Personal, Business, and Trust Tax Support

Set up online filing in Personal Tax

Get HMRC’s authorisation for online filing

You must be authorised by HMRC to submit tax returns electronically. The Self Assessment for Agents: HMRC online services guidance at gov.uk explains how. You'll set up a User ID and password as part of this process.

Enter HMRC credentials in Digita Database Security

  1. Type "Database Security" in your Windows search box, then select
    Database Security
     from the search results to launch the application.
  2. Select the
    User Permissions
     tab in the Database Security dialog box.
  3. Select the
    User Name
     for the person to be set up with online filing permissions, then select
    Edit
    .
  4. Enter the user’s HMRC User ID and password for online filing in the Online Filing Details group.
  5. If you want Personal, Business and Trust Tax to remember the user’s HMRC online filing password, mark the
    Remember password
     checkbox.
  6. Select
    OK
    .
  7. Repeat steps 3-6 above for each user authorised to use online filing.
  8. Close
     Database Security.
    note
    A different method is to set up a new generic user for the purposes of online filing or use the default user
    Pass
     and add HMRC online filing credentials to this single user account.

Test to identify problems (recommended)

  1. Test method number 1
    1. Open the client in Personal, Business and Trust Tax.
    2. Select
      Reports
      ,
      Tools
      , and
      Warnings
       from the main menu.
    3. Select
      OK
       to run the report.
      note
      This will test your return in the same way as HMRC validates returns and will generate a report to help you solve problems before submission.
  2. Test method number 2
    1. Select
      Form
      , then
      Test in Live
       from the main menu.
    2. Select
      Submit
      .
      note
      This submits the return to HMRC as a ‘test’ to check that it passes HMRC validation. Details are not stored by HMRC.

Obtain your client’s authorisation

  1. Generate and print the tax return, including the cover sheet with authorisation wording and the ‘IR mark’.
    The IR mark is displayed on every page of the tax return, including supplementary pages.
  2. Obtain a copy of the tax return signed by the client to gain their authorisation for you to file online as agent.

Submit a tax return using online filing

  1. Close the client's tax return if it is open:
    1. Right-click anywhere on the Return and select
      Close Form
       from context menu.
  2. Select
    Form
    , then
    Finalise Tax Return
     from the main menu.
  3. Complete items 1 to 5 in the Finalise Tax Return dialog.
    note
    The
    Validate and Submit
     button is only activated when items 1 to 5 of the dialog box have been completed.If the
    Validate and Submit
     button is greyed out (inactive) the
    Status
     box will explain why.
  4. Select
    Validate and Submit
    .
    note
    Personal, Business and Trust Tax will attempt to validate the Return. If anything is found that is known to cause a failure of HMRC validation, the process will be stopped before the Return is transmitted to HMRC.
  5. Enter your HMRC online services password if prompted to do so. You'll not be asked if you’ve selected the
    Remember password
     checkbox in
    Database Security
    .
    note
    A message will confirm whether the Return has been filed successfully or failed. If failed, there will be an explanation of the reason for failure.

Monitor progress

  1. Open the client in Personal, Business and Trust Tax, then select the relevant
    Tracker Tasks
     from Client Summary.
  2. Select
    Reports
    ,
    Form
    , then
    Online Filing Status
     to run an Agent Online Filing Status Report to monitor the status of all online filing.
    note
    • The Tracker Task called Submitted to IR will be updated with the date of submission
    • The Tracker Task called Accepted by IR will be updated with the date of acceptance.
    • You should receive a confirmatory email from HMRC to the email address you gave when setting up your HMRC online filing authorisation.

This article applies to:

  • PRODUCT: Digita Personal Business and Trust Tax
  • Subject: e-file