Since April 2022, all VAT-registered businesses are inside Making Tax Digital for VAT, however small. Here is what that means in practice.

You need software

VAT Notice 700/22 sets the rule: digital record keeping and returns filed by software. You have two routes.

Full accounting software (Xero, QuickBooks, FreeAgent, Sage and the like) keeps your records and files the return from the same place. Bridging software is the cheaper option if you live in spreadsheets: you keep the spreadsheet, the bridging tool links it to HMRC and sends the figures. HMRC publishes a list of compatible products on GOV.UK.

Typing your figures into a webpage on HMRC’s site is no longer an option for VAT-registered businesses.

What the software files

Each VAT period you send nine boxes of totals: VAT charged on sales, VAT paid on purchases, net sales, net purchases and so on. The detail stays in your digital records; HMRC gets the summaries. Most businesses file quarterly, though monthly and annual schemes exist.

The deadline

One calendar month and 7 days after the end of the accounting period, for both the return and the payment. A quarter ending 30 June means everything done by 7 August. Payment must have reached HMRC’s account by that date, weekends and bank holidays included, so a direct debit or a slow bank transfer needs headroom.

Worked example. Your VAT quarters run January to March, April to June, and so on. Your filing and payment dates for the year are 7 May, 7 August, 7 November and 7 February.

If you miss it

Late VAT returns and payments attract penalties under HMRC’s points and surcharge system, and interest runs on late payment. The simplest protection is a direct debit, which collects automatically a few days after the deadline date.

If you registered voluntarily

The same rules apply. Voluntary registration means volunteering for the whole regime: digital records, software, quarterly deadlines.

Sources

All pages checked 20 October 2026.

• VAT Notice 700/22: Making Tax Digital for VAT: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/vat-notice-70022-making-tax-digital-for-vat/vat-notice-70022-making-tax-digital-for-vat
• Sending a VAT return: https://www.gov.uk/submit-vat-return
• How VAT works: https://www.gov.uk/how-vat-works

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