1. It is possible for agents to file Self Assessment tax returns on behalf of people who have not signed form 64-8 to authorise the agent to act on their behalf. This can be done using commercial software packages only – it is not possible for an agent to file a tax return for so-called 'unauthorised clients' using HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC's) software. Apart from receiving electronic confirmation that the tax return has been accepted, the agent will receive no other correspondence from HMRC for unauthorised clients.
2. Tax returns filed electronically using commercial software are submitted via the Government Gateway. Most of the validation checks aren’t done until the tax return reaches HMRC’s systems but the Government Gateway will perform some basic authentication including:
The User ID and the password must correspond in all cases. The UTR will be validated against an agent’s ‘Authorised Client List’. For ‘File Only’ cases, the Government Gateway recognises that the tax return is being filed by an agent (determined by the User ID) and if it can’t match the UTR to the ‘Authorised Client List’ then it will simply check that the UTR is genuine.
3. Before anyone can file a tax return on someone else’s behalf (ie as an agent) and irrespective of whether the other person has authorised the agent to act on his or her behalf, the agent must both register as an agent with the Government Gateway and enrol to use Self Assessment. This can be done either directly at the Government Gateway (this will take you to the homepage, where you should then click on <Register as an ‘Agent’> on the right hand side of the screen) or (recommended) via HMRC's website.
4. The Registration and enrolment process can only be completed if the agent has first obtained an Agent ID from HMRC. This is a 6-character ID, which starts and ends with a letter, with four numbers in between. The Agent ID will be posted to the agent when s/he has told HMRC that s/he wants to become an agent.
5. The agent will choose his/her own password, whether s/he registers directly at the Government Gateway or via HMRC’s website. The password, in either case, must be between 8 and 12 characters and include at least one number (0-9) and at least one letter (a-z).
6. The User ID for the Government Gateway will be generated automatically – it will comprise twelve numeric characters. It is this User ID that corresponds with the password.
7. Separately, there is a Gateway Agent Identifier. It comprises twelve alphanumeric characters and is generated automatically if registering via HMRC’s website. If registering directly at the Government Gateway then the agent will choose the first half of the Gateway Agent Identifier (actually called the 'Agent ID' by the Government Gateway), with the second half generated automatically. The agent can choose between 1 and 12 characters, letters or numbers, but must not include either spaces or punctuation. The auto-generated part of the Agent ID will comprise twelve alphanumeric characters.
8. A separate Activation PIN will be generated for each service the agent enrols for. They will be posted to the agent from the Government Gateway, who then has to access online services using his/her User ID and password to key in the Activation PIN to complete the Registration and enrolment process. Assuming the agent has enrolled to use Self Assessment Online then s/he will now be able to file tax returns for other people.
9. An agent must use an Internet-enabled commercial software package to be able to file a return for 'unauthorised clients'. It is not possible to provide generic guidance on how an agent would complete and submit a tax return electronically via the Internet, because software packages will adopt different approaches but at some point in the process for creating and submitting a tax return, the ‘file’ that is sent to the Government Gateway must include the agent’s User ID (not the Agent ID/Gateway Agent Identifier), the agent’s password and the client’s UTR.
10. Glossary of terms
