Working with an accountant on MTD
acrenvo.com/guides/mtd-working-with-an-accountant, last reviewed 12 October 2026
Bev is fictional, but her arrangement is one GOV.UK uses as its own example. She lets three houses. A bookkeeper keeps her records and sends her quarterly updates for Making Tax Digital (MTD) for Income Tax, and her accountant looks after the year end and her tax return. It works well, but Bev is not always sure who has seen which letter from HMRC, or what she is still meant to check herself. This guide sets out how GOV.UK divides the work between the people who act for you, and what it leaves with you.
The two roles an agent can have
MTD lets you give different people different parts of the job, which Self Assessment does not. You can have only one main agent at a time, but any number of supporting agents, and more than one agent is possible for MTD for Income Tax only. For other tax services, such as Self Assessment, you can only use one agent. For example, a bookkeeper might complete your quarterly updates as a supporting agent, while an accountant finalises your overall tax position and submits your tax return as your main agent.
The split can take other shapes as well. As a sole trader or landlord, you can:
- have a main agent without any supporting agents
- have supporting agents without having a main agent
Different agents can be appointed for different taxes. Supporting agents can only see your business and property income details. If you authorise several supporting agents, HMRC cannot restrict their access and permissions to one single business. Your main agent stays authorised if you also appoint supporting agents, and supporting agents stay authorised if you add more.
Who can do what
GOV.UK publishes a table comparing the two roles task by task. These are the tasks that come up most often for a landlord or sole trader, with GOV.UK’s own answers.
| Task | Main agent | Supporting agent |
|---|---|---|
| Sign you up to MTD for Income Tax, or opt you out | Yes | Yes |
| Complete and submit your quarterly sole trader and property income and expenses update | Yes | Yes |
| View all your quarterly update totals, using compatible software | Yes | Yes |
| View your due dates for payments, quarterly updates and tax return | Yes | Yes |
| Contact HMRC about your sole trader and property businesses | Yes | Yes |
| Contact HMRC about your current and previous tax returns | Yes | No |
| View and amend your non-business income | Yes | No |
| Finalise your overall tax position, submit your tax return and submit amendments | Yes | No |
| Claim losses and relief, such as capital allowances | Yes | Yes, if the agent has submitted the return |
| View your tax calculations and amounts owed and paid | Yes | No |
| Request a repayment for you | Yes | No |
| Adjust your payments on account | Yes | No |
| Receive copies of all statutory communications sent to you | Yes | No |
| Receive copies of your penalty notices for late quarterly updates, late tax returns or late payment, whoever submitted them | Yes | No |
| View and appeal against those penalties | Yes | No |
| Set up a Direct Debit for your payment arrangements | No | No |
| Set or change your contact preference with HMRC | No | No |
For Bev, that means her bookkeeper can send the quarterly updates and see her due dates, while only her accountant can finalise the year and send the tax return. GOV.UK’s page on choosing agents for MTD has the full table.
Updates when more than one person helps
If two people work on the same income, HMRC still expects one set of figures. If more than one agent works on the same business, one combined update must be sent to HMRC for each update period, and one tax return submitted after any adjustments. All income from UK property counts as one business, and all income from foreign property counts as another. A sole trader with different trades needs to treat each trade as a separate business.
So Bev’s bookkeeper and accountant need to agree who sends each update for her letting business, and the same would go for anyone with a trade and a letting business, where each counts separately.
What you send, and when
GOV.UK does not set out what you must send your accountant or by when. That is for you and the people who act for you to agree, and it depends on who keeps your records day to day. It helps to settle it at the start of the year, before the first quarterly update is due. The questions to ask before you hire an accountant include who sends each submission.
Letters and penalty notices
Bev’s question about letters has an answer in GOV.UK’s table. A main agent receives copies of all statutory communications HMRC sends you, including your penalty notices for late quarterly updates, late tax returns or late payment of Income Tax, whoever submitted them. A supporting agent does not. For Self Assessment, GOV.UK adds that 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.
What you still check and sign off
However the work is shared, GOV.UK keeps the final check with you.
If you authorise your agent for MTD for Income Tax, they can submit tax returns on your behalf, and you must check that the information in your tax return is correct and let your agent know before they submit it.
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. For Bev, that means her Direct Debit and how HMRC contacts her stay in her own hands, even though her accountant does almost everything else. The MTD penalties guide explains how penalty points work, whoever sends your updates. If you decide to change the people who act for you, the guide to changing or leaving your accountant covers the steps, and the page on choosing an accountant for MTD covers finding someone new.
Questions people ask about working with an accountant on MTD
Will my accountant see the penalty notices HMRC sends me?
A main agent receives copies of all statutory communications HMRC sends you, including your penalty notices for late quarterly updates, late tax returns or late payment of Income Tax, whoever submitted them. A supporting agent does not.
Can my bookkeeper and my accountant both send updates to HMRC?
They can both work on your MTD, as long as what reaches HMRC is combined. If more than one agent works on the same business, one combined update must be sent to HMRC for each update period, and one tax return submitted after any adjustments. All income from UK property counts as one business, and all income from foreign property counts as another. A sole trader with different trades needs to treat each trade as a separate business.
Can my accountant set up a Direct Debit for my tax?
Setting up a Direct Debit for your tax stays with you. 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.
You may also find this page useful: If HMRC has signed you up for MTD: what the letter means and what to do next.
More in: Getting help from an accountant
Next in this stage
Changing or leaving your MTD accountant
To change accountant under Making Tax Digital, you need a new authorisation request, which replaces the old one, and you must tell your old main agent yourself. This guide sets out GOV.UK's steps for removing an agent from MTD for Income Tax and from Self Assessment.
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.