Personal tax account – what is it?

Personal Tax Account – Introduction

This service was introduced by the Government in December 2015. It is supposed to be a way to make life easier for individuals who manage their tax affairs online.

A cynic might say this avoids HMRC having to answer the phone or opening the good old fashioned post.

However, not having to spend hours on hold to HMRC is probably something most people will not miss at all.

What can my personal tax account do?

HMRC has set out that the personal tax account can be used to do the following:

• check your estimated tax bill;
• check your tax code;
• complete, submit and review your personal tax return;
• make a claim for a  tax repayment;
• manage your tax credits;
• manage your State Pension;
• check or update your Marriage Allowance;
• update you personal details with HMRC; and
• check any employment benefits

It is likely that the range of features offered as part of this service will expand over time.

The personal tax account and the self-employed

If you are self-employed or otherwise filing a Self-Assessment personal tax return then you can use your personal tax account to:

• locate your Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR)
• open any private and secure emails HMRC has sent to you;
• use it to file your tax return;
• review and print off your tax calculation;
• appeal any tax penalties imposed by HMRC;
• inform HMRC that you are no longer self-employed;
• review your online Annual Tax Summary; and
• apply to reduce your payments on account if your circumstances change

How to set up your personal tax account

Registering for your personal tax account should not take long at all.

If you do not have a Government Gateway User ID then you should obtain one through HMRC’s website.

If you have a Government Gateway User ID then you should sign in using these credentials. You will also need to have your National Insurance Number to hand.

After you have signed in using your Government Gateway ID, then you will be asked further questions to verify your identity.

Once you’ve signed up and registered then it should be possible to start managing your tax affairs using your personal tax account.

Want someone else to deal with your tax affairs?

For many people, the preferred option will remain to delegate the management of their tax affairs to their tax adviser.

For an idea of our personal tax return services please see here.

If you have any queries about this article then please get in touch.