New reporting rules for digital platforms

02 Sep 2021

As announced at Budget 2021, the Government has announced new rules regarding income reporting, which require digital platforms to report details of the income of sellers on their platform to the tax authority and also to the sellers.

These new rules are part of an initiative to require firms that operate digital platforms to report details of businesses and individuals that generate income through their sites. This can include, but is not limited to, name, bank account number, address, amounts paid and more. By doing so, the aim is that HMRC will have another accurate way of checking accounts and tax returns.

Currently, these rules are undergoing a consultation process whereby HMRC are asking those who may be affected to provide comments on the potential impact this will have, with a hope of gathering opinions from individuals and companies who provide such services using digital platforms. This consultation will run from 30 July 2021 to 22 October 2021.

After this, the Government will consider the comments made by respondents and will publish a summary of responses.

Currently, HMRC have announced that these new rules will officially be introduced on January 2023.