- Original Poster
- #1
Can see this becoming one almighty mess come April 24 target date for sole traders
Spreadsheets and bridging software
Many small businesses use spreadsheets to keep their accounting records. What will these businesses have to do in order to prepare for MTD ITSA?HMRC reassured accountants that taxpayers can continue to use spreadsheets for their record keeping but they will need to ensure that the spreadsheets are digitally linked to their MTD-compatible software. HMRC clarified the meaning of digital linking as: “Once data has been entered into the spreadsheet, any further transfer, recapture or modification of that data must be done digitally.”
Further guidance on digital record keeping for MTD ITSA and on digital links will be set out in HMRC notices in the coming months.
We asked HMRC if it knows of any software producers who will supply bridging software to link to spreadsheets and submit the MTD ITSA quarterly reports.
HMRC replied: “We are aware of some developers who are interested in developing software that works with spreadsheet record-keeping programs. HMRC believes the best customer experience is gained where a customer uses fully integrated software that does both record-keeping and submissions, but we expect the software market to offer a variety of solutions to meet the different needs and expectations of MTD ITSA customers.”
Tax agents may use more sophisticated tax software than their clients, so will it be permissible for the quarter updates to be filed with one brand of software and the final declaration to be made with another software package?
HMRC confirmed: “It is acceptable to use one piece of software for submitting quarterly updates and separate software to make the final declaration and self-assessment.”
