By Carlos Delgado, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link
At a glance
- HMRC aims for 90% digital interactions by 2030.
- Agents will gain new digital tools and advanced authorisation.
- Adviser registration and e-signatures will become mandatory from 2026.
Major reform of the digital services used by agents is at the core of HMRC’s new transformation agenda. Tax advisers will soon use a “digital identity” for HMRC interactions, alongside improved client authorisations and better three-way communication.
The agent-focused reforms are part of “HMRC’s Transformation Roadmap”, a report released by Exchequer secretary to the Treasury James Murray.
In other major changes that the HMRC aims to put in place between now and 2030:
- 90% of customer interactions will be digital;
- digital self-service will be offered; and;
- Tax will be automated where possible.
“A transformed tax administration system will be more automated, more focused on self-service, and better set up to get things right first time,” Murray writes in the foreword to the report.
Digital support and workflows for agents
The report notes that HMRC’s current IT systems have a ”limited capability”.
“As it has advanced its digital services in recent years, compromises have been made in the design which have reduced its ability to deliver access to good quality services for agents and intermediaries,” it says.
Work has started, following communication with professional bodies, on work priorities, including:
- to introduce new capabilities to enable agents to digitally withdraw their clients from the Self Assessment service;
- enhance the income record viewer which will expand the information available on their client’s income;
- launch a new service to allow agents to digitally submit information which may impact their client’s tax code; and
- provide the ability for agents to track the progress of their client’s submissions and repayments.
In the shorter term, HMRC will look at “tactical” changes where possible. An example of this is the planned introduction of a new service to escalate SA and PAYE queries that are more than four weeks old.
However, plans to introduce MTD for Corporation Tax have been shelved. “HMRC do not intend to introduce MTD for CT but are developing an approach to the future administration of CT that is suited to the varying needs of the diverse CT population,” the report says.
Adviser and intermediary registration
The report calls on agents and intermediaries to “raise their standards”. As part of the roadmap, a series of registration and signatory tools are to be implemented.
From April 2026, registration of tax advisers will be mandatory. “Agent registration is a critical first step to providing better agent access to HMRC services in the future,” says the roadmap.
“Agent registration is a critical first step to providing better access to HMRC services.”
James Murray, Exchequer secretary to the Treasury
Advisers who support taxpayer non-compliance will face enhanced powers and sanctions. Further steps to raise standards in the tax advice market are being explored.
A new requirement will be implemented: tax advisers will need to obtain an advanced electronic signature from their clients if they wish to continue to use the nominations process, for certain income tax repayments.
Tax tech
HMRC is set to provide a plan that sets out its approach to tax software by April 2026. It will look to improve processes by which data is submitted to and received by the tax department and external software. It will also look to put in place principles around the use of AI from all parties.
On the last point, it notes: “Setting these expectations will give developers the confidence to introduce AI functionality into their products in the UK, whilst minimising the risk of those products introducing error or non-compliance.”
By the end of 2028, HMRC wants to deliver a Digital Disclosure Service to allow taxpayer sand intermediaries to correct mistakes and pay liabilities and penalties for all taxes and duties, alongside a document identifier system for HMRC caseworkers to identify fraudulent documents.
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