Free tool
Plan your clients' VAT deadlines
Due dates are 1 month and 7 days after each period ends. Annual accounting and payments on account are not included.
Filing for clients under Making Tax Digital
- Create an agent services account if you do not have one.
- Link each client. Copy across existing VAT clients from your old agent account, or send the client an authorisation request to accept.
- Connect your MTD software to HMRC with your agent services account sign-in.
- File each return from figures that reach the software digitally.
If a client is not linked, HMRC refuses the return as not authorised. Check links before the deadline week, not during it.
VAT staggers and due dates
| Stagger | Quarters end | Returns and payment due |
|---|---|---|
| Stagger 1 | March, June, September, December | 7 May, 7 August, 7 November, 7 February |
| Stagger 2 | April, July, October, January | 7 June, 7 September, 7 December, 7 March |
| Stagger 3 | May, August, November, February | 7 July, 7 October, 7 January, 7 April |
| Monthly | Every month | The 7th, 1 month and 7 days after each month ends |
Each stagger peaks in a different month, so a practice with clients spread across all three has a deadline on the 7th of every month. Bunched clients create heavy months.
Working with clients' spreadsheets
- Spreadsheets are allowed under Making Tax Digital if the nine box totals come from the records by formulas or linked cells.
- Ask clients to send a CSV of their VAT summary rather than typing figures into an email, which would break the digital link.
- Bridging software takes the CSV, checks it and files it, so clients can keep the spreadsheets they know.
What a practice needs from VAT software
- All clients in one account, with each client's VAT periods and due dates from HMRC.
- A login for each team member, so you control who can file.
- Checks on every return and plain-English explanations of HMRC errors, including not authorised.
- Reminders before each client's deadline.
- A price that works per client. Swift VAT Pro covers up to 20 clients for £20 a month, up to 100 for £50, and unlimited clients for £100, with 3, 5 and 10 users. See managing client VAT returns in one place.
Every client's VAT return from one account, from £20 a month
Clients send a CSV from their spreadsheet. You see each client's VAT periods and due dates from HMRC, check every box and file.
- Connect to HMRC on HMRC's own page with your agent services account sign-in.
- See your VAT periods, due dates, amounts owed and payments, read from HMRC.
- Upload your nine box totals as a CSV. Box 3 and Box 5 are worked out and every box is checked.
- Submit and keep HMRC's receipt. Reminder emails arrive before each due date.
No card needed · From £5 a month · Plans for up to 100 businesses · Filing through HMRC's MTD service since 2019
Final thoughts
For a practice, MTD VAT filing is mostly about authorisation and deadlines. Link every client before you need to file, know which stagger each client is on, and use software that shows every client's due dates in one place.
Disclaimer: This guide gives general information, not advice for your practice. Check HMRC's guidance for agents for the latest steps.
Frequently asked questions
Checked against GOV.UK guidance on Making Tax Digital for VAT as an agent, the agent services account, VAT Notice 700/22 and GOV.UK VAT return deadlines. November 2026.
What do accountants need to file VAT under MTD?
How do I link a VAT client to my agent services account?
What are VAT stagger periods?
Can clients keep using spreadsheets?
How much does VAT software cost for a practice?
Every client's VAT return from one account, from £20 a month.
Swift VAT Pro files your return to HMRC from the spreadsheet you already keep. From £5 a month.
No card needed · 2,900+ VAT returns filed since 2019