Ftax VAT Setup (for Businesses)

We are very grateful to our clients for their comments and suggestions, without which these guides would not be possible.
If you have a suggestion to improve this guide or its associated video, please email tracey@ftax.co.uk

Ftax VAT Setup for Businesses – Step by Step Instructions

This guide is intended for businesses and individuals who are completing the Ftax VAT PDF form. If you are an agent who wishes to set up the form to submit on behalf of a client, or an agent who intends to set up the form for a client to use, please see the video and guide Ftax VAT Setup for Agents.

This guide explains how to set the Ftax VAT form up. It is broken down into the following steps which show you how to:

1. Download the form and save it in a known location
2. Grant Authority to Ftax with HMRC
3. Open and save the form ready for use
4. Set the form up
5. Get help from the Ftax team if needed

1. Download the form and save it in a known location

Purchase a credit from the Ftax website and download the latest version of the form:

You should download the latest copy of the form every time you make a new submission to take advantage of the updates and improvements which the Ftax team are constantly making. You will not be charged for the new download and your data can be easily and securely transferred via the Ftax servers:

2. Grant Authority to Ftax with HMRC

The new MTD (Making Tax Digital) system requires users to grant authority to the software that they use to make submissions. You only need to do this once for each software supplier you use and the authority is valid for 18 months after your most recent use. To grant authority, go to the Ftax website and click the link shown below to be taken to the relevant page of the HMRC website:

Further information on Granting Authority can be found in the video and guide How to Grant Authority to Ftax for MTD. When authority has been granted to Ftax, this can be seen on the Account Home page of your Ftax account:

3. Open and save the form ready for use

Open the form with Adobe Reader:

If this is the first time you have used the form, a Special Notice will be displayed:

You must comply with this before you continue. Further details are available in the video Ftax Setup Checklist. You can look at the Special Notice at any time by clicking the question mark in the red ball on the front page of any Ftax form:

4. Set the form up

Work your way down through the buttons in the overview bar on the righthand side of the form. Begin by clicking the button on the top to log the form in to your Ftax account:

Click 'Select/Enter User' and choose either 'New Individual' or 'New Company' from the dropdown and enter the name and UTR. If you  have used the Ftax VAT form before, choose from the 'Existing Individual' or 'Existing Company' dropdowns.

Click 'Validate Credit' to allocate a credit to this UTR. If a credit has already been allocated, a popup will confirm this. If the UTR has not yet been entered into your Ftax account and has not been credited for that year, then you will be prompted to agree to allocate a credit:

If an Ftax VAT form with this UTR has been used before, then you will be prompted to click Import form data to import the existing VAT form data, either from this tax year or from the previous tax year. Otherwise, the box will be ticked for you and the focus move to the next button.

Finally, click 'Set VAT Form' and save the form in a known location:

5. Get help from the Ftax team if needed

The form is now ready to use. Additional help and information is available throughout the form as you complete it and can be accessed by moving the mouse or cursor over the field:

FAQs, videos and written guides which address most common queries can be found on the Ftax website:

We are very grateful to our clients for their comments and suggestions, without which these guides would not be possible.
If you have a suggestion to improve this guide or its associated video, please email tracey@ftax.co.uk