Earlier in 2022, the number of taxpayers eligible for the current Making Tax Digital pilot was expanded. HMRC is now actively encouraging accountants and tax advisors to refer their clients to the service. What does it mean if your advisor recommends you for the pilot?

Making Tax Digital for Income Tax Self-Assessment will start to be rolled out to some businesses in 2024. Ahead of this, HMRC is running a pilot to ensure that the new system gets a thorough testing before becoming mandatory. However, take up has reportedly been poor. In its latest Agent Update, HMRC encourages authorised representatives, including accountants and tax advisors, to recommend clients for the pilot scheme. If you are approached by your advisor, what should you keep in mind? While you’re not obliged to join the pilot, there are some advantages to doing so. It gives you the chance to get used to the system in the testing period, meaning there will be no penalties for getting things wrong. It’s also an opportunity to help provide feedback on how things can be improved.

HMRC also confirms that the pilot will be further expanded later in 2022 to include taxpayers who need to report the following:

  • Construction industry scheme deductions
  • Private pension contributions relief claims
  • Student loan repayments
  • Additional information (SA101)
  • Foreign income
  • Voluntary Class 2 NI contributions
  • Recipients of transferable marriage allowance
  • Capital gains tax reporting

This article has been reproduced by kind permission of Indicator – FL Memo Ltd. For details of their tax-saving products please visit www.indicator-flm.co.uk or call 01233 653500.