Mel Stride, Financial Secretary to the Treasury, announcing policy changes to the timeframe and scope of Making Tax Digital rules.

Further support

Exclusive ICAEW Tax and VAT Helpline
ICAEW tax and VAT helpline is a subscription based service provided by Markel Tax (formerly Abbey Tax). It offers expert, practical advice on UK tax and VAT issues and trends.
Tax Faculty Find out more about the Tax Faculty and upcoming events. Faculty members can access exclusive content, including TAXline, TAXguides, webinars, representations and support schemes.
Exclusive TAXconnect Search for a consultant to help you with a specific technical tax problem. TAXconnect works on a telephone ‘hotline’ system, whereby consultants offer advice to fellow Tax Faculty members and Faculties Online subscribers on tax problems for a nominal fee.
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