Online services for agents

Information about services available to agents, including Self Assessment and PAYE for agents online services, multi-factor authentication, calculators and the HMRC App. Find out about service availability and any current issues. You can use the HMRC service availability, downtime and technical issues to check for planned downtime or whether there are any technical issues affecting the performance of HMRC online services. You will need to sign in to HMRC services and check which agent account you’ll need to use . The tax services you will be using will determine the type of account you need . Agent services account allows you to access services such as: You will need to sign in to HMRC services and check which agent account you’ll need to use . The tax services you will be using will determine the type of account you need . HMRC online services for agents account allows you to access services such as: The PAYE for Agents online service allows you to manage most of your clients’ responsibilities online for: The Self Assessment for Agents online service covers individuals, businesses, trusts and partnerships. Client authorisations also cover National Insurance and, for individuals, requests for information to help calculate the High Income Child Benefit charge. To use the Self Assessment for Agents online service you’ll need to: Multi-factor authentication ( MFA ) adds an extra layer of security to your account. MFA already protects Government Gateway accounts for individuals and organisations . We are now extending this protection to agent accounts in response to ongoing and evolving online security threats. When you sign in to your account, you enter your Government Gateway user ID and password. You will then be asked to enter a one-time access code. Once activated, MFA will apply to all online services linked to that Government Gateway account, helping to protect it even if your sign-in details are compromised. Where you have more than one Government Gateway account, activation dates may vary, meaning accounts may become active on different days. Thousands of agents are already benefiting from the enhanced protection MFA provides, having taken advantage of the early activation dates offered in July and August 2026. All remaining accounts will automatically be activated between 28 September 2026 and 15 October 2026. HMRC are unable to give a specific activation date for these accounts. Prepare your account now, before activation begins in September, to avoid any disruption to your access to HMRC online services. Follow these steps before MFA is switched on. An MFA option may already be set up on your account. For example, someone in your firm may have enabled it when using an HMRC service like Making Tax Digital for VAT. When MFA is activated for sign in, access codes are sent to the contact details saved when the option was set up. You should check your account for any existing MFA options and make sure the details are up to date. You can: Administrators can remove MFA options for team members, but cannot set up new ones for them. To update your settings within an agent services account: To update your settings within an HMRC agent account: HMRC recommends each member of staff who requires access to your agent services account and HMRC online services for agents account has their own individual sign in credentials. Organisations with multiple staff members should have more than one administrator on their account. This allows you to: To help keep your account secure, you should remove access for any staff who leave your organisation or no longer need access to your HMRC online services. This reduces the risk of unauthorised access and helps ensure your account information remains protected. Guidance on how to add standard users, administrators and remove staff access is available at how to give staff access to your HMRC online tax agent accounts . HMRC recommends you prepare for the introduction of MFA by: There are 3 ways to