Fax (MTD) VAT

No.

This should not be an issue for agents who have one HMRC Account featuring many clients.

But an individual may only purchase one Ftax MTD package year within any Ftax Account. For example, if an individual has 2 VAT registered companies and a VAT registered self-employment, then they will need to purchase each within their own Ftax Account. Subsequent year forms may be purchased within the same Ftax Accounts.

In summary, only one HMRC User ID for an MTD account may be used within one Ftax Account.

Yes.

You can contact HMRC in relation to VAT in a range of ways listed on their website here.

In addition, HMRC have produced a range of guides and videos:

• Making Tax Digital for VAT as an agent: step by step – Follow these steps if you’re an agent and you want to submit VAT Returns for your clients digitally.
• Use software to submit your VAT Returns – A guide for businesses, outlining who can sign up to the MTD for VAT pilot and providing details of how to join.
• Agents: use software to submit VAT Returns – A guide for agents, outlining how agents and their clients can sign up for the MTD for VAT pilot and details of how to join.
• Stakeholder communications pack – dedicated resource for key stakeholders to obtain all the facts about MTD
• VAT notice 700/22
• MTD: How VAT  businesses and other VAT entities can get ready

Videos available on HMRC’s help and support page:

• How does Making Tax Digital for VAT affect you?
• Making Tax Digital for VAT – What is compatible software?
• Digital Record Keeping for VAT
• Creating an Agent Services Account

Both the Ftax VAT and the Ftax Cashbook packages enable the submission of VAT returns to HMRC in an MTD compliant manner.

The Ftax Cashbook is a low cost ‘online accounting’ solution, and as such enables the input of income and expense details. This data is then used to calculate VAT reports ready for submission to HMRC.

The Ftax VAT package allows you to use your own VAT calculations made on your own spreadsheets. A .csv file, which can be created using any spreadsheet package,  enables this data to be transferred to the Ftax VAT pdf form according with the principles of MTD. From there the VAT return is submitted to HMRC.

The Ftax VAT pdf form is in reality a cut-down version of the Ftax Cashbook pdf form, with the four cashbook pages disabled (Incomes, Expenses, Customers, and Suppliers).

Probably nothing. The overwhelming reason that people seem to get this error is that they have not quite followed HMRC’s sign-up procedure.

To sign up to MTD for VAT with HMRC, particularly as an agent, you must go through their sign-up procedure precisely. There are a number of different steps you need to undertake in the correct order and, sometimes, within the correct timescale.

HMRC have published a step by step guide for agents which can bee seen here and which they recommend all agents use when signing up to the service.

We have also produced a couple of FAQs on the subject:

• one for tax agents, and
• one for non-agents.

If you are getting this error, have a look at the above guides – they will almost certainly tell you what you need to do.

In most cases the reason is one of the following:

• The agent didn’t use their agent services account (ASA) credentials to link MTD VAT software
• The agent hasn’t signed up to the ASA
• The agent has signed up but has not linked their clients
• The agent has signed up and linked clients but the customer hasn’t subscribed to the Making Tax Digital service.

Yes. The Ftax VAT form will adapt its display depending on whether the imported HMRC VAT period dates are monthly or quarterly.

The VAT period details are imported from HMRC when the VAT Registration Number (VRN) is entered and whenever the VAT page is opened. The ‘Next’ and ‘Previous’ buttons on the VAT page can be used to scroll through the quarterly or monthly reports.

Each Ftax MTD VAT package includes all VAT submissions for the year, whether that consists of 4 quarterly submissions or 12 monthly submissions.

Yes, provided you first export the VAT report from Sage as a .csv file.

After setting up the Ftax VAT form (see video for details) go to the VAT page and click the red ‘Import VAT Report’ button. Select the ‘.csv’ option and browse to select the Sage VAT report .csv file. The data should be immediately imported and put into the correct format ready to submit to HMRC.

VAT reports from other accounting applications can also be imported into the Ftax VAT form provided they can be exported as a .csv file. You can also generate the .csv file using your own spreadsheets (see the FAQ ‘How do I export my VAT report from my spreadsheet as a .csv file?’).

If the VAT report .csv data fails to import, please send a sample via Ftax Support on the Ftax website. The Ftax team should be able to adjust the form such that the data can be imported successfully.

Exactly how this is done depends on the type of spreadsheet you are using. Examples are given below:

1. Create a new worksheet in your spreadsheet, e.g. by clicking the ‘+’ or the ‘new sheet’ icon to the right of the tab at the bottom of the most recent worksheet.

