HMRC are not providing in-house software for Making Tax Digital for VAT. Instead, they are working with the software industry to bring products to market for all taxpayers, including those who have accessibility needs. Currently, there are only a handful of products which meet various accessibility needs according to HMRC’s software choices tool. Unavailability of suitable software products on the commercial market may constitute grounds for claiming a temporary exemption until such time as suitable software becomes available.

As part of Making Tax Digital, businesses registered for VAT with a taxable turnover above the VAT registration threshold of £85,000 must keep VAT records digitally and file their VAT returns using MTD compatible software.

HMRC are not providing in-house software for Making Tax Digital for VAT. Instead, they are working with the software industry to bring products to market for all taxpayers, including those who have accessibility needs. Currently, there are only a handful of products which meet various accessibility needs according to HMRC’s software choices tool. Unavailability of suitable software products on the commercial market may constitute grounds for claiming a temporary exemption until such time as suitable software becomes available.

As part of Making Tax Digital, businesses registered for VAT with a taxable turnover above the VAT registration threshold of £85,000 must keep VAT records digitally and file their VAT returns using MTD compatible software.

Head of Team at LITRG Victoria Todd said:

“While more accessible software providers have recently been added to the GOV.UK website, we are disappointed that there is not more software available to meet various accessibility needs now that Making Tax Digital for VAT is mandatory. We urge those with accessibility needs who cannot find software that enables them to comply to contact the HMRC VAT helpline as soon as possible to request a temporary exemption.

“HMRC continue to add software products to their software choices database as more come to market, including those which meet the necessary accessibility criteria. You will need to check HMRC’s software choices tool regularly to see whether any new software is available that may meet your requirements.”

In the meantime, LITRG says taxpayers affected by this should continue to file their VAT returns and pay any VAT due as they were doing before the introduction of the new rules.

The Making Tax Digital for VAT rules allow those who have difficulty using digital tools due to age, disability, location or any other reason to apply for an exemption from the requirements. Although the exemptions are set out in full in HMRC’s detailed technical guidance, they are not covered accurately on the main GOV.UK website pages and no link is provided from those pages to the technical guidance, says LITRG.

Victoria Todd said:

“It is crucial that taxpayers have easy access to guidance about these exemptions so they can understand whether one of the exemptions might apply to their situation. It is not helpful for the full detail of the exemptions to be hidden away in technical guidance that is difficult for people to find. This should corrected by HMRC as a priority.”

HMRC’s guidance can be found on GOV.UK.