Xero has debuted a cloud-based personal tax — i.e., income tax — solution for U.K. accountants and bookkeepers. The new product is a move toward readiness for the U.K. tax authority’s “Making Tax Digital” initiative.
Personal tax and sole trader accounts production is now available within
The new tool allows U.K. tax professionals to process personal taxes for individuals and company clients within Xero Tax, accessible from Xero HQ. Client data automatically flows through to populate the personal tax form. Within the client record, partners can add in their clients’ tax information so they don’t have to add that information multiple times or in multiple places.
“Technology forced about a decade’s worth of change during the pandemic, and the government’s digital tax agenda is gaining momentum,” said Damon Anderson, director of operations for Xero U.K., in a statement. “Xero Tax has already transformed the work accountants and bookkeepers do for small businesses in the U.K., and this new tool is a game changer for the industry as it prepares for the next stages of tax digitization. Our new personal tax and sole trader accounts solutions remove manual tasks, create more accurate data and facilitate seamless digital filing experiences. This gives firms the ability to put the right attention on compliance, so they can provide full advisory services, which is so crucial at this time.”
The new release is part of Xero’s plan to be ready to support Making Tax Digital for Income Tax Self Assessment (MTD for ITSA). The company’s aim is to ensure accountants and bookkeepers can easily make the transition to MTD for ITSA in the future.
Making Tax Digital is an initiative by Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs to make it easier for individuals and businesses to get their taxes right and remain on top of their affairs. HMRC’s ambition is to become one of the most digitally advanced tax administrations in the world.
For Xero’s part, it is working toward its own vision for the “Next Generation Practice,” which is to provide a unified experience across its suite of practice tools that accountants and bookkeepers use to onboard, collaborate and manage client workloads in the cloud from within Xero HQ.
Xero is working to deliver more enhancements and expand its coverage to more tax and entity types in the coming months.
