Making Tax Digital
This section includes
MTD for Vat
MTD for Self-Assessment
MTD for Business
Tax and Practice Management software which has MTD pre-population data live in our Solution Centre.
MTD for VAT
BTCSoftware has developed our MTD Solution to enable accountants and finance professionals to submit their MTD for VAT returns quickly and effortlessly. In developing the solution we are working closely with HMRC’s Digital team and are part of their private BETA programme MTD for VAT.
Here are all the user-friendly and time-saving features BTCSoftware’s MTD Solution brings:
- BTCSoftware’s MTD Solution enables agents to validate and submit the VAT data in an MTD-compliant format to HMRC at the touch of a button.
- The software provides a window view of the client’s MTD VAT payments and refund history – agents can gather historic MTD VAT return data from HMRC and view it. This helps them to see what has been submitted historically, particularly if they have only recently started acting for the client.
- Spreadsheet friendly – the software enables Accountants to keep their VAT data in their existing and even multiple spreadsheets – irrespective of how those are set up and what spreadsheet software they use.
- BTCSoftware’s MTD Solution draws the data in digitally from the spreadsheet into an MTD for VAT friendly format for submission to HMRC.
- It also provides a quick online agent-client authorisation process with HMRC replacing (for MTD VAT only) the old 64-8 forms.
- The software integrates with VT Software.
- The software will integrate via APIs with Xero, Quickbooks, FreeAgent and Reckon One. We are currently working with those bookkeeping software providers to achieve this.
- It will accept CSV imports from other bookkeeping packages and we are currently working with those providers to bring this about.
Our MTD for VAT software solution was showcased at Accountex 2018 this year (way before the Making Tax Digital VAT mandation in April 2019). Take a look at this short video tour of it in action
BTCSoftware’s MTD Solution – MTD for VAT made easy
BTCSoftware’s MTD Solution is cloud-based and can be purchased as a standalone product for £250 (+VAT) for an annual licence. It also integrates with BTCSoftware’s Solution Suite Cloud.
Taking just a matter of minutes to set up, it comes with unlimited free support from our friendly UK-based team. BTCSoftware’s MTD Solution- BTCHub is available to buy now. You can now book a demo or pre-order by contacting the sales team at sales@btcsoftware.co.uk or t 0345 241 5030.
Find out ‘What is MTD VAT’ on the Gov.uk website
BTCSoftware is proud to be a very active member of the software developer community
HMRC consults as they test new functionality in Making Tax Digital (MTD)’s creation. And as these new developments are finalised, we incorporate them into our software to coincide with them becoming live at HMRC. We also have practitioners already working with the pre-population data being fed into our solutions from HMRC’s MTD pilot.
Self-Assessment Pre-Population live data
MTD for Self-Assessment
BTCSoftware was one of the first companies to implement Making Tax Digital (MTD)-friendly features in our products. It began with our Self-assessment API (application programme interface) that enabled our users to pre-populate individual tax returns with data already held by HMRC in Digital Tax Accounts. We successfully pioneered the development and testing of this with HMRC’s Digital team. This time-saving functionally has been live in our software since 24/04/2017 and has proven invaluable to our customers when cross-checking data. Further APIs which are now live and actively integrate with HMRC’s portal are listed above.
MTD for Business
MTD for Business has been the more controversial aspect of the Government’s Making Tax Digital plans. Petitions from across accounting, tax and business professional bodies and trade groups led to the Government delaying its introduction. See this article for more information.
Currently, MTD for Business isn’t due to be mandatory until at least 2020. We remain to monitor its development, but it would appear to have been sidelined for now as MTD for VAT is brought about. The Government’s publication Next steps on the Finance Bill and Making Tax Digital is the latest update we have seen so far.
Making Tax Digital (MTD) – BTCSoftware’s view
We firmly believe that the current self-assessment form for certain people and businesses will be replaced with the Digital Tax Record (DTR). This is in essence what Making Tax Digital represents. At its heart is the ability to populate fields within the DTR by different feeds from third parties such as employers, Banks, Trading Bodies etc.
Whilst we do not agree with the way in which HMRC has gone about this, we also know they have committed a sizeable investment and infrastructure to the project. We had advised them of a far simpler way to achieve a DTR system – all they needed to do was digitise the current self-assessment return forms and then allow those to be populated. This advice, however, sadly fell on deaf ears.
Saying that the BTCSoftware team recognise that businesses will turn to accounting, tax and finance professionals to help them comply with whatever shape, form and requirements MTD for Business takes.
Keen to support and make those professionals’ lives easier, and their work more effective, we will continue to monitor HMRC’s development of Making Tax Digital. We will continue to work closely with their Digital Team to help them create and test their necessary technology.
Once HMRC has finalised their tests, we will integrate the resulting technology to work seamlessly in our software.