   

2. Link your 9 VAT report values to the new worksheet in a column. To do this, go to the new sheet, select the cell you wish to copy to, and type ’=’ in the Formula Bar above. Then go to the first sheet, select the VAT report value cell you want to link from, and press enter.
3. Export the new worksheet as a .csv file, e.g. by clicking File/Save as from the left of the menu bar, then ‘save as type’ before selecting CSV (Comma delimited) and saving as a file in a known location.

The VAT report can be laid out on the new worksheet with a header and data to the left of the 9 VAT values. But there must be no data to the right of any of the 9 values.

HMRC recently answered this question in the following manner:

Will customers receive penalties for not filing MTD returns or keeping digital records?

Not yet. The government has confirmed a light touch approach to penalties in the first year of implementation for MTD VAT. Where businesses are doing their best to comply, no filing or record keeping penalties will be issued. However, customers must continue to pay their VAT obligations on time, as late payment penalties will still apply.

MTD Developer Update: April 2019

Step 1: Visit https://www.tax.service.gov.uk/vat-through-software/sign-up/software-ready. Click ‘Yes’, (as all of the Ftax (MTD) VAT packages or the Ftax (MTD) Cashbook packages submit VAT through MTD), and then ‘Continue’.

Step 2 : Click ‘Sign up’, enter your Government Gateway credentials, and then click ‘Sign in’. Once signed up to use MTD you cannot return to the previous method to submit VAT. If your business is not yet eligible to join, a message will appear to advise this.

If your business pays by Direct Debit then you need to sign up at least 7 working days before you need to submit.

Step 3: Follow the on-screen prompts and provide any requested information, including your email address.

Step 4: When you receive a verification email, click the link to verify your email address. Read and accept the terms of participation. HMRC will then confirm if you can start submitting VAT Returns under MTD. This confirmation usually occurs within 24 hours.

You must wait for the confirmation email from HMRC before to attempt to use the MTD software.

If you do not recieve a confirmation email from HMRC After 72 hours, you should report this to HMRC.

Step 5: After purchasing an Ftax MTD VAT package you must authorise the Ftax service to submit VAT returns using MTD. This is done by first logging into your Ftax Account and selecting the ‘Click here to Authorise Ftax’ link. You should then be prompted to ‘Continue’, to log into to your HMRC account using your existing Government Gateway User ID and password, and to click a ‘Grant authority’ button.

No. There are several ways the Ftax MTD forms may be used:

1. You may advise your client to purchase the non-agent Ftax VAT or Ftax Cashbook package. These feature a single copy to be used solely by the client.
2. If you have purchased either an Ftax Agent VAT or an Ftax Agent Cashbook package then you may generate both the agent and client copies before securely transferring the latter to your client using the password provided. The two copies are designed to be ‘sync’ed when in use so that the agent and client view the same data. Either may complete the form or submit to HMRC. Typically, the client may enter the VAT data, (either directly into the Ftax Cashbook, or into their own spreadsheet before using the Ftax VAT Link to transfer the data to the Ftax VAT pdf form), under the supervision of the agent.
3. If you have purchased either an Ftax Agent VAT or an Ftax Agent Cashbook package then you may generate the agent copy only. You should do this if you plan to complete and submit the form on behalf of your client.
4. If you have purchased either an Ftax Agent VAT or an Ftax Agent Cashbook package then you may choose to only generate the client copy before securely transferring this form to your client using the password provided. The client would then be able to enter all VAT data and submit to HMRC themselves.

HMRC’s Step-by-Step guide to Making Tax Digital (MTD) sign up

Before you begin:

• Agents need to create an Agent services account, which provides the agent with the log in details required to access the VAT APIs. Agents will also need to use the link existing clients’ service, if they want to submit for a client who they have an existing relationship with in VAT.
• Businesses submitting their own VAT returns only need to complete steps 3 and 4. They can do this using existing Government Gateway (GG) ID if they have one OR they can set up a new one.
• Be prepared – once signed up to MTD returns MUST be submitted using MTD compatible software, don’t sign up unless you are ready.
• Where a business pays by Direct Debit and email address must be provided.
• Business that pay by Direct Debit have to sign up at least 15 working days before they need to submit.

Important: The role of the Business Tax Account (BTA)

• A business does not have to set up a BTA for an agent to link clients to the new ASA.
• A business does not have to set up a BTA to be signed up to MTD by an agent (the journey only requires them to validate an email address).
• A business does need to have a BTA set up to authorise a new agent relationship.
• Once a business is signed up to MTD, the BTA will be used to send them notifications to file and provide a view of their VAT returns, so whilst the journey itself does not require the business to sign up to BTA being in the service and interacting with HMRC digitally does.

