From April this year, all VAT-registered businesses will have to submit their VAT returns online rather than by paper. Liabilities must be settled electronically too, HRMC said.

At the moment, only newly-registered businesses – and those with turnovers of more than £100,000 – have to submit their VAT online, as well as pay electronically. Anyone else can currently send HMRC a paper VAT return if they so wish.

But this is set to change from April this year, when all 1.9 million VAT-registered businesses will have to submit their returns online and pay electronically for accounting periods starting on or after April 1st 2012.

Separately, the taxman warns that anyone who needs to pay self assessment tax in 2010/11 needs to get their return in before January 31, the final date that tax returns can be submitted to HMRC online. The deadline for paper returns passed in October 2011.

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