Accounting

Making Tax Digital · South East

Making Tax Digital accountants in Worthing

Making Tax Digital is the biggest change to how the self-employed in Worthing report to HMRC since Self Assessment began. The full MTD service from £299 a year covers software, quarterly updates and the year-end declaration. VAT-registered businesses still on spreadsheets get compliant with the £129 setup and first return. Fixed fees, agreed in writing.

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 Worthing

Sole traders and landlords in Worthing 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 Worthing, step by step

  1. Scope the job

    We find out what you need filed, when it is due and what state the records are in, and tell you which fixed-fee package applies.

  2. Agree the price

    The fee is confirmed in writing. There is no hourly billing and nothing added for questions during the work.

  3. Hand over the records

    Photographs, PDFs, software access or a spreadsheet, sent however suits you. We confirm what we have and what is missing within two working days.

  4. Approve, then we submit

    You review the draft with our explanation, sign off, and we file. Receipts, copies and the next deadlines come back to you immediately.

Why IGI

The IGI way of working, in Worthing

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

Deadline-first: the dates that matter for making tax digital are shown at the top of this page, diarised for every Worthing client and chased before they arrive.

We serve Worthing 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.

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

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

Approval before filing is a rule, not a courtesy. For making tax digital in Worthing, every submission to HMRC or Companies House follows your written go-ahead.

Local facts

About Worthing

Worthing is in South East, in the BN11 postcode district, England. For businesses in England the tax rules are those set by the UK Parliament: the 20/40/45% income tax bands, Class 4 National Insurance for the self-employed at 6% and 2%, Corporation Tax at 19% to 25%, and Stamp Duty Land Tax on property. Business rates are set locally by the council.

Nearby places we also serve for making tax digital
PlaceDistanceDirection
West Worthing0.9 miW
East Worthing0.9 miNE
Broadwater, South East1 miN
Tarring, West1 miNW
West Tarring1 miNW
Salvington2 miNW
Cokeham, Lower2 miNE
Lower Cokeham2 miNE

Worth knowing

Rules that come up in this work

Switching accountants

You can switch accountant at any point in the year. The new firm requests clearance and your records from the old one, which cannot withhold your own documents though it may hold its own working papers until its fees are settled. Agent authorisations with HMRC and Companies House are transferred, and the next deadline is picked up without a gap.

The trading and property allowances

Small side incomes are covered by two £1,000 allowances, one for trading and one for property, which remove the need to register or report income below that level. Once income exceeds £1,000, the allowance can be used in place of expenses, a choice worth making deliberately: a freelancer with £900 of costs is better off with the allowance, one with £3,000 is not.

Dormant companies

Companies formed to protect a name or hold a future business are dormant but not exempt: Companies House still expects dormant accounts within nine months of the year end and a confirmation statement annually with its £50 fee, and HMRC must be told the company is dormant or it will demand Corporation Tax returns. The filings are short, but the penalties for missing them are the same as for a trading company.

Workplace pensions and auto-enrolment

Every employer must assess its workers for automatic enrolment from the first employee's start date. Those aged 22 to State Pension age earning over £10,000 a year must be enrolled into a qualifying pension with minimum contributions of 8% of qualifying earnings, at least 3% from the employer, and a declaration of compliance made to the Pensions Regulator within five months.

Employer National Insurance

The cost of an employee is more than the salary. Employer National Insurance at 15% above £5,000 a year, the 3% minimum pension contribution, holiday pay, equipment and management time all come on top. The Employment Allowance of £10,500 reduces the National Insurance for most employers with more than one person on the payroll.

Allowable expenses

An expense is allowable against trading profit if it is incurred wholly and exclusively for the business. Materials, business travel other than ordinary commuting, a proportion of home running costs, software, insurance, professional fees, bank charges and protective clothing qualify. Client entertainment, ordinary clothing, fines and the private share of mixed-use costs do not.

Record keeping

Good records are the difference between a quick enquiry and a long one. For the self-employed, five years after the filing deadline; for companies, six years from the year end; for VAT, six years. Photographs of receipts, PDF statements and software exports all count. The requirement is to keep records, not paper, and a well-organised cloud folder satisfies it.

Questions

Making Tax Digital questions from Worthing

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 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.

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.

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.

Can I do MTD myself without an accountant?

Yes, if you are comfortable keeping the records digitally and submitting four updates and a declaration each year on time. Many sole traders do. The value we add is in the setup being right, the categories mapping correctly to HMRC's lines, the deadlines never being missed and the year-end declaration including the adjustments and allowances that reduce your tax.

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.

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

Yes. The fee published on this page is what a client in Worthing 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.

Do you have an office in Worthing?

No. IGI Accounting is an online-only firm. We serve Worthing 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 Worthing as anywhere else in the country, and why there is nothing to visit and nothing to print.

Fixed fees, filed on time, for Worthing

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