Five tax returns a year - this is making things simple

[Lonecatwithkitten]

So I am self-employed and VAT registered and my accountant has just broken the wonderful news to me that as well as completing my quarterly VAT returns from 2020 I will have complete quarterly tax returns. This in addition to my main tax return in January.
So I pay my VAT quarterly, pay my tax on account each year, so some years I have to make a relatively small balancing payment and some years they pay me back some money ( or my bill for tax on account is less).
This seems to be a push to get rid of medium business self employed people ie. partnerships.

I think we need to have a close look at incorporating in the next year, due to our turnover/profit HMRC will actually end up with less tax!

When they first started talking about this idea they were proposing to include all self-employed people. I read about it on a music forum - private teachers who often work on a termly basis would find it extremely onerous and illogical and many of us are low earners anyway. I think they are trying to move towards a system of "we will always know what you are earning at all times and make you pay" which is really unhelpful.

I'm dreading if they do eventually extend this quarterly stuff downwards.

Just wait to see for now. In April 2019 making tax digital for VAT comes in (i.e. very soon). The general MTD tax changes may well be delayed.

For a Government supposedly trying to cut red tape they seem to be creating a huge lot of it.

We are already doing VAT digitally and have been virtually since it became available. But I am sure this will require another module for the accounting software to achieve it.
We are on the cusp of being better if we incorporate and I strongly suspect this will tip us over the edge. Though in many ways this could be a good time from the pint of view of using partners capital to buy shares etc. Hmm we need to take a long look at the figures.

Yes, most people sbmit their VAT returns digitally however the big change is that they need to have software that will upload the figures in April without human intervention (bridging software or a different eg cloud product). It will be more expensive than HMRC has said and they were pulled up by the Lords select committee on that costs point fairly recently.