Accounting

Making Tax Digital · South West

Making Tax Digital accountants in Bristol

If you have had a letter from HMRC about Making Tax Digital in Bristol, or you are not sure whether your income puts you in the first wave, this is the service. We assess your position, set up the digital records and handle every quarterly deadline for clients across South West, online, at a fee agreed before we start.

from £99 · fixed setup, then from £35/quarter

Next deadlines

  • MTD quarterly update deadline (7 August, 7 November, 7 February, 7 May)
  • VAT return and payment for the quarter that ended last month
  • VAT return and payment for the quarter that ended last month
  • VAT return and payment for the quarter that ended last month

Who this is for

Making Tax Digital for Bristol

Sole traders and landlords in Bristol with qualifying income over £50,000 who are already in MTD for Income Tax, those over £30,000 joining in April 2027 and £20,000 planned for April 2028, VAT-registered businesses still filing from spreadsheets or non-compliant software, and anyone who received an HMRC letter about digital record keeping and wants it handled rather than explained.

What is included

Everything inside the fixed fee

  • Your MTD start date confirmed from your 2024/25 qualifying income and HMRC's phased thresholds
  • MTD-compatible software chosen, set up and connected to HMRC with digital links from bank feeds
  • Digital record keeping configured so every transaction meets the requirements without re-keying
  • Quarterly updates submitted to HMRC by the 7th following each quarter, from your reconciled records
  • The year-end final declaration prepared and filed in place of the traditional Self Assessment return
  • MTD for VAT setup and the first return filed for businesses still on spreadsheets or old software

How it works

Making Tax Digital from Bristol, step by step

  1. Tell us your situation

    A short message or call about what you do and what needs filing. We ask the questions that determine the right package and nothing more.

  2. Fixed fee in writing

    You receive one price for the work, confirmed by email before anything starts. It does not change if the job takes longer than we expected.

  3. Send records, review the draft

    Records come by WhatsApp or email. We prepare the draft, explain the figures in plain English and answer your questions.

  4. We file, you get the receipts

    Once you approve and the fee is settled, we submit electronically and forward the HMRC or Companies House acknowledgement the same day.

Why IGI

The IGI way of working, in Bristol

No hourly rate and no surprise invoice. Bristol clients know the fee for making tax digital before they send a single document, and it stays fixed.

We work to the HMRC and Companies House calendar, not an appointment diary. Clients in Bristol get reminders at 60, 30 and 7 days before each date that applies to making tax digital.

We serve Bristol remotely by design: records by WhatsApp or email, drafts back for approval, filing electronic. The saving on premises is passed to you in the fee for making tax digital.

A named person handles your making tax digital from Bristol and knows the file, so you are not re-explaining your business to a different helpdesk each time.

We explain making tax digital in the words Bristol business owners use, not in accountant's shorthand, and we show our working so you can check it.

Nothing is filed for Bristol until you have reviewed and approved it. You see the draft, you ask questions, you sign off, then we submit and send you the receipt.

Local facts

About Bristol

Bristol is in South West, in the BS1 postcode district, England. Income tax in England follows the UK rates: 20% basic to £50,270, 40% higher to £125,140 and 45% additional, with the personal allowance of £12,570 tapered away above £100,000. National Insurance, VAT and Corporation Tax are UK-wide, and Stamp Duty Land Tax applies to property purchases.

Nearby places we also serve for making tax digital
PlaceDistanceDirection
Tankard's Close0.3 miNW
Brandon Hill, South West0.4 miW
Canon's Marsh0.4 miSW
Temple, Bristol City of0.6 miE
Tyndall's Park0.6 miNW
Cathay0.6 miSE
Cotham0.6 miN
Stokes Croft0.7 miNE

Worth knowing

Rules that come up in this work

Confirmation statements and identity verification

Companies House has tightened its requirements under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act: every company needs a registered email address and an appropriate registered office, every statement includes a lawful-purpose declaration, and every director and PSC must verify their identity. The confirmation statement, due annually with a £50 fee, is where most of this is confirmed.

CIS deductions

The Construction Industry Scheme affects both sides of a construction payment. Contractors must verify subcontractors, deduct the right amount, issue statements and file monthly, with penalties from £100 for each late return. Subcontractors suffer deductions on turnover and recover the excess at the year end. Limited company subcontractors offset deductions against PAYE monthly instead.

