Just occasionally, the Government listens! After months of ever-increasing urgent calls from professional bodies, HMRC’s own advisory board, tax software suppliers as well as accountants, the Treasury has finally made the expected decision to delay the next phase of MTD.
Instead of commencing in April 2024, the timetable has now been pushed back by two years.
In addition, there will be a higher income threshold, potentially exempting many landlords from what was considered to be an additional onerous burden, as well as a phased introduction. And partnerships will not, for now, need to comply with the requirements of MTD.
Financial Secretary to the Treasury, Victoria Atkins, stated “The government understands businesses and self-employed individuals are currently facing a challenging economic environment, and that the transition to MTD for ITSA represents a significant change for taxpayers, their agents, and for HMRC. That means it is right to take the time needed to work together to maximise those benefits of MTD for small business by implementing gradually.
The government is therefore announcing more time to prepare, so that all businesses, self-employed individuals, and landlords within the scope of MTD for Income Tax, but particularly those with the smallest incomes, can adapt to the new ways of working.”
Perhaps just to add emphasis to the MTD ITSA chaos, there was an initial release shortly after 9am on Wednesday 14 December in a gov.uk post announcement that was then quickly taken down, such that the final formal statement was not a complete surprise.
It’s not often an early festive present comes from HMRC, so for now no need to focus on MTD for a couple of years. Enjoy!
You can read the gov.uk announcement HERE.
