Changing or leaving your MTD accountant
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acrenvo.com/guides/mtd-changing-accountant, last reviewed 25 October 2026
Callum is fictional, but the change he is making is an ordinary one. He is a self-employed gardener who also lets a small flat, and the accountant who signed him up for Making Tax Digital (MTD) for Income Tax is retiring. He has found someone new, and he wants to make sure his HMRC account ends up pointing at the right person, without leaving anyone with access they no longer need. This guide sets out what GOV.UK says about changing or removing an agent, and nothing beyond it.
When you might remove an agent
GOV.UK lists the usual reasons. GOV.UK says you may want to remove a tax agent's authorisation if:
- you change tax agents
- your current tax agent retires or has stopped operating
- you do not need a tax agent to represent you any more
Callum’s case is the second of these, and it leads straight to the first, because he is replacing his accountant rather than going it alone.
If you are moving to a new accountant
Bringing in a new agent starts with a new authorisation, much like the first time. If you want to change the tax agent you have authorised, you must submit a new authorisation request. Any new authority received will replace any existing authority. The guide to letting an accountant act for you on MTD explains how that request reaches you and what you approve.
For a main agent under MTD, GOV.UK adds a step that sits with you. If you choose a different main agent, it is your responsibility to tell your current main agent, who will then lose access to your account. It also explains what happens if you do not go ahead. If you do not agree to authorise a new agent, HMRC will continue to deal with any agent you have already authorised.
Removing an agent from MTD for Income Tax online
If you are stopping altogether, or want to tidy up after a change, you can remove an agent yourself. You can remove an agent's authorisation online through your business tax account or personal tax account, signing in with the sign in details you use for that specific tax. Making Tax Digital for Income Tax is one of the services where agents are authorised through the digital handshake, the link an agent sends you, and it has its own steps for removing an agent. To remove an agent from MTD for Income Tax online:
- Sign in to your personal tax account or business tax account.
- If you have signed in to your personal tax account, select ‘Profile and settings’. If you have signed in to your business tax account, select ‘Manage account’.
- Select ‘View agent account history or remove a tax agent’.
- Select ‘Who can deal with HMRC for you’.
- Select ‘Remove authorisation’.
- Select ‘Yes’ to confirm you wish to remove the agent.
- Select ‘Continue’.
You can remove an agent's authorisation in your personal tax account or business tax account. If you remove an agent from MTD for Income Tax, you need to make sure you have also removed them from Self Assessment. You can remove the same agent from Self Assessment by selecting ‘check or remove active agent authorisation for Self Assessment’ on the confirmation screen once you have removed them.
The same point applies the other way round. If you are removing an agent from Self Assessment, you need to make sure you have also removed the agent from Making Tax Digital for Income Tax. An agent can end the arrangement from their side as well. An agent can also cancel a client's authorisation from their own agent services account.
Removing or changing an agent by post
GOV.UK also gives a written route, which you can use to change how much an agent can do rather than removing them entirely. You can also remove your agent's authorisation, or change how much they can do on your behalf, by writing to HMRC's Central Agent Authorisation Team. The letter must include:
- your full name
- the name and address of the agent you want to remove
- their agent code or reference number, if you know it
- the tax reference for each service you are changing, which is your National Insurance number for Income Tax and your personal UTR for Self Assessment
The address is on GOV.UK’s page about changing or removing your tax agent’s authorisation, which this guide links to rather than repeating, so that you always see HMRC’s current version.
What stays the same
Changing who acts for you does not change who is responsible. You are responsible for your own tax affairs, even if you authorise someone to act on your behalf. For Callum, that means checking that his new accountant is in place before his next quarterly update is due. If you are choosing someone new, the guide to checking an accountant and the page on choosing an accountant for MTD are the places to start. Acrenvo does not recommend any firm.
Questions people ask about changing accountant under MTD
If I choose a new accountant, does my old one lose access automatically?
For a main agent, GOV.UK puts the first step with you. If you choose a different main agent, it is your responsibility to tell your current main agent, who will then lose access to your account. If you want to change the tax agent you have authorised, you must submit a new authorisation request. Any new authority received will replace any existing authority.
Do I need to remove my accountant from Self Assessment as well as MTD?
GOV.UK asks you to check that the agent is removed from both. You can remove an agent's authorisation in your personal tax account or business tax account. If you remove an agent from MTD for Income Tax, you need to make sure you have also removed them from Self Assessment. You can remove the same agent from Self Assessment by selecting ‘check or remove active agent authorisation for Self Assessment’ on the confirmation screen once you have removed them.
What happens if I ignore a new agent's authorisation request?
Nothing changes with the agent you already have. If you do not agree to authorise a new agent, HMRC will continue to deal with any agent you have already authorised.
More in: Getting help from an accountant
This is the last guide in this stage, so the next one begins the following stage, Through the year and at year end.
First in the next stage
MTD quarterly updates: what to send and when, from the first to the fourth
MTD for Income Tax quarterly updates are due by 7 August, 7 November, 7 February and 7 May. This guide explains what each update covers, the four update periods, the digital records behind them, and what to do if you miss a deadline.
Other guides in this stage
Sources
This is general information, not tax advice. For advice on your own situation, speak to an accountant or tax adviser.