Kirsty Mckenzie
OVER the next two years, UK landlords face the biggest change in tax returns in a generation.
From April 6, 2023, landlords and self-employed people will need to complete four quarterly updates and one annual self-assessment return, submitting all information via HMRC-integrated software.
Part of new digital tax regulations (known as Making Tax Digital, or MTD), the process will replace the current self-assessment tax return and should, in turn, make tax simpler, easier and more transparent.
However, during the first year of MTD, whether in 2023, or voluntarily before then, you’ll need to manage both processes at the same time.
The good news is that this is a once-only transition and with good software it should be simple.
And, even better, once embedded in the MTD system you’ll be able to see your tax liability estimate in real-time so you can save what you need to pay your tax bill.
As a landlord myself, I have been submitting tax returns for many years using an accountant. Yet, every year, after carefully collating the information my accountant needed I was caught off-guard by the size of the tax bill and often ended up paying late fees to boot.
Yes, it was something of a mess.
When I stopped to think about it, I realised I was doing almost all of the work, while my accountant was doing very little.
He was merely reformatting the information I provided into the format required by the HMRC tax office.
It came as a lightbulb moment. And I realised that, if my accountant was simply reformatting information and making a simple calculation, I could build some software that would do the exact same thing, yet faster and more efficiently.
And with the upcoming MTD regulations requiring landlords to use software for tax, it felt like the ideal time to develop a solution.
This was the start of something special; it was the start of APARI.
Fast-forward a few years and APARI is now the first software solution for landlords that is recognised by HMRC for the transition to MTD.
APARI has created an easy to use program to produce your figures, and should you wish to have a comfort blanket of an accountant in the background, you can do so at a more affordable cost.
So, whether you are starting with MTD voluntarily now or continuing to file an annual self-assessment, you can simply add your account information, sit back, and let APARI’s accounting software calculate and compile your tax return ready to submit directly to HMRC at the touch of a button.
The software will take care of the hard work for you with a direct HMRC confirmation receipt.
And here is what our customers think:
“I have saved £8000 thanks to APARI with very simple to use software. My previous accountant had a noose around my neck, by not giving me timely information” – M Graham
Over the next few months, Olive Press readers will get exclusive content from APARI and its work with HMRC as the MTD project develops.
We’ll also show you how APARI is automating more and more of the process for you, such as recognising and automatically tagging recurring payments, making tax returns easier and easier with each update.
Find out more about APARI on Twitter or Facebook
