The Tax Agent's Handbook

Getting started

Support, guidance and resources for registering as a tax agent and getting authorised to act on your client's behalf.

Mandatory registration for tax advisers

If you interact with HMRC about someone else’s tax affairs and get paid for it, you may be legally required to register as a tax adviser. This will be completed through an online system that replaces the previous way to register.

You will need to check if and when you need to register as a tax adviser with HMRC. If you need to register, you should:

• check if you meet HMRC’s conditions to register as a tax adviser

• apply for an agent services account

If you already have an agent services account, you will not need to register again. HMRC will contact you through your agent services account when we need more information from you, to check if you meet the registration conditions.

Before you register as a tax agent with HMRC

If you want to help friends and family with their tax, you can register online as a ‘trusted helper’.

If you want to become a professional tax agent, there are some things you have to do and standards you should follow before you can start handling tax for your clients. These include:

• registering for anti-money laundering supervision
• registering your own business for tax with HMRC
• making sure you’re meeting HMRC’s agent standards
• making sure you meet HMRC’s registration conditions, if applying for an agent services account
• considering becoming a member of a professional body

If you’re based outside the UK, you must comply with the anti-money laundering requirements of that country.

How to register as a professional tax agent with HMRC

If you’re legally required to register with HMRC as a tax adviser, you must first apply for an agent services account.

You must do this  before attempting to interact with HMRC: 

• for services normally accessed through a HMRC online services account 
• for services accessed through a Government Gateway user ID
• in any other way, including post or phone

Even if you aren’t required to register with HMRC as a tax adviser, you must still register as a professional tax agent with HMRC for the tax services you want to use.

There are different ways to register depending on which tax service you want to use on behalf of your client.

You will need to check which type of account you need, and if you should register:

• for an agent services account
• for a HMRC online services account
• using a Government Gateway user ID

Watch a recorded webinar about access groups within the agent services account.

How to create a HMRC online services account and enrol a tax service onto your HMRC online services account

When you’ve registered and got the agent code for the service you want to use, you can then enrol it onto your HMRC online services account.

Once you’ve enrolled a tax service, you will need to activate the service before you can transact on behalf of your client.

Once you’ve registered for and enrolled a tax service on your HMRC online services account you’ll need to get authorised by each of your clients to transact on their behalf.

Getting authorised to act as a tax agent on behalf of your clients

Once you’ve registered as a tax agent, you must then get authorisation from your client so that you can transact for them.

You should not use your clients sign in details, or access their online tax account.

Depending on which tax services you will be using, there are different ways to get authorisation from your clients, including:

• the digital handshake
• online
• asking your client to authorise you through their business tax account
• paper forms