Sage Taxation v11.0 - keeping you informed

Following Lord Carter’s review of HMRC online services, changes to Self Assessment for individuals, partnerships and trusts will come into force from April 2008. As part of HMRC’s promotion of electronic filing a number of changes will be effective:

Self Assessment returns can be filed electronically or on HMRC issued paper forms
The filing deadline for the submission of Self Assessment returns on paper will be October 31 following the tax year end
For the small percentage of taxpayers who will be unable to file electronically, HMRC will accept identical computer generated returns until 31 January following the tax year end
The format and content of the Self Assessment returns for individuals has changed including the introduction of self employment (short) supplementary pages to reduce the regulatory reporting for many small businesses

To ensure HMRC’s revised reporting requirements are met, small changes will need to be introduced in Sage Taxation v11.0.

To keep you fully informed, over the next few months we will be providing the following web updates to ensure you have all the information you need. These will be available as follows:

Subject	Update
1) Preparation for Sage Taxation v11.0 - see below	February 2008
2) Self Assessment returns and Filing By Internet (FBI) - see below	February 2008
3) Preparation for 2008 - annual data questionnaire, year update and batch year update	March 2008
4) Sage Taxation - changes to the tax return process for individuals (SA100)	May 2008
5) Foreign and capital gains supplementary pages	May 2008
6) Specials and Exclusions	May 2008
7) FAQs	May 2008
8) Sage Taxation - changes to the tax return process for partnerships	30 May 2008

1) Preparation for Sage Taxation v11.0

Welcome to the first of our communications to help ensure you have everything you need for a smooth and successful update. It is important to read through the following, as there are some changes to Sage Taxation v11.0 that may require you to install an additional Microsoft® component.

The following explains how you can check to ensure you are ready to install and update Sage Taxation v11.0 and will cover the following:

Pre-requisites for Sage Taxation v11.0
Installation checker
System requirements
New Microsoft products

Pre-requisites for Sage Taxation v11.0

In order to install Sage Taxation v11.0 you will need Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 installed. If you are currently running Sage on Windows Vista Business Edition, please ignore as the component needed comes as standard on this platform.

Before running the installation please ensure you close all other applications. If Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 is already installed, the following message will appear when you attempt to install the download:

‘Error: Product already installed – this product is already installed as part of the operating system’.

You can download and install Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 from the link above.

Instructions to download or run Microsoft .Net Framework 2.0

In the File Download dialog box, please do one of the following:

To start the installation immediately, click Open or Run this program from its current location
To copy the download to your computer, click Save or Save this program to disk. This will allow you to store the file on the network in order to install on all machines
We strongly recommend that you reboot your workstation(s) on completion of this installation.

Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 is a requirement of running Sage Taxation v11 so will need to be installed on all workstations running the program. If you have any further queries before installing .NET Framework 2.0 please contact your IT specialist.

Installation Checker

To update to Sage Taxation v11 you must ensure that the installation checker reports 'all checks completed successfully' and contain no errors.

To check the status of your data go to 'Start', 'All Programs', 'Sage', 'Sage Taxation', 'Sage Toolbox' and select 'Installation Checker'. To run the installation checker, all users must exit the software.

If you have questions regarding any errors on your installation checker please email your account number and contact details to accountants.taxupdate@sage.com.

System requirements

This section covers recommended system specifications for running Sage Taxation. If you choose not to follow these requirements, for example by using an unlisted operating system, we cannot guarantee that Sage Taxation will work correctly.

To check the specification of your computer, right click on 'My Computer', available from the 'Start Menu' or your 'Desktop' and select 'Properties'. This will display system information.

We recommend 1 GB of RAM on servers and workstations as well as a Pentium P4 (2.5GHz) or equivalent. You should also be running:

Windows Vista Business Edition
Windows XP Professional with Service Pack 2
Windows 2000 Professional with Service Pack 4
Windows 2003 Server with Service Pack 2
Windows 2000 Server with Service Pack 4

For further information about the system requirements, please refer to page 29 and 30 of the ‘Installation Guide.pdf’ (this will be a download).

If you require further information, please email your account number and contact details to accountants.taxupdate@sage.com.

New Microsoft products

As you may be aware Microsoft are currently planning a number of new and updated products set for release in early 2008:

New products
SQL Server 2008
Windows 2008 (for servers only)

Updates
Windows XP Service Pack 3
Windows Vista Service Pack 1

These products will not be certified on Sage Taxation v11.0 or v11.1.
We will update you as to when these will be available via the Software Support Bulletin and via RSS.

2) Self Assessment returns and Filing By Internet (FBI)

Self Assessment returns

Please click here for our information on Self Assessment

Filing by Internet (FBI)

Following Lord Carter's Review of HMRC Online Services, HMRC have been amending their systems and processes to accommodate increases in demand for electronic filing.

They are also actively promoting the use of online services for Self Assessment by withdrawing the approval process for computer generated paper returns and by shortening the filing deadline for paper returns to 31 October following the tax year end.

What are the advantages of online filing?

Reduced risk of incorrect data entry
Paper returns are processed manually by HMRC which can lead to data input error. Online filing can reduce the time needed to investigate processing differences - freeing time to provide additional services or expand the client base.
Immediate online acknowledgement
HMRC issue immediate acknowledgement online and process tax repayment claims faster than if the return is sent on paper, reducing tax repayment waiting times.
Visibility of information
Details of your clients' liabilities, payments and their latest statements can all be easily accessed and there is also a facility to claim to reduce payments on account.

