Accounting

Making Tax Digital · Northern Ireland

Making Tax Digital accountants in Lisburn

Making Tax Digital for sole traders, landlords and VAT-registered businesses in Lisburn: we confirm your start date, set up compatible software for £99, and submit the quarterly updates from £35 a quarter. The fee is published and the same in Lisburn as in every other part of Northern Ireland, with nothing sent to HMRC until you approve it.

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 Lisburn

Sole traders and landlords in Lisburn 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 Lisburn, 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

Why Lisburn businesses file with IGI

No hourly rate and no surprise invoice. Lisburn 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 Lisburn get reminders at 60, 30 and 7 days before each date that applies to making tax digital.

Online only, UK based. There is no office in Lisburn to pay for, which is why the fee is the same here as anywhere in Northern Ireland; the work is done by people in the UK who answer the same day.

Continuity matters in making tax digital: the person who prepared last year's work for your Lisburn business prepares this year's, and remembers what was agreed.

Plain English, with the numbers. Every draft for Lisburn comes with a short explanation of what the figures mean and what, if anything, you should do about them.

You stay in control of making tax digital: drafts go to Lisburn clients first, with the figures explained, and nothing leaves us until you say so.

Local facts

About Lisburn

Lisburn is in Northern Ireland, in the BT28 postcode district, Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland uses the same income tax, National Insurance and Corporation Tax rates as Great Britain, and companies file with Companies House on the Belfast register. Stamp Duty Land Tax applies to property. For goods, the Windsor Framework means some EU VAT rules apply to trade with the EU, which affects businesses moving goods across the border.

Nearby places we also serve for making tax digital
PlaceDistanceDirection
Hillsborough, Northern Ireland4 miS
Maghaberry5 miW
Annahilt6 miS
Glenavy6 miNW
Carryduff7 miE
Ballinderry7 miW
Moira, Northern Ireland7 miW
Belfast8 miNE

Worth knowing

Rules that come up in this work

Confirmation statements and identity verification

Every company must file a confirmation statement at least once a year, within fourteen days of its review date, with a £50 Companies House fee. Since November 2025 directors and people with significant control must also verify their identity with Companies House, and the confirmation statement is where existing officers confirm they have done so during the transition year.

CIS deductions

Under the Construction Industry Scheme, contractors deduct 20% from a registered subcontractor's labour invoices, or 30% if unregistered, and pay it to HMRC. The subcontractor reclaims the deductions against their actual tax through Self Assessment, usually producing a refund because deductions are on turnover while tax is on profit. Contractors file a monthly return by the 19th.

The VAT registration threshold

VAT registration is compulsory once taxable turnover in any rolling twelve-month period exceeds £90,000, or when you expect to exceed that in the next thirty days alone. The test is rolling, not by tax year, and includes zero-rated sales. Businesses regularly cross it without noticing, and late registration means accounting for VAT on sales where it was never charged to customers.

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.

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

A director's loan account records money moving between a director and the company that is not salary or dividend. If the director owes the company money nine months and one day after the year end, the company pays section 455 tax at 35.75% of the balance, refundable only when the loan is repaid. Loans over £10,000 are also a benefit in kind unless interest is charged at HMRC's official rate.

The Self Assessment calendar

The tax year runs from 6 April to 5 April. Anyone new to Self Assessment must register by 5 October after the end of the tax year in which their untaxed income began. The online return and the balancing payment are due by 31 January, with a second payment on account on 31 July where they apply. Paper returns have an earlier deadline of 31 October and are rarely sensible.

Questions

Making Tax Digital questions from Lisburn

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 is in a quarterly update?

Totals of income and expenses for the quarter by category, taken straight from the digital records. No accounting adjustments, no tax calculation and no payment. The updates are cumulative, so an error in one quarter is corrected in the next. From £35 a quarter we prepare, review and submit each one from your records.

Does MTD change when I pay tax?

No. Payments on account remain due on 31 January and 31 July, and the balancing payment on 31 January after the tax year. HMRC shows an estimated liability after each quarterly update, which is useful for setting money aside, but it is not a demand.

What are the penalties under MTD?

A points-based system: one point for each late quarterly update or declaration, and a £200 penalty once you reach four points, with the count resetting after a period of compliance. Late payment penalties start at 3% after 15 days. The first year has been described by HMRC as light-touch, but points still accrue.

I am a landlord with a job. Does MTD apply to my rental income?

Yes, if your gross rental income, added to any self-employment income, exceeds the threshold for your start year. Employment income does not count towards the threshold but is reported in the final declaration. Jointly owned property has simplified rules allowing the income-only reporting of your share each quarter.

Which deadlines matter most for making tax digital?

The next four dates that apply to making tax digital are shown at the top of this page, calculated from today. For Lisburn clients we diarise every one of them from the day you join and send reminders before each, so the work is done in good time rather than in the last week before a penalty.

How do I get started from Lisburn?

Message us on WhatsApp or email with a sentence about your business and what you need. We reply in working hours with any questions and a fixed fee for making tax digital. Once you confirm, we tell you exactly which records to send and the work begins. Most Lisburn clients are set up within a day.

One message from Lisburn, 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