25 April 2018 
Amanda Darley, Head of Operations and Engagement
HMRC is pressing ahead with Making Tax Digital (MTD) for VAT, with an implementation date of April 2019 (applying to VAT return periods starting on or after 1 April 2019, so for university VAT returns this would be from 1 May 2019). As reported in November (here), the regime WILL apply to universities and other charities, as well as their subsidiary companies.
The BUFDG Tax Group has been looking at the requirements of MTD and has been talking to a couple of firms about possible technology solutions to assist universities in meeting these requirements. We are now working with PwC on a project to configure their existing VAT reporting solution specifically for the higher education sector and for PwC to offer it to universities at a preferential price. This solution already meets HMRC's requirements for MTD and can pull data in from several systems to ensure all your VAT data is stored in an MTD-compliant manner. For FDs and others interested in the headline figures for VAT, it can also produce easy and quick dashboards highlighting anything unusual etc.
More information about MTD requirements and the BUFDG project with PwC, including pricing, can be found in our full document here. We are looking for universities to attend two meetings with PwC to assist with the development of the HE specific content of the product - if you are interested in doing this, please contact Amanda asap so the project can progress. PwC will be demonstrating the product at the tax conference on 6 and 7 June (information and booking details for the conference can be found here - tickets are selling fast).
