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FAQs

Some of the most frequently asked questions from users can be found here…

1. Getting Started With Magic Tax

  • Magic Tax is bridging software, designed to "bridge the gap" between your data (extracted from Keyloop) and HMRC's MTD for VAT system.

    The solution uses an API to interact with HMRC's system but does not connect to your Keyloop system, it has been specifically developed to ingest the file(s) you extract from the Keyloop system in the exact format it is extracted to calculate your VAT return.

    No need for manual manipulation of spreadsheets = fully compliant with HMRC regulations!

    Check out our User Guide.

    Still need Help? Contact Support.

  • If you'd like to take Magic Tax for a test-drive first you will need to 'Register’ for a Magic Tax Account.

    From the Magic Tax user dashboard, apply for a licence and our team will activate your account for FREE for a period of 3 months. From the dropdown, select the combined turnover of all companies you will be making submissions for under the licence..

    This will be long enough to find your way around and file one VAT return using Magic Tax before you commit to purchasing an annual licence.

    The free trial will automatically expire after three months or when you have filed a VAT return to HMRC using the solution, whichever happens first. One free trial is allowed per VAT Registration Number (VRN).

    There is no obligation to sign up for an annual licence after the trial period has ended.

    Check out our User Guide

    Need help applying for a free trial? Get in touch with the team.

  • The annual subscription cost for Magic Tax is based on your annual turnover (combined turnover of all companies you need to make submissions for).

    You can find out more in the pricing section or contact our team for more information.

  • Our UK-based support team is available Monday to Friday, 9:00 am–5:00 pm, excluding UK Bank and Public Holidays.

    During your free trial

    If you have a question or need help during your free trial, please email the support team. Include a clear description of your question or issue, along with screenshots where relevant, to help us assist you as quickly as possible.

    Active annual licence holders

    If you have an active Magic Tax annual licence, please raise any questions or technical support requests through the dedicated Magic Tax Support Portal. This is the quickest way to get help from the Magic Tax team.

    When your annual licence is activated, you will receive an email invitation to access the support portal. Instructions for setting up your support portal access can be found here.

    You may also find the answer you need in the Magic Tax User Guide.

2. Your Account & Licence

  • Your password is case sensitive. If you have forgotten your password, you can reset it by clicking on the ‘forgotten password’ link on the log in page and by following the instructions.

    Your username will be your email address.

    An email (valid for 24 hours) will be sent to your registered email address to reset your password - remember to check your junk/spam folder!

    Check out our User Guide

    Still need help? Contact Support

  • Your username will be your email address.

    Check out our User Guide for more information.

    Still need help? Contact Support

  • Providing that the software has not been used to make a VAT submission to HMRC (by any of the registered users associated with the licence), the Licensee (admin user) can request to cancel the Licence.

    Any request to cancel the licence should be made in writing to our Support Team and the licence fee (minus a £99 admin fee) will be refunded.

    If any user associated with the licence has utilised the software to make a submission to HMRC, the licence cannot be cancelled and no refund will be given. The licence will remain active until it lapses, and the filing history will remain available from the Magic Tax dashboard for a period of 6 years.

    Check out our User Guide.

    Still need Help? Contact Support.

  • Users who have made a submission to HMRC through Magic Tax will not be able to delete their account for a period of 6 years, as we are obliged to make the filing history available (in case of HMRC enquiry) for this period of time.

    Users who have signed up for a Magic Tax account (but have not used the solution to make a submission) can request that their account be deleted by contacting support.

    The Licensee can remove a previously authorised user from their licence so that no further submissions can be made by that user from the licence.

    The Licensee can also transfer admin rights for the licence to another Magic Tax user if needed.

    Check out our User Guide for more information.

    Still need Help? Contact Support.

  • Magic Tax users can make submissions for more than one company under one licence.

    Consideration should be given to this when applying for your licence, as the cost of the licence is based on your company turnover (for all companies you need to file for under the licence combined).

    The users are managed by the admin user of the licence. As long as the individual is registered with HMRC and has Government Gateway/GOV.UK One Login credentials to allow them to make submissions for that company, they will be able to make a submission using Magic Tax.

    NB: Each user will need to register with Magic Tax before their Magic Tax account can be added to the licence. You will require a separate user account in Magic Tax with a unique email address (username) and password for each company/set of Government Gateway credentials.

    If an individual user needs to make submissions for more than one company but does not have a separate email address - your email client may allow you to add +1, +2, or +3 etc immediately after the beginning section of your email address and before the @ symbol.

    Or you could enter a word or company name - for example, [email protected].

    Check out our User Guide.

    Still need Help? Contact Support.

  • If you have different government gateway / One Login credentials for each company, then you will require a separate Magic Tax user account for each company, because only one Government Gateway account can be authorised to each Magic Tax user account.

    You can register for multiple Magic Tax accounts to file for companies with different VRNs and they can all be added to the same licence.

    Each Magic Tax registration will require a unique user name and email address. Your email account setup may allow [yourname]+1@[yourcompany].co.uk, +2, +3 or [yourname]+[extrainfohere]@[yourcompany].co.uk etc.

