COVID-19: HMRC extends MTD ‘digital links’ deadline until 2021

30 March: Businesses participating in Making Tax Digital for VAT have until 1 April 2021 to meet the requirement to have ‘digital links’ within their recordkeeping in light of the coronavirus pandemic.

To ease the burden on businesses during the COVID-19 crisis, HMRC has confirmed that it is allowing more time for participants in MTD for VAT to implement digital links within their recordkeeping systems.

Under MTD for VAT the required digital records can be held within more than one piece of software or spreadsheet, however, there must be a digital link between them; the data cannot be transferred manually between software products.

Participants were given a year from the launch of MTD to have these digital links in place, giving organisations until 1 April or 1 October 2020, depending on their original MTD start date.

HMRC has confirmed that all businesses now have until their first VAT return period starting on or after 1 April 2021 to put digital links in place.

• Further information on the requirement for digital links can be found in the ICAEW guide to MTD for VAT.