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HMRC optimistic on efiling targets

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4th Aug 2010
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HMRC  has published figures showing that it has “progressively delivered” against Lord Carter’s targets for online filing of Self Assessment, Corporation Tax, PAYE and VAT returns.

Published alongside the 2006 Budget, Lord Carter of Coles’ review of HMRC online services set down the aspiration of achieving “universal online filing” by 2012. The department devoted considerable time and money to upgrading its web servers and backroom IT infrastructure to cope with the increased workload and a dedicated Carter programme team was created to communicate the department’s plans to taxpayers and their agents.

According to Carter Programme marketing manager Julian Hatt, the HMRC online team took a phased approach to the different tax regimes, focusing on Self Assessment back in 2008, then moving on to PAYE. Online filing of payroll returns has been subject to a sequence of deadlines (backed with cash incentives of up to £250 for early filers) for companies of different sizes, starting with end of year returns for companies with more than 250 employees back in 2005 and leading up to next year’s requirement for all companies to file both year-end (P14s and P35) and in-year (P45 and P46) forms online.

As many accountants and business people will be aware, efiling became mandatory for VAT this April and the deadline for mandatory filing of Corporation Tax returns will be next April.

HMRC’s online filing figures illustrate the successive waves of online filing. Thanks to Lord Carter’s cash incentives (which he proposed in a separate PAYE review before his broader study of HMRC online services), nearly three-quarters of payroll returns were filed online in 2005-06. Apart from a slight dip in 2008-09, this remains the most successful of the online filing services, rising to 84% of all returns filed in the year to 5 April 2010.

Self Assessment had the next highest percentage of online filers when the Carter programme started in 2006 (23%). It experienced a big jump in 2008-09 when more than 2m taxpayers shifted to online filing, raising the percentage from 43% to 66%. The proportion of online returns filed for the 2010 deadline was nearly three-quarters (74%).

Online filing of VAT returns has been the weakest area in the Carter programme, starting at 5% in 2005-06 and showing what HMRC calls “a steady increase” to 20% in 2009-10. With this April’s introduction of mandatory efiling for all new businesses and those turning over more than £100,000 a year, getting this figure to near-universal levels within a year will be a major challenge for HMRC, business taxpayers and their agents.

Corporation Tax online filing had the lowest proportion of online filers in 2005-06 (2%), but showed a marked jump from 17% in 2008-09 to 27% in 2009-10. Compared to VAT filing, however, next year’s filing deadline will cause a lot more problems, as companies will need to equip themselves to produce copies of their accounts and CT computations in a new file format known as inline XBRL (iXBRL).

Because of the disruptions that these filing deadlines have placed on businesses, the Carter programme has promoted the idea of “soft landings” around each of the filing deadlines. Rather than coming down heavily on mistakes and filing lapses in the first year or two after efiling is introduced, the department has vowed to work with taxpayers to help them sort out their problems.

In a page detailing the numbers and percentages of returns filed online for the different taxes during 2005-10, HMRC said it has “progressively delivered” on Lord Carter’s recommendations, by building a robust infrastructure and communicating the changes to customers.
 

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By abelljms
04th Aug 2010 19:12

VAT do you mean?

"Online filing of VAT returns has been the weakest area in the Carter programme”

 

oh why’s that Malc?

ANS: because it’s fiendishly difficult to register for onslime VAT,

if only it was as simple as CT where ALL u need is the reg number and the CT  ref to register.

Even VAT occifers acknowledge it's their stupid system but no one fixes it.

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Morph
By kevinringer
09th Aug 2010 16:35

Progressively delivered – not so

Carter report (http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/budget2006/carter-review.pdf) paragraph 22 on page 6:

 “HMRC should continue to work with Companies House to provide a joint filing facility by 2010.” This would have been useful for agents - so what happened to it? I contributed to the original Carter report, and afterwards pointed out that the main problem with this proposal was that usually full accounts and detailed P&Ls were filed at HMRC, but only abbreviated accounts (no P&L) at CH – that was back in 2006. I understand that HMRC only became aware of this in 2009! I offered a solution – CT online requires specific attachments for accounts and computations – well why not have a HMRC accounts and a CH accounts attachments – that way both can be filed through HMRC – HMRC would pass on just the CH accounts.

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Morph
By kevinringer
09th Aug 2010 16:36

And whilst on the subject of CT online

I feel HMRC is attempting too much with the introduction of iXBRL with compulsory CT filing. I’ve been efiling CT for several years so am used to attaching accounts etc, but many people are only used to individuals/partnerships and therefore not used to attachments. I feel HMRC should have continued the existing PDF option after 01/04/11 and give users a year before making iXBRL compulsory. Incidentally, the move to iXBRL may backfire. At the moment we tend to file detailed P&L. But the feedback I’m receiving from software developers is that because of the complexities of the tagging process, the detailed P&L may be dropped so that the accounts filed with HMRC will only contain the statutory P&L. So HMRC may end up receiving less information than they currently do.

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Morph
By kevinringer
09th Aug 2010 16:38

Let’s make it a hat trick – CIS. PAYE and service status

HMRC has been very selective with online services introduced. Take CIS. Prior to New CIS, HMRC were happy to provide agents with captured vouchers lists for subbies, but since the introduction of New CIS HMRC have refused. Ironically, we submitted all our old CIS returns on paper, but submit all New CIS electronically – so HMRC has the New CIS data in digital format therefore could enable agents access through online services – but HMRC refuses to consider this, saying that subbies should retain tax vouchers – but at the same time as introducing New CIS HMRC scrapped the CIS25 which all subbies had got used to – and HMRC replaced it with nothing! Another service agents have been asking for is the ability to see how HMRC have allocated employer’s PAYE payments. It would save us having to write to the Collector and request printouts (the Collector won’t respond to verbal requests) – come on HMRC – making CIS captured vouchers and PAYE payments available online would save you time because us agents wouldn’t have to contact you as often.

 And here’s another gripe – HMRC’s website doesn’t report unplanned downtime – online services was playing up this morning – HMRC’s website said all services were running normally – I phoned online services helpdesk – I couldn’t get through for some time because of the volume of calls – when I did get through I was told that HMRC were aware of the problem and were snowed under with the volume of calls – so why have incorrect information on the website – come on HMRC – if you’ve got a problem with your services then put a message on your website – don’t say that it’s all working!

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By DRMJOB
13th Aug 2010 10:00

CT Online

 

I have filed online for a few companies for a number of years  using HMRC software. When I tried to do it this year the system had radically changed and the suggested Adobe changes were so complex that I have reverted to paper CT600's. As  next year online filing is mandatory I can only hope HMRC significantly improve their system.

MJOB

 

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