Low awareness is coupled with scepticism as one in four self employed and sole traders do not see any benefit from Making Tax Digital (MTD) for Income Tax, saying it will only help HMRC and raise their costs, latest survey finds
Six weeks before the start of MTD quarterly reporting for £50,000 qualifying income taxpayers, awareness levels across certain segments remain worryingly low with a staggering 46% of sole traders saying they ‘know very little’ about MTD, raising questions about the effectiveness of HMRC promotions and communications.
Scepticism about the advantages of MTD quarterly reporting is rife among sole traders with 26% saying they ‘see no benefits from MTD’. But accountants could benefit from the rollout with 77% of respondents saying they would be ‘likely to seek help from advisors’.
Landlords are more likely than sole traders to see the benefits, citing better financial forecasting and data analysis, with nearly half (44%) of landlords saying this will be a plus, but only 14% of sole traders thought the same, found a survey of £50,000 wave one taxpayers by Wolters Kluwer Tax & Accounting.
