UK tax compliance with Zoho Books

The evolving tax landscape in the UK has added an additional responsibility to business owners, accountants, and bookkeepers to ensure their choice of accounting software supports compliance with HMRC requirements and streamlines finance workflows based on their needs.

Zoho Books is an end-to-end accounting software that streamlines finance operations and simplifies compliance. It has consistently kept up with the UK regulatory changes with built-in tax filing capabilities to connect with HMRC's APIs, simplifying tax filing for accountants and business owners in the UK.

Zoho Books, UK edition currently offers direct tax filing capabilities for:

• Making Tax Digital for VAT

• Making Tax Digital for Income Tax

• Self Assessment (SA100)

• Corporation Tax (CT600) and Final Accounts

• Construction Industry Scheme (CIS) filings

Here's a detailed breakdown on the tax filing capabilities within Zoho Books, relevant criteria set by HMRC.

Making Tax Digital (MTD) for VAT 

MTD for VAT is mandatory for all VAT-registered businesses in the UK, irrespective of the annual turnover.

Zoho Books supports:

• Different VAT schemes based on business needs — standard, cash, and flat rate, as well as exemptions.

• Direct link with HMRC API to prepare and submit the standard nine-box VAT return online.

• Authorisation of accountants and bookkeepers to manage books and submit VAT returns on behalf of their clients.

Pricing: Available from the free plan onwards.

Making Tax Digital (MTD) for Income Tax 

MTD for Income Tax is mandatory for sole traders and landlords with an annual qualifying gross income over £50,000. The scope expands to those with earnings above £30,000 in 2027 and earnings above £20,000 in 2028.

Zoho Books supports:

• Digital recordkeeping of all financial transactions.

• Automated tracking for multi-entity (sole trader and property) income and expenses under one login.

• Direct connection with HMRC to submit quarterly updates, report adjustments through end-of-year statements, and submit final declaration.

• Accountant and bookkeeper authorisation requests to clients to streamline review and submission processes.

Pricing: Available from the free plan onwards.

Self Assessment (SA100) 

Self Assessment (SA100) is for individuals, including sole traders, landlords, and limited company directors, who need to file a personal tax return with HMRC. If you're a sole trader or landlord who falls outside the scope of MTD for Income Tax, you may still need to file a Self Assessment return.

Zoho Books supports:

• Auto-population of certain fields in supplementary pages from ledger data, including SA103S (Self-Employment Short) and SA105 (UK Property), and supports SA102 (Employment).

• Tax liability previews via the SA110 (Tax Calculation Summary) and SA302 (Tax Breakdown Summary) before the final submission.

• Direct filing with HMRC via Government Gateway credentials to submit SA100 tax returns.

• Accountant and bookkeeper filing workflow to submit SA100 tax returns on behalf of their clients.

Pricing: Available from the free plan onwards.

Corporation tax (CT600) and final accounts 

Final accounts is the final year-end accounts or statutory accounts that provide a comprehensive financial overview of the business. Corporation tax is a mandatory annual tax filing for all UK limited companies, based on the annual profits of the business.

Zoho Books supports:

• FRS 105 financial reporting standard for mirco-entities in the UK.

• Standard CT600 form generation, computation schedules, and capital allowance adjustments.

• Fully compliant iXBRL tagged accounts to submit CT600 and final accounts simultaneously to both HMRC and Companies House.

• Accountant and bookkeeper workflows to file CT600 and submit final accounts on behalf of the clients.

Pricing: Available as an add-on to the free plan for £5/year and included in all paid plans.

Construction Industry Scheme (CIS) 

CIS is a mandatory monthly reporting for contractors and subcontractors within the UK construction sector.

Zoho Books supports:

• Application of correct CIS deduction rates (0%, 20%, 30%) based on the registration status of the subcontractor.

• Instant construction scheme deduction statements.

• Directly with HMRC to submit monthly CIS returns and record payments with HMRC.

• Accountant and bookkeeper workflows for review and submission of CIS filings and payments to HMRC.

Pricing: CIS tracking is available from the free plan. The CIS filing capability is available in the Professional plan for £20/month

Whether your tax filing is done by you or your accountant or bookkeeper, Zoho Books makes the compliance journey much easier with built-in capabilities to save time, reduce errors, and gain greater visibility on the amount owed to HMRC.

Zoho Books is accredited by the Institute of Certified Bookkeepers (ICB) and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales (ICAEW) to give you the confidence in choosing an accounting software that's been evaluated for data security, access control, functionalities, features, business continuity, and reliability.