Guidance

Making Tax Digital for VAT as an agent: step by step

Follow these steps if you’re an agent using Making Tax Digital for VAT on behalf of your clients.

• From: HM Revenue & Customs
• Published: 8 February 2019
• Last updated: 30 March 2023
  Show all updates

  1. 30 March 2023

     Guidance around agents copying VAT clients across to their agent services account has been removed. Agents can no longer do this.

  2. 2 February 2023

     All VAT customers should now be signed up for Making Tax Digital for VAT so the steps agents have to take have been updated.

  3. 4 January 2023

     All VAT registered businesses should now be signed up for Making Tax Digital for VAT. HMRC will automatically sign up all remaining businesses. You no longer need to do it yourself.

  4. 27 September 2022

     We have updated the guide to confirm that from 1 November 2022, you will not be able to use your existing VAT online account to send quarterly or monthly VAT returns. You need to sign up to Making Tax Digital (MTD) and use compatible software to keep your VAT records and file your VAT returns.

  5. 1 April 2022

     Information has been updated to reflect the fact that VAT registered businesses with taxable turnover below the registration threshold will also need to follow the Making Tax Digital rules from 1 April 2022.

  6. 9 October 2020

     We have added a link to guidance on how to authorise an agent to deal with certain tax services for you.

  7. 20 July 2020

     Added translation

  8. 16 July 2020

     Section 6 updated to 'Ask new clients to authorise you'.

  9. 13 September 2019

     A new section has been added about 'How to manage your client's details'.

  10. 1 August 2019

      Added translation

  11. 12 July 2019

      Added translation

  12. 17 May 2019

      Sign your client up at least 72 hours before their VAT Return is due, or 7 working days before if they pay by Direct Debit.

  13. 25 March 2019

      Businesses need to sign up for Making Tax Digital at least one week before their VAT Return is due.

  14. 8 February 2019

      First published.

All VAT registered businesses should now be signed up for Making Tax Digital for VAT. You no longer need to sign up clients.

HMRC will sign up all remaining businesses to Making Tax Digital for VAT automatically unless they are exempt or have applied for exemption.

Steps you need to take

1. Get the right software — you can search for software that is compatible with Making Tax Digital for VAT.

2. Create an agent services account — this is different to your HMRC online services for agents account.

3. Ask new clients to authorise you — select ‘Ask a client to authorise you’, create an authorisation request (this appears as a link) then send the link to your client.

4. Ask clients to authorise an agent to deal with Making Tax Digital for VAT — before you send VAT Returns, you’ll need to authorise your software. You can ask your software supplier if you do not know how.

5. You can manage your client’s details online once they have authorised you.

What new clients must do

To authorise you, new clients must make sure they use the link to respond to your request before it expires.

Find out how clients can authorise an agent for taxes that use the digital handshake.