Authorising an agent to deal with your tax affairs
Check what a paid agent can do on your behalf. How you authorise the agent depends on the tax, and you may need to use paper form 64-8 or an online service.
This guide covers authorising paid agents such as a professional accountant or tax advisor. There’s a different way to appoint a friend or relative to deal with HMRC on your behalf.
How to authorise an agent
Your agent will tell you how they want you to authorise them.
Depending on which tax services you and your agent use, there are different ways to give your agent authority, including:
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the digital handshake — where your agent sends you an email with a link
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online agent authorisation — where your agent submits a request to HMRC, we then send you a letter with an authorisation code and you give the code to your agent
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through your Business tax account for certain taxes — after you’ve registered for the tax and added it to your Business tax account
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paper forms — ‘Authorising your agent 64-8’ form
Check a list of the all the ways to authorise a agent for the tax services you need.
You’ll still be legally responsible for your own tax
If your agent submits your tax return, you must check the information and let them know it’s correct, before they submit it to us.
If you’re an agent
You’ll be asked for your 6-digit Self Assessment, PAYE or Corporation Tax agent code. If you do not have one, get an agent code or reference number when you register and get authorised as a tax agent to deal with HMRC.
What an authorised agent can do on your behalf
Self Assessment
If authorising your agent for Self Assessment purposes, your agent can:
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submit tax returns on your behalf
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make claims for tax relief in your tax returns
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discuss your current and previous tax returns with us
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view and change your details, such as sources of income
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provide bank details to us when repayment is due
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view and submit your updates (income and expenses)
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finalise your overall tax position
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view your calculations and amounts owed and paid
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cancel your Self Assessment registration
Your agent can also access your Self Assessment details, such as your:
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name
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address
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National Insurance number
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Unique Taxpayer Reference
Before you authorise an agent you must first register for Self Assessment. If you already have a Self Assessment account you can use the 64-8 form to authorise an agent.
Trusts
By authorising your agent in the Register and maintain a trust online service your agent will gain access to the personal and financial information for your trust.
The ‘Authorising your agent (64-8)’ authority will not provide your agent with access to the online service. Find out more about authorising an agent to access the trust.
Individual PAYE
By submitting ‘Authorising your agent 64-8’ form for Individual PAYE purposes, your agent can access:
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who you have worked for in the past
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taxable benefits such as medical insurance and company car information
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pensions
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your PAYE involvement start and end dates
Corporation Tax
By submitting ‘Authorising your agent 64-8’ form for Corporation Tax purposes, your agent will:
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gain access to your company and financial information
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be able to update the company communication and contact details
Find out more about Corporation Tax.
Tax credits
By submitting ‘Authorising your agent 64-8’ form for tax credits purposes, your agent will gain access to your personal and financial information relating to your Tax Credit claim. They can act on your behalf but cannot receive payments. Correspondence will still be sent to you.
For joint tax credit claims, both claimants need to sign this form to authorise your agent.
VAT
By submitting ‘Authorising your agent 64-8’ form for VAT purposes, your agent can (in writing or by telephone only):
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discuss your VAT with us
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sign paper documents on your behalf
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view, change and submit your VAT details
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view your VAT payments and liabilities
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cancel your VAT registration
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appeal a late submission or late payment penalty
Your agent can also access your:
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VAT registration details, such as your business and contact details
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submitted VAT Returns
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VAT Return calculations
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amounts owed or paid
Construction Industry Scheme
By submitting ‘Authorising your agent 64-8’ form for Construction Industry Scheme purposes, your agent can access your returns, subcontractors’ income and deductions.
Find out more about the Construction Industry Scheme.
Employers’ PAYE
By submitting’ Authorising your agent 64-8’ form for Employers’ PAYE purposes, your agent will have access to your employees’ personal and financial information.
Find out more about Employers’ PAYE.
Complete form 64-8 Authorising your agent
Unless you can authorise an agent for a specific tax using an online service or the Business tax account, use form 64-8.
If you do not use the following instructions, it may cause errors and delay our response.
Follow these steps to avoid delay
Make sure that you:
- Use the latest version of the ‘Authorising your agent (64-8)’ form.
- Do not include a covering letter.
- Do not write outside the designated boxes on the form.
- Type or hand write clearly on the form.
- Only put the information we ask for in the form fields — do not add any extra details (for example, in the ‘Agent code (SA) ’ field, only include the correct Self Assessment (SA) agent code, consisting of 6 characters 1111XX.
- Provide the correct agent codes for the relevant tax regimes, for example ‘PAYE XX1111’.
Download the form
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You need to:
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Download and save the form on your computer.
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Open it using the latest free version of Adobe Reader.
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Complete it on-screen.
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Print then sign the form.
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Post it to HMRC, using the postal address shown on the form.
Change or remove authorisation
Change or remove your tax agent’s authorisation if you no longer want them to manage your affairs.