Salary versus dividends

Paying yourself from a company involves two routes with different tax treatment. Salary through payroll is a company expense and builds a National Insurance record; dividends come from post-tax profit at lower personal rates. Undocumented drawings that are neither become director's loans, with a 35.75% section 455 charge if not repaid within nine months of the year end.

Director's loan accounts

The most common tax problem in owner-managed companies is an overdrawn director's loan account: drawings taken during the year that were never declared as dividends or salary. The company faces a 35.75% charge on the balance outstanding nine months after the year end, and the director may have a benefit in kind. We review the account before every year end to clear it properly.

The VAT registration threshold

The £90,000 VAT threshold is measured over any twelve consecutive months, which is why a strong quarter can tip a business over unexpectedly. Registration must follow within thirty days of the end of the month the threshold was crossed. Below the threshold, voluntary registration is worth considering when customers are VAT-registered businesses and costs carry VAT.

Corporation Tax rates and marginal relief

Corporation Tax is not a flat rate. Profits to £50,000 pay 19%, profits above £250,000 pay 25%, and the band between is taxed at an effective marginal rate of 26.5% through the marginal relief mechanism. Associated companies share the thresholds, which catches directors who own more than one company and is the most common cause of underpaid tax in owner-managed groups.

Late filing penalties

Penalties are the clearest reason to work to deadlines. A Self Assessment return one day late costs £100 regardless of whether any tax is due; three months late adds £10 a day. Late company accounts start at £150 and reach £1,500, and double if the previous year was also late. None of this is negotiable afterwards except through a narrow reasonable-excuse appeal.

Questions

Making Tax Digital questions from Bristol

What if my income drops below the threshold later?

Once in MTD you stay in unless your qualifying income falls below the threshold for three consecutive years, after which you can apply to leave. There are exemptions for digital exclusion on grounds of age, disability, location or religion, which must be applied for and granted by HMRC.

How does MTD for VAT differ?

MTD for VAT has applied to all VAT-registered businesses since April 2022: digital records and returns submitted through compatible software, with the same quarterly return as before. If you are still typing figures into a portal or using software that is not linked, you are non-compliant. Our £129 setup includes the first return filed.

What does the £99 readiness check and setup include?

Confirmation of your start date, choice and setup of MTD-compatible software suited to your business, bank feeds connected, the chart of categories mapped to HMRC's reporting lines, the authorisation of the software with HMRC, and a short walkthrough so you know how to capture receipts and invoices day to day.

Can I keep using my spreadsheet?

Only with bridging software that links the spreadsheet digitally to HMRC, and the links must be digital, not copy-and-paste. For VAT this remains workable; for Income Tax the quarterly category reporting makes proper software far less effort. We set up whichever approach suits you and explain the trade-off honestly.

When does Making Tax Digital for Income Tax apply to me?

It depends on your gross self-employment plus property income on your 2024/25 return: over £50,000 means you joined from 6 April 2026; over £30,000 means 6 April 2027; over £20,000 is planned for April 2028. Below £20,000 there is currently no requirement. We check your figures and confirm the date in writing.

What do I actually have to do under MTD for Income Tax?

Keep records of income and expenses digitally in compatible software, send HMRC a quarterly update summarising them by 7 August, 7 November, 7 February and 7 May, and submit a final declaration with any adjustments and other income by 31 January. The tax payment dates are unchanged.

Do you have an office in Bristol?

No. IGI Accounting is an online-only firm. We serve Bristol and every other UK postcode remotely, with records sent by WhatsApp or email and everything filed electronically. The absence of local premises is why the fee for making tax digital is the same in Bristol as anywhere else in the country, and why there is nothing to visit and nothing to print.

Is making tax digital in Bristol really the same price as elsewhere?

Yes. The fee published on this page is what a client in Bristol pays and what a client in any other part of England pays. It is confirmed in writing before work starts and the invoice matches the quote. Where a higher package applies because your situation is more complex, we say so at the quote stage, never afterwards.

One message from Bristol, one fixed price

Tell us what you need. You get one fixed fee in writing, and nothing is filed until you approve it.

WhatsApp for a fixed quote