Frequently Asked Questions

How do I resolve “The client and/or agent is not authorised.”?

When trying to authorise My Tax Digital to interact with HMRC, you encounter the error “The client and/or agent is not authorised.” e.g.

Try the following steps in order to resolve “The client and/or agent is not authorised” error:

Log into My Tax Digital, select the business, click on the “MTD VAT” tile and then click the “MTD VAT Authorization” tile.
Click on the “Continue to HMRC Sign-in” button and then click “Continue”.
You’ll then need to authenticate using the Government Gateway ID credentials associated with the VRN for the business. If you have multiple Gateway credentials, double check you’re using the correct ones.
Once you’ve successfully authenticated and granted authority, you’ll be returned back to My Tax Digital.
Check the VRN is correct and click the Save button. If you see a green confirmation box then you should now be able to submit a VAT return for the business.
If you’re still seeing “The client and/or agent is not authorised”, it indicates that the HMRC MTD service doesn’t recognise an association between the Government Gateway account and the VRN. Double check that you’re using the correct Gateway credentials and try again, but failing that you’ll need to contact HMRC directly.

All VAT registered businesses should now be signed up for Making Tax Digital for VAT. If you’re an agent, you no longer need to sign up clients.
HMRC will sign up all remaining businesses to Making Tax Digital for VAT automatically unless they are exempt or have applied for exemption.
All you need to do is register for a My Tax Digital account. When you login, select your business and click the VAT return tile. If this is your first time, you’ll be prompted to authorise My Tax Digital to interact with HMRC for which you’ll need the Government Gateway ID and password associated with the VAT No. of your business. How do I give other users access to a business? It’s possible to do this yourself by using the Share Access feature, see the instructions here

Prior to sharing access with an additional user, just ask them to register and create their own account first otherwise you’ll receive an error when trying to share access with them.

Why do I have to reauthorise My Tax Digital with HMRC?

Once every 18 months or so, you’ll receive an automated email from My Tax Digital asking you to reauthorise.

There’s no imperative to do this immediately and you could just wait until you need to submit the next VAT return, however it does mean that the system won’t send you VAT reminders (assuming you have them enabled) until you have reauthorised.

How do I update my email address?

In order to update the email address, click on your user name in the top right, go to “Edit Profile” and enter the new email address in the “New Email (Requires Verification)” and click “Save”. An email will be sent to the new email address with a verification link. Once you click on that, the email address will be updated in My Tax Digital and you’ll be able to login using the new email address.

If you no longer have access to the registered email address then for security reasons we cannot update it for you and you will need to create a new account using your new email address. How do I contact HMRC directly? Telephone: 0300 200 3700 Outside UK: +44 2920 501 261 Full contact details for HMRC can be found here:

https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/hm-revenue-customs/contact/vat-enquiries

How do I search for historic obligations and submit VAT returns?

Follow these steps to find historic obligations and optionally submit VAT returns:

Login to My Tax Digital and select the business.
Click MTD VAT then click VAT Obligations.
Adjust the Date from and Date to dates on the obligations page to search for historic obligations.
Make sure the date range does not exceed one year.
If the status of the obligation is “Open” then the “Submit VAT Return” button will be available in order to file a return.
Historic obligations prior to the introduction of Making Tax Digital in 2019 will not typically be available.
If you are unable to find a historic obligation from 2019, you will need to contact HMRC directly as there may be other reasons as to why this is not being made available via MTD. How do I make a net VAT reclaim? Box 5 is always entered as a positive number on a VAT return. HMRC determines if it’s a net reclaim by looking at the values for boxes 3 and 4. See https://www.gov.uk/guidance/how-to-fill-in-and-submit-your-vat-return-vat-notice-70012#section3 for more information about how to fill in each box on your VAT return. Regardless, My Tax Digital will automatically calculate the Box 5 figure based on boxes 3 and 4.

Can I make adjustments to previously submitted VAT returns?

Once the figures have been submitted to HMRC, it’s not possible to edit them via My Tax Digital, however it is possible to make an adjustment or correction in your next return. See https://www.gov.uk/submit-vat-return/correct-errors-in-your-vat-return for details.

How do I reclaim VAT for local authorities, academies, public bodies or eligible charities exempt from VAT?

MTD requires a valid VAT Registration Number (VRN) in order to submit a VAT return.

If you’re exempt from VAT as a local authority, academy, public body or eligible charity then you need to use HMRC’s own online service (VAT126) to claim back VAT. See https://www.gov.uk/guidance/claim-a-vat-refund-as-an-organisation-not-registered-for-vat but we recommend you talk to HMRC directly to confirm this is the case.

Is CIS VAT reverse charging supported?

Although an expense category exists for construction industry payments, HMRC VAT reverse charge technical guidance states that you cannot use the VAT Cash Accounting Scheme for supplies of services that are subject to the reverse charge and because My Tax Digital transactions are currently intended for use with cash basis accounting, a reverse charging option is not provided. Regardless, businesses using CIS VAT reverse charging can still use My Tax Digital’s Bridging mode rather than Accounting mode to submit their VAT figures.