Step 1 : Create agent services account (ASA)

• Before signing up to MTD you must first create an Agent Services Account (ASA). For guidance and to create an account go to: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/get-an-hmrc-agent-services-account
• You may already have an ASA if you’ve signed up for the Trust Registration Service (TRS), you do not need to create a new one for MTD.
• The ASA is currently only used for the TRS, MTD VAT and MTD Income Tax. The GG ID which is generated in this journey is the one you will use to access MTD services. You will still need your old GG IDs to access other HMRC online services.

Step 2: Copy existing agent/ client relationships

• Once the ASA is created, you can use the service to copy existing authorised SA and VAT relationships you already have with a business, by following the guidance to copy existing clients.
• The copy clients service is accessed from inside the ASA, once done you will see a ‘Client Relationships Copied’ message.
• This process requires you to input your existing GG IDs so that we can identify the relationship already exists.
• All the clients that exist under a specific GG ID are linked to the ASA (if you have multiple GG accounts you may need to repeat this step to link all of your clients).

Important: The client list cannot be viewed from within the ASA however you are now able to view the number of client relationship copied over from HMRC online services.

Step 3: Authorise MTD compatible software

• Before signing a client up to the pilot you must make sure you have compatible software, see: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/software-for-sending-income-tax-updates
• If using existing software you need to make sure your provider’s MTD capabilities have been enabled – contact your provider to discuss.
• You must delegate authority to the MTD compatible software (this applies to both new and existing software).

Important: Once signed up returns must be submitted using MTD compatible software. You cannot use the previous channel.

Step 4 : Sign business up to Making Tax Digital (MTD)

• Using the new GG ID generated at step 1, you can sign up clients by going to: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/agents-use-software-to-submit-vat-returns
• You will receive confirmation that the client’s information has been received. We will email you (usually within 24 hours, but can take up to 72 hours) confirming you can start using MTD software to submit the client’s return.
• You should tell your client you are now submitting returns through Making Tax Digital.
• Each client needs to be signed up individually or the client can sign themselves up.

Important: For an Agent, when connecting software to HMRC you must use your new ASA GG ID (provided at step 1). If you attempt to log in with another GG ID our systems will not be able to recognise the MTD relationship with your client so you will receive an error message and be unable to file the return.

For more information on Making Tax Digital go to GOV.UK and type ‘Making Tax Digital for VAT’ into the search bar

Transfer data using a .csv file. Details on how to do this are given in the FAQ ‘How do I export my VAT report from my spreadsheet as a .csv file?’.

There appears to be a problem with the latest versions of Acrobat Reader 2021.001.20135 and 2021.001.20138 which causes Ftax forms to run slowly at times, or not to respond.
If you install a previous version of Acrobat Reader, this problem will be overcome.

To install a previous version (Windows users):

First, uninstall your current version of Acrobat Reader.

1. Click the start menu and right click Acrobat Reader DC.

2. From the menu that pops up, select Uninstall to access the Programs and Features control panel.

3. Select Adobe Acrobat Reader DC from the list of programs and click Uninstall from the top to start the uninstall process.

4. Follow the windows prompts until the software uninstalls.

Second, Download and install a previous version of Acrobat Reader from Adobe.

1. Open a Windows Explorer/File Explorer window (press Win+E).

2. Click to select the Address bar.
If the Address bar isn’t visible in Windows XP, choose View > Address Bar

3. In the address bar type the address of Adobe’s software storage:

ftp://ftp.adobe.com/pub/adobe/reader/win/

for windows, or 

ftp://ftp.adobe.com/pub/adobe/reader/mac/

for mac, and press enter.

Note: This is a Windows Explorer/File Explorer window not a browser window.

4. You should be presented with a file structure of previous versions of Reader.

We have identified that the problem does not occur if you use AcrobatDC 2001320064.

If you wish to download and install this version, open the ReaderDC folder, then open the 2001320064 folder and copy the file AcroRdrDC2001320064_en_US.exe to your computer by dragging it onto your desktop (or other location). This is the english language version, other versions are available.

5. Once the file is downloaded onto your computer, double click the file to start the installation, and follow the Adobe prompts.

Don’t forget, you will need to follow the setup checklist again with your new software:

What should I check before using Ftax? (Ftax Setup Checklist)

If Acrobat Reader updates to the latest version and Adobe have not fixed this problem, you will need to follow this process again.

If you have any problems uninstalling Acrobat Reader, Adobe have produced a tool called AcroCleaner to help:
https://www.adobe.com/devnet-docs/acrobatetk/tools/Labs/cleaner.html

You can check the availability of HMRC’s Making Tax Digital VAT platform using the link below:

https://api-platform-status.production.tax.service.gov.uk/