HMRC has announced the timeline for changes to their Digital Services which are to be upgraded as a result of a £200 million Government investment.

The changes are intended to allow taxpayers and approx. five million small businesses to interact with HMRC digitally.

By 2015-16, HMRC have announced that up to two million individuals will be able to carry out transactions online, such as:

1. self-serving their repayments
2. viewing their tax codes and how they are made up
3. updating their personal details online
4. handling end of year reconciliation online
5. reporting additional sources of income, such as interest, rental and dividend income

By the end of 2015-16 SMEs (and their agents) will be able to:

1. access “nearly everything they need” through a single personalised homepage
2. get direct access to all the online transactions relevant to them
3. view a personalised tax calendar with digital alerts
4. complete more transactions online (for example, telling HMRC that they've ceased trading)
5. get answers to their questions through tailored online tools, with the intention of thereby reducing post and phone volumes

More information is available in the Press Release.