Send your VAT return to HMRC from EasyTaskr (Making Tax Digital)

Who is it for?

UK businesses that are VAT-registered and keep their books in EasyTaskr. Since April 2022 every VAT-registered business must keep digital records and send its VAT returns with software that works with Making Tax Digital. EasyTaskr already worked out the nine boxes of your return; this lets you send them to HMRC without copying figures into another product.

What does it do?

• Connects your business to HMRC once, with your own Government Gateway login.
• Shows HMRC's open VAT periods, with the one matching your return marked This return.
• Lets you review the nine boxes exactly as HMRC will get them, then send with HMRC's declaration.
• Keeps HMRC's receipt on the period: date received, form bundle number and charge reference.
• Shows What HMRC says you owe: the charges and payments HMRC holds for you.

How do I switch it on?

It is off by default, and it stays off for everyone until HMRC approves EasyTaskr for live returns. When it is available, your EasyTaskr contact switches it on for your business. It also needs EasyTaskr's accounting, with UK books.

When it is on, a Send to HMRC section appears on the VAT return page under Money. Owners, admins and accountants can connect, send and disconnect. Finance users can see the open periods and what HMRC says you owe.

Until then, the VAT return page works out your figures and lets you download them, as it always has.

Step by step: connect and send your first return

1. Open Money, Accounting, then the VAT return page.
2. In Send to HMRC, check the VAT number, then press Connect to HMRC.
3. Sign in on HMRC's own page with your business's Government Gateway login for VAT, and grant access.
4. You come back to EasyTaskr and see "Connected to HMRC".
5. Under Open returns at HMRC, find the period marked This return.
6. Press Review and send.
7. Check What HMRC gets: boxes 1 to 5 in pounds and pence, boxes 6 to 9 in whole pounds, and whether you will pay HMRC or HMRC owes you.
8. Tick the declaration. It reads, word for word: "When you submit this VAT information you are making a legal declaration that the information is true and complete. A false declaration can result in prosecution."
9. Press Send to HMRC, or Close and send to HMRC if the period is still open.
10. Check the receipt that appears on the period, then pay HMRC by the deadline if you owe.

What does "close and send" mean?

A return is sent from a closed VAT period, so the figures HMRC gets are the figures you kept. If the period on screen is still open, the button closes it and sends it in one go. If HMRC refuses the return, the period stays closed and the button reads Send to HMRC so you can try again once the problem is fixed.

What does the receipt show?

Once HMRC accepts the return, the period shows Accepted and a receipt:

If HMRC holds a Direct Debit for you, the receipt says HMRC will collect what you owe.

A worked example: box 1 shows £8,420.50 of VAT on sales and box 4 shows £3,115.20 of VAT reclaimed, so box 5 is £5,305.30 to pay. Boxes 6 and 7 go as whole pounds, for example £42,102 and £15,576. After you send, the receipt shows the charge reference to use when you pay HMRC. The return and payment are due one calendar month and seven days after the end of the period.

What if something goes wrong?

Errors are shown in plain words, not codes. The common ones:

• HMRC has no open return for the dates on screen: check your VAT period dates against those HMRC lists.
• HMRC already has a return for this period: use What HMRC says you owe to see what it holds.
• The period has not ended yet: wait until the day after the period ends.
• Your connection to HMRC has expired: HMRC asks you to sign in again at least every 18 months. Press Connect to HMRC again.

To stop EasyTaskr reaching your VAT account, open More HMRC actions and choose Disconnect HMRC. Returns already sent stay sent, with their receipts.

Is it safe?

The connection uses HMRC's own sign-in; EasyTaskr never sees your Government Gateway password. The access HMRC grants is stored encrypted. Every connection, disconnection and submission is recorded with who did it and when, together with the exact figures sent and the declaration ticked. HMRC also requires software to send information about the device and connection with each request, to help prevent fraud, and EasyTaskr does that.

What should I check before pressing send?

Check that every sale, purchase and credit note for the period is in, that supplier bills dated in the period have been entered, and that the period dates match HMRC's. Compare box 1 and box 4 with last quarter: a big jump either way is usually a missing bill or a sale entered twice, not a real change. If anything is wrong, fix it before you close the period, because once HMRC has accepted a return it cannot be sent again from EasyTaskr; a mistake is then put right on a later return or with HMRC directly.

What does it not do yet?

• Live returns wait for HMRC's approval of EasyTaskr.
• Filing through an accountant's own HMRC agent account is not supported; use the business's own login.
• Penalty and customer information from HMRC are not shown.
• Making Tax Digital for Income Tax is a separate scheme and is not covered.

This page is general information, not tax advice. Rules change, so check GOV.UK or ask an accountant.

Related features

The figures come from EasyTaskr's books, built from your invoices and payments, till sales and purchases. If your accountant uses Xero or QuickBooks instead, see Xero and QuickBooks. Our guides to Making Tax Digital and VAT for small businesses explain the rules behind the return.