Client contact information can also now be viewed and updated online to ensure HMRC information is up to date and accurate.

How can Sage Software enhance online filing?

Standard reports of electronic filing progress are also provided to assist with client progress monitoring.
Sage Support provide details of HMRC online service availability and planned downtimes via RSS feeds and website updates to provide customers with up to date information.

Registration for Online filing with HMRC

In order to implement electronic filing using Sage Taxation, the first stage is to register with HMRC via the Government Gateway.

Registration can be made to file online for individuals, partnerships and trusts. When successfully registered, HMRC will issue User ID and passwords for each relevant service.

Sage Taxation

Upon receipt the HMRC supplied credentials can be added to Sage Control Centre/Tools/Agent Filing (FBI), together with a valid email address in the practice details. These enable the receipt of HMRC responses and messages.

Validation of tax returns

To ensure the tax return complies with the format required by HMRC, Sage apply HMRC supplied validations. The validation process minimises the possibility that a tax return will be rejected when received by HMRC. The validations display the location on the return of any data to be reviewed allowing easy identification of changes needed to update the return for submission.

After validation of the tax return, a unique reference, the “IR mark”, is generated. This reference is authenticated when the return is processed by HMRC. This provides security and confidence that the data received by HMRC equates to the data sent with no changes during the transmission process.

The user is guided through the tax return submission process and each stage is recorded for easy reference, including the approval of the return by the client prior to submission to HMRC. When the return has been marked as approved by the client it is available for submission to HMRC.

Submitting tax returns to HMRC

Practitioners are able to control the tax return submission process by granting access rights only to staff authorised by them to file online. This gives the customer confidence in the security of the process.

Authorised returns can be submitted from Sage Taxation to HMRC either individually or in batches to ensure full control of the filing process. Once transmitted the software is updated with relevant responses from HMRC confirming the status of the return.

Status reports of returns filed are also available in Sage Taxation to assist with monitoring the filing of returns - to minimise the risk of filing deadlines being missed.

Sage Taxation has consistently enjoyed high online filing success rates exceeding those of HMRC’s own online filing service.

3.) Preparation for 2008 - what is the Annual Data Questionnaire (ADQ)?

The Annual Data Questionnaire (ADQ) is a way of gathering/ confirming tax data for an individual and can be useful as a data request or confirmation exercise just before the new tax year or when new clients are engaged. They can be produced within Personal Tax and Control Centre, and any information entered into Personal Tax for an individual can be included on an ADQ.

What are the ADQ templates and how can I change them?

There are three documents available within the ADQ function:

ADQ Covering Letter. Designed to accompany the standard (comparative format) ADQ, this letter includes mail merge functionality and the default template provided can be edited to suit your own requirements. Within Sage Control Centre select Tools > Annual Data Questionnaire (ADQ) > Configuration > Covering Letter. This will then open the template of the letter in Microsoft Word, enabling you to make changes as required.
The Standard ADQ (comparative format). Consisting of two columns of data, the first contains data from the previous year and the second from the current year. Here, the client can indicate any amounts received or note any changes.
ADQ Letter (text based format). This alternative format of the ADQ can include selected sections for enquiry in the same way as for the standard format ADQ. All sections have standard text that can be amended or updated as required.

How do I produce ADQs?

Sage Personal Tax will allow you to produce an ADQ for one client at a time.

Select the tax year prior to the year for which information is required
Select Tools > Annual Data Questionnaire to create the ADQ
Select the format you require from either ADQ Letter (text based format) or Standard ADQ (comparative format)
At this stage you can include/exclude data sections, edit the user text, edit headers and footers or change the display style
After you’ve finished editing, you have the options to preview, save as a PDF or print the ADQ

Sage Control Centre allows you to produce ADQs for a number of clients at once by selecting from a range or by filtering the client list, i.e. batch processing. Various options such as saving the list, previewing the ADQs concerned, saving as PDF’s, and printing are also included.

Select from Tools > Annual Data Questionnaire (ADQ) to see the options for configuring and creating ADQs
To set up the ADQ you should choose Tools > Annual Data Questionnaire (ADQ) > Batch Processing
At this stage you can select which clients you want to produce ADQs for by including/ excluding them from a list
Select the tax year for which information is required

Using this tool, all three ADQ items can be produced in batches by changing the “Output Type" to the required format.

4.) Sage Taxation - changes to the tax return process for individuals (SA100)

This release includes the Self Assessment SA100 series of forms for individuals in Sage Personal Tax. We have also improved the way you preview and finalise tax returns and streamlined the return submission process.

The overall process remains the same:

Enter client data via the Personal Tax Navigator
Produce Plain Paper Schedules to validate data entry and to present to your clients
Review Tax return and supplementary pages, and add PDF attachments (if required)
Produce Plain Paper Calculation for detail of how the tax liability has been calculated
Finalise return for client approval and submission to HMRC

5.) Foreign and capital gains supplementary pages

Download information on the changes to the foreign supplementary pages

Download our document on changes to capital gains supplementary pages

6.) Specials and Exclusions

In this section we've put together some help sheets on Specials and Exclusions. For further information, the following links will direct you to each respective one:

Now available on the Support area

8.) Sage Taxation - changes to the tax return process for partnerships

For further information, download our document