Reviews
Check your HMRC agent authorisations: a yearly review for each tax
Check which accountants hold HMRC agent authority on your account: tax by tax, matched to the engagement, with a yearly review and an AML recheck.
What to take away
- The agent record sits in your own HMRC online account, where you can see the firm's name and remove it.
- Review each tax separatelythe firm may handle some and not others.
- Match every entry to the trading name, the legal entity and the engagement.
- Diarise a yearly review and remove access when the engagement ends or changes.
- Recheck the AML supervision entry in the same sitting.
Why a yearly review is worth diarising
An agent link in your HMRC account is yours to control, so a yearly review belongs to you, not to the firm. HMRC links the firm to your Self Assessment, VAT, PAYE or Corporation Tax account, and you can see the firm's name, and remove it, from your own sign-in.
Anyone can print an agent reference on a letterhead. The only record that counts is the one HMRC holds against your tax record, which is why a firm's screenshot or letter is never the check. Read HMRC's agent guidance and service updates on its organisation page before you rely on a claim about HMRC status.
Run the review tax by tax
Work through the taxes one at a time, because a firm may be authorised for some and not others. Do this in your HMRC online account, never from a screenshot the firm supplies. Compare each entry with the scope in the engagement contract.
- Ask the firm which taxes it will handle, and for its agent reference or Government Gateway identifier.
- Sign in to your HMRC online account and open the agent authorisation service for each tax.
- Confirm the existing entry matches the trading name, or add the firm if it is not listed.
- Remove the entry for any tax the firm no longer handles, then diarise the next review.
Check HMRC agent authorisation
- Ask which taxes and agent reference
- Sign in to HMRC online account
- Add firm or confirm trading name
- Diarise a yearly review
- Ask about agent services account
Match each entry to a legal entity
A trading name on an HMRC entry may differ from the legal entity that signs your engagement letter. Companies House shows the registered name, number, officers and filing history, so use its search to confirm that the company is active and the directors match the people you met.
Check that accounts are filed on time. Statutory accounts and reports duties sit in Part 15 of the Companies Act 2006, so a late or missing filing is a question to put to the firm before you extend its access.
Ask who holds the Making Tax Digital agent account
Making Tax Digital for VAT usually means the firm needs an agent services account. Ask which route it uses, and who holds the account. If the firm cannot say, record that in the review log and ask again in writing.
Recheck AML supervision in the same sitting
Anti-money laundering supervision is compulsory for UK accountancy practices under the Money Laundering Regulations 2017. A firm already supervised by a professional body does not need to register with HMRC; firms outside a body are supervised by HMRC, which publishes a supervision register you can search by name.
Verify AML registration
- Search HMRC supervision register by name
- Check firm name and address
- Confirm status is active
- Watch for expired or lapsed entry
- Get supervisor name in writing
A screenshot proves nothing. The register entry and your own HMRC account are the evidence.
A register entry alone is thin. Check the firm name, the address and the status, because an expired or lapsed entry is a warning sign. Ask for the supervisor's name in writing and confirm it yourself. For membership, each professional body runs a public search on the individual's name, not the brand.
A review log you can copy
Record each yearly review in one table, so next year's check starts from this year's answers.
| Entry | Where to look | Keep if | Query or remove if |
|---|---|---|---|
| Agent entry for each tax | Your HMRC online account | The firm still handles that tax | The engagement ended or the tax moved elsewhere |
| Firm name | The same sign-in | It matches the trading name | It differs from the engagement letter |
| Company record | Companies House | Active, filings up to date, directors match | A lapse or an unexplained change |
| AML supervision | The supervisor's register | Active entry under the correct legal name | Expired, lapsed or missing |
| Agent services account | Ask the firm | The firm names who holds it | There is no clear answer |
Example: a yearly review that finds a gap
Suppose a firm was appointed for payroll and VAT, and later took on year-end accounts. At the review, your HMRC account shows entries for PAYE and VAT but none for Corporation Tax. Ask the firm in writing which party files that return, and record the answer before the next deadline.
For a new appointment rather than a review, work from a selection checklist.
Common questions
How often should I review my HMRC agent authorisations?
Yearly. Diarise the review so you can remove access when the engagement ends or changes, and check each tax separately rather than the firm as a whole.
Where do I see which firms are linked to my tax record?
In your own HMRC online account. It shows the firm's name and lets you remove it, which is why a screenshot from the firm is never the evidence.
Does HMRC publish a list of authorised tax agents?
HMRC does not publish a full public directory of every agent. You confirm authorisation through your own HMRC online account for each tax.
What if an entry appears for a tax the firm should not handle?
Query it with the firm in writing, compare it with the engagement letter, and remove the entry if it should not be there.
