Major overhaul to Making Tax Digital plans

Under UK government proposals, landlords with a turnover above £10,000 were going to be required to keep financial records digitally using specialist software and send HMRC quarterly updates on their tax affairs.

We are pleased to report that in response to concerns raised about the scope and pace of reforms, the government is making the following changes to the requirements:

• Only businesses with a turnover above the VAT threshold (currently £85,000) will need to keep digital records and only for VAT purposes
• They will only need to do so from April 2019
• Businesses will not be asked to keep digital records, or to update HMRC quarterly, for other taxes until at least April 2020.

These changes mean that for the time being most landlords are removed from the scope of the requirements. It is possible that the requirements will be extended to smaller businesses and landlords in the future, but this will not be until April 2020 at the earliest.