Why has my passcode expired whilst trying to log in?

Please make sure you use the passcode from the most recent email you receive and avoid double-clicking the sign-in button.

If the problem persists, try signing in using a different browser or different device.

How do I resolve an issue relating to HMRC payments or repayments?

You’ll need to take this up with HMRC directly as they are responsible for VAT payments and repayments.

Why can’t I select Margin Scheme when submitting my VAT return?

Since the Margin scheme is only applicable to certain goods, we’ve only implemented it at the individual transaction level under Income & Expenses and not on the VAT Return as a whole because in practice most business would also have expenses and overheads on which VAT is charged and therefore not eligible for Margin scheme and so they would need to choose either Cash or Standard as their accounting method.

Regardless, the VAT scheme chosen on the VAT return screen is not actually transmitted to HMRC when the return is submitted, only the 9 figures are sent.

As we’re not qualified to give you accounting advice about whether you should choose Cash or Standard, you should seek advice from a qualified accountant or tax agent.

What are the benefits of being an Affiliate Member?

Get your own publicly verifiable affiliate page on the Affiliate Directory and be seen by tens of thousands of businesses who use My Tax Digital.
Align your business with this popular and trusted provider of free MTD for VAT software enhancing your brand reputation and customer loyalty.
Gain access to My Tax Digital badges and links that you can use to promote the service to your customers.
Early access to new features and the forthcoming MTD ITSA app, to give you a competitive advantage in the market.

How do I become an affiliate?

If you’re invited, then simply complete the application form under the Affiliates tile and click the Join button, once you have joined you will be able to submit a public profile to appear in our directory with details about your business.

What are the criteria for being accepted as an affiliate?

Our review process includes an assessment of your website, social media, potential traffic volumes, content quality, and alignment with our brand and values.

Does My Tax Digital provide tax or accountancy advice?

We’re not qualified to give you accounting or tax related advice. You should seek advice from a qualified accountant or tax agent.

For information about how to fill in your VAT return, see

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/how-to-fill-in-and-submit-your-vat-return-vat-notice-70012

Is My Tax Digital free?

My Tax Digital is entirely free. There is no catch. Just register and start submitting VAT returns.

How do I reclaim VAT on goods and services bought prior to VAT registration?

It’s possible to reclaim VAT paid on goods or services bought before you registered for VAT on your first VAT Return, however you’ll need to check the precise rules on the HMRC website or get advice from a qualified accountant or tax agent.

For more information, see: https://www.gov.uk/charge-reclaim-record-vat/reclaim-vat-business-expenses

How do I submit my final VAT return after deregistering for VAT?

Typically, you can only submit the VAT return after the current period has ended, however it might be that HMRC allows earlier submission if you’ve deregistered. We recommend that you keep trying to submit your final VAT return every couple of days, but failing that, you should contact HMRC for advice.

How do I resolve the bad data error?

If you see a red box containing the following error “Either you don’t have permission to do this or you have input some bad data, please amend any fields in an attempt to remove the bad data and try again.” check that you don’t have any incorrect entries/unusual characters in data that you are entering and try submitting the page again.

How do I contact My Tax Digital?

Should you need further assistance you can contact My Tax Digital by email or phone:

My Tax Digital Email: mytaxdigital@openanswers.co.uk

My Tax Digital Phone: +44 (0)208 864 6999

I see “An internal server error occurred” or “The VAT return was already submitted for the given period.” when trying to submit my VAT return, how do I know if my VAT submission was successful?

Occasionally, when submitting a VAT return via My Tax Digital, you might encounter “HMRC Response: An internal server error occurred”, this occurs when there is a problem with the underlying HMRC VAT service to which My Tax Digital sends your VAT figures and can mean that you do not receive a confirmatory VAT return receipt. Trying to re-submit the VAT return can then result in the error, “HMRC Response: The VAT return was already submitted for the given period.” However, when viewing the obligation for the period submitted, it can sill show as being “Open” rather than “Fulfilled” and under these circumstances, you should check the HMRC online portal to see if the figures have been posted there and/or contact HMRC on 0300 200 3700 for confirmation of successful VAT filing.

When reclaiming VAT, should I enter a positive or negative value into box 4 of the VAT return?

In the vast majority cases, the box 4 value will typically be positive in order to reclaim VAT, however on rare occasions, such as purchase refunds or reclaim adjustments, this can be entered as a negative value, but would increase rather than decrease the total amount of VAT that you owe HMRC.

Why is the calculated box 5 value positive when my box 4 value is greater than my box 3 value?

For the figures in boxes 3 and 4, the smaller figure is deducted from the larger figure and the difference is displayed in box 5 and so box 5 will never be negative.

If the figure in box 3 is more than the figure in box 4, the difference is the amount you must pay HMRC. If the figure in box 3 is less than the figure in box 4, HMRC will credit your account and repay the balance.