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3 great reasons why you should join our MTD for ITSA pilot scheme

If you read our recent blog on Making Tax Digital for Income Tax and Self-Assessment, then you’ll know that changes to how you file your Self-Assessment returns come into effect from April 2024. From that point you will need to keep digital records of your business income and expenses and submit quarterly updates to HMRC.

We know 2024 seems a long way off, but as with most things in life, it will go by quickly and the last thing you want is to be unprepared for the changes. It’s why we are running our own pilot scheme for our clients.

Read on to find out more about our pilot and how it could benefit you and your business.

About our MTD for ITSA pilot

As a forward-thinking accountancy practice, we thought it would be beneficial to offer clients the chance to get involved in MTD for ITSA early by submitting data quarterly for this new tax year (2022/23). This gives our clients (and us!) a chance to get used to the new way of doing things.

This means we will be requesting information on a quarterly basis as follows:

  • Quarter to 30th June – information will be requested in July
  • Quarter to 30th September – information will be requested in October
  • Quarter to 31st December – information will be requested in January
  • Quarter to 31st March – information will be requested in April

Benefits of joining our pilot

Obviously, you don’t need to take part in our pilot scheme, but it does offer a number of clear benefits.

  1. Gives you time to find the right software
    Keeping digital records of your business income and expenses is a key part of MTD for ITSA and to do that you will need to use MTD compatible software.

    FreeAgent and Xero are both good solutions, but you may find, for whatever reason, you don’t get along with them. By taking part in our pilot, you can find the right software for you and familiarise yourself with how to use it effectively and efficiently.  And, of course, we will be on hand to provide whatever advice you need about choosing the right software for your needs.

  2. Gets you used to providing information quarterly
    Submitting returns quarterly rather than yearly is a big change and it’s going to take time to get used to doing it. And while leaving it until the last minute can be tempting, getting on top of it now, whilst it isn’t compulsory is definitely a sensible idea.

    HMRC have said there won’t be any late filing penalties for at least a year while the new system beds in, however, there will still be penalties for errors in returns and documents. So, we think it makes sense to learn the ropes now, so that by the time it is compulsory you will know exactly what you are doing.

  3. It won’t cost you anything to take part
    Taking part in our pilot scheme won’t cost you anything but will give you an insight into how the system works and how much time it’s going to take you.

    The only thing we ask is that you submit any information we ask for in a timely manner.

We know 2024 seems a long way away, but where the taxman is concerned it sometimes pays to be ahead of the game! So, if you are a current Chimes client and are interested in taking part in the pilot, please get in touch and we’ll be happy to work with you on these big changes. And if you know of anyone else who you think would benefit from taking part in our pilot, please ask them to contact us. 

MTD for ITSA pilot scheme

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