1.1 million businesses yet to register for MTD

Nearly 1.1 million businesses have yet to register for Making Tax Digital (MTD), according to the results of a Freedom of Information (FOI) request sent to HMRC by cash flow service Float.

Additionally, the data suggests that only 2% of accounting firms have registered any clients for Making Tax Digital, from an estimated 72,000 tax ‘agents’ nationwide.

Float said that many businesses are “still unaware of MTD or are uncertain of what action needs to be taken to become compliant”. The company added that the MTD registration process is “confusing” and that HMRC have “much more to do to alert businesses to the change in the law”.

Key FOI findings include:

• Only 55,250 businesses have registered for MTD to date (which comes into force on the 1 of April 2019)
• HMRC says there are 1.2m businesses in the UK who will be mandated to join MTD
• Of this figure, only 13,427 businesses were signed-up by ‘agents’, meaning the majority of businesses who registered for MTD did so independently.

Colin Hewitt, Float CEO and co-founder, said: “The Making Tax Digital deadline is fast approaching, and the vast majority of businesses are still unaware of what is required of them.While many businesses will have heard of MTD, they are busy running their businesses, and often rely on their accountants to communicate what they need to do.

“Sadly many accountancy firms are still very much reactive rather than proactive, and won’t have done more than sending a few emails which will probably be sitting buried in inboxes across the country.”