    You can file for multiple dealerships and instances of Keyloop’s DMS under the same VRN using one Magic Tax account. Multiple VAT Summary extracts from Keyloop systems can be merged using Magic Tax and filed as one submission.

    Check out our User Guide.

    Still need Help? Contact Support.

3. Preparing & Uploading Your VAT Data

  • Your file should be saved exactly as it is extracted from Keyloop, in CSV format with the .csv file extension.

    You should not rename the column headers or add any additional columns to the file.

    Need Help? Contact Support.

    Check out our User Guide for further information.

  • Manual adjustments should be made within the Keyloop Drive/Autoline system before extracting the VAT Summary file. This means that the extracted data will not need to be manipulated outside of the Keyloop solution. This ensures compliance with HMRC's regulations regarding digital links, digital record-keeping, and removing all copy/paste or manual manipulation of data methods.

    An existing Magic Tax user has offered suggestions as to how you could manage manual adjustments within Keyloop which you can read here.

    Check out our User Guide.

    Still need Help? Contact Support.

  • Yes, Magic Tax can ingest an unlimited number of files to merge data into one VAT return.

    As long as all the relevant tax groups and codes have been added to the whitelist, Magic Tax will factor all relevant data from multiple files into one calculation.

    Need to ask a question? Contact us.

4. VAT Returns & HMRC

  • Only the data from your open obligation period (which Magic Tax obtains from HMRC electronically) will pull through to the VAT submission. For example, if your obligation period is May-July, an entry that falls in any other period will not feature in the VAT calculation.

    You should check your Tax Group and Tax Code set up – making sure that you have identified the groups and codes you want to be included in boxes 6 & 7 of your return and whether you need to include inputs, outputs or both to be included in your return.

    NB: Keyloop customers should make any manual adjustments with the Keyloop DMS solution – before the VAT Summary report is extracted from Keyloop.

    Check out our User Guide.

    Still need Help? Contact Support.

  • If your VAT obligation period is not showing in Magic Tax, this usually means that HMRC does not currently have an open obligation period available for your company.

    First, check your HMRC account

    Log in to your Government Gateway / GOV.UK One Login account using your MTD credentials and check whether an open VAT obligation period is showing for the company.

    If no obligation period is available in your HMRC account, you should contact HMRC directly for assistance.

    If your VAT return is overdue

    If you are submitting your VAT return late, the relevant obligation period may no longer be available. In this case, you should contact HMRC to confirm how the return should be submitted.

    Check for HMRC system downtime

    HMRC regularly carries out maintenance on its MTD for VAT service, usually over a weekend. As Magic Tax connects directly to HMRC, some functionality may be temporarily unavailable during these periods, including the ability to retrieve VAT obligation periods.

    You can check for planned maintenance or current HMRC service issues here.

    If HMRC shows an open obligation period, there are no reported service issues and the period is still not appearing in Magic Tax, please contact our Support Team for further assistance.

    You can also refer to the Magic Tax User Guide for additional guidance.

  • This message comes directly from HMRC's system and is shown for one of the following reasons:

    - You have not yet signed up your business to Making Tax Digital with HMRC (or the sign-up process has not yet been finalised). Signing up to MTD with HMRC can take up to 72 hours, and you will receive a confirmation email once the process is complete. You should wait for the email before trying to add a company in Magic Tax.

    - You are not authorised with HMRC to make submissions for the company – you can check this with HMRC by signing into your Government Gateway / One Login online account.
    - Authorisation for Magic Tax to interact with HMRC has been revoked. A quick check of this is to re-authorise (Extend) Magic Tax to interact with HMRC before you will be able to submit. You can do this from the 'My Companies' tab of the Magic Tax dashboard.

    Check out our User Guide.

    Still need Help? Contact Support.

  • You should check that you have not:

    - Entered any additional text/data in line 1 of your spreadsheet – as Magic Tax needs this line to be exactly as per the Keyloop extract.

    - Re-named any of the column headers - as Magic Tax needs these to locate your data.

    - Included any references to other files or sheets using formulas – as Magic Tax will not have access to this information during the upload process.

    You should also check that you have:

    - Saved your file as a CSV file, or added .csv as an extension to the file name.

    Check out our User Guide.

    Still need Help? Contact Support.

5. Data Security & Record Keeping

  • Magic Tax only stores the information required to manage your account, licence and VAT submissions.

    This includes your registered email address, company details and the VAT return information required to maintain a record of submissions made through Magic Tax.

    Your HMRC login credentials are not stored by Magic Tax. Authorisation to submit VAT returns is handled securely through HMRC.

  • No. Magic Tax does not retain a copy of the VAT Summary file you upload.

    The file is used to calculate and prepare the figures required for your VAT return. Once processed, the original uploaded file is not stored by Magic Tax.

    Magic Tax does retain the VAT return information required to provide a record of submissions made through the system.

    You should therefore keep your original VAT Summary files and any supporting VAT records in accordance with HMRC's record-keeping requirements.

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