Do you need an accountant for MTD?

acrenvo.com/guides/mtd-need-an-accountant, last reviewed 12 October 2026

Owen is fictional, but his question comes up a lot. He is a self-employed electrician, and Making Tax Digital (MTD) for Income Tax is about to reach him. A friend has offered him the name of her accountant, and his brother-in-law, who is good with spreadsheets, has offered to help for nothing. Owen is not sure whether he needs either of them, or what an accountant would take off his hands if he did hire one. This guide sets out what GOV.UK says about those choices, so that he can decide with the facts in front of him.

Using an accountant is a choice

GOV.UK treats a tax agent as something you may decide to use rather than something you need. You can choose to use a tax adviser or agent to deal with HMRC on your behalf, particularly if you have complex tax affairs. It also suggests a step before that decision. Before choosing a tax agent, think about whether you can deal with HMRC yourself, through your personal tax account or your business tax account.

For someone like Owen, who keeps his own books already, that is a fair question to ask first, because the answer shapes how much help he is looking for. GOV.UK also lists other places to turn if you want help without paying an agent. You can also get help from:

• HMRC, if you have simple queries
• friends and family, if they are registered as a trusted helper
• charities, such as Tax Help for Older People and TaxAid
• Citizens Advice

One of GOV.UK’s examples is about refunds, and it shows why it is worth knowing what you can do yourself. You can claim a tax refund on GOV.UK and do not need an agent to do this for you. An agent will charge fees for claiming a tax refund for you.

The ways someone else can deal with HMRC for you

An accountant is only one of the arrangements GOV.UK describes. GOV.UK lists several ways to have someone else deal with HMRC for you. You can:

• authorise an agent to manage your tax affairs (such as an accountant or tax adviser)
• ask a friend or relative to manage your tax online
• authorise a friend, relative or voluntary organisation to talk to HMRC and help you fill in forms
• give someone power of attorney to make tax decisions on your behalf or help you make tax decisions

Owen’s brother-in-law would fall under the second or third of these, and each comes with limits. A friend or relative who manages your tax online is called a trusted helper, and GOV.UK is clear about what that does not cover. A trusted helper cannot use that service to help you with your Self Assessment, and you will still be legally responsible for your own tax. An intermediary, such as a friend, relative or voluntary organisation, can talk to HMRC, answer questions on your behalf and help you fill in forms, but will not have access to your tax online.

GOV.UK does not say how either arrangement applies to MTD for Income Tax in particular. If you are hoping a relative can send your quarterly updates, it is worth asking HMRC through the routes in the guide to getting help with MTD before you rely on it.

What a paid agent is, and what they can do

When people say they have handed MTD to an accountant, this is the arrangement they mean. A paid agent can be a professional accountant or a tax adviser, and they must meet HMRC's standard for agents. GOV.UK publishes the HMRC standard for agents, and the guide to checking an accountant before you choose one explains what it is for.

An agent cannot start work on your tax until you have given them authority. You must authorise your agent before they can deal with HMRC on your behalf, and they will tell you how to do this. Depending on what you have authorised your agent to do on your behalf, they will be able to deal with your tax affairs, for example submitting your Self Assessment tax return. Once they are authorised, the post may start going to them as well. If you have to fill in a Self Assessment tax return, HMRC will send all correspondence to the person you have authorised, except tax bills or refunds.

MTD adds a choice that Self Assessment did not have, because you can give an agent one of two roles. A main agent can do almost everything you can. The only things a main agent cannot do are set up a Direct Debit for you and change how you want to be contacted by HMRC. A supporting agent can send quarterly updates but cannot finalise your overall tax position, submit your tax return or view your tax calculation. The guide to working with an accountant through the MTD year sets the two roles side by side, task by task.

What stays with you, whoever helps

In practice an accountant can take on the work while the obligation stays with you. You still check what goes to HMRC in your name, and a few settings stay with you even when a main agent does almost everything else. The guide to letting an accountant act for you on MTD explains what you approve and what you keep, step by step.

If you decide to look for an accountant

If Owen decides an accountant is right for him, the next two guides in this group help with the choice. The guide to checking an accountant covers what you can look up about a firm for yourself, and the questions to ask before you hire one cover what to raise with them directly. The page on choosing an accountant for MTD links to the professional bodies’ own directories of members. Acrenvo does not recommend any firm, and GOV.UK’s page on how to choose a tax agent has its advice in full.

Questions people ask about needing an accountant for MTD