New VAT penalty regime delayed to January 2023

A new, and arguably, fairer system for determining penalties for late returns and late payment of VAT has been delayed by a year and will now commence in January 2023. The same system will also apply to returns under Making Tax Digital (MTD) for income tax and those penalties will now start in April 2024.

Under the new regime taxpayers will accumulate points for late submissions and only after reaching a certain threshold will an automatic penalty be imposed. The threshold will depend on how regularly the taxpayer is required to submit a return.

See: Penalties for late submission - (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/penalties-for-late-submission/penalties-for-late-submission)