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What is MTD agent authorisation?
Last verified 31 October 2026
MTD agent authorisation is the permission you give an accountant or other agent to manage Making Tax Digital for Income Tax for you. An agent must be authorised by the client before they can manage records, send updates or submit returns.
Why it matters to landlords
HMRC's guidance says an agent cannot sign up a client who has not authorised them. If you use an agent, they must be authorised to act for you before you sign up, and an agent can send you an authorisation request link. Agents work through an agent services account, not your personal login.
Adding existing Self Assessment authorisations to the agent services account makes the agent a main agent for those clients, but it does not itself sign them up for MTD. Someone must still complete the sign-up. If an agent stops acting for you, they must delete your authorisation in both their HMRC online services account and their agent services account. HMRC's guidance also separates main and supporting agents.
Example
Colm's accountant already acts for him on Self Assessment. She adds his agent code to her agent services account, which makes her his main agent for MTD. She then signs him up and authorises her firm's software, and Colm approves the request she sends him.
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Related terms
- Agent services account
- Signing up for MTD for Income Tax
- Software authorisation
- Government Gateway
- HMRC online services account