However, this was disappointing in that it only extended to the self-employed and landlords whose turnovers are below the VAT threshold (increased to £85,000 from April 2017). These will not now have to start making quarterly digital returns to HMRC until April 2019, instead of April 2018.
This will bring them into line with businesses which are registered for and who pay VAT, where the start date for MTD had already been announced as April 2019, and will mean that many dental associates will have an extra year to prepare for MTD.
But the sting in the tail is that those unincorporated businesses whose turnover is above the VAT threshold and who are not registered for VAT will still be required to make quarterly digital returns to HMRC from April 2018. This will include most dental practitioners and many dental associates. HMRC is seeking business volunteers to beta test the MTD programme during the coming year, before it goes live in April 2018, and practitioners may want to consider getting involved in this so that they can be well prepared for its eventual implementation.
Dental practitioners operating via limited companies will not have to file quarterly MTD returns with HMRC until April 2020, so any unincorporated practices which have already been contemplating incorporation for other reasons may want to consider getting a move on!