Personal, Business, and Trust Tax Support
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This article applies to:

  • Product: Digita Personal Business and Trust Tax

Error: authentication – user credentials failed validation in Personal Tax

Scenario

You may get the following error message when you try to file accounts in Personal, Business and Trust Tax.
Error message
Authentication failure. The supplied user credentials failed validation for the requested service.

Cause

The authentication failure error may be caused by one of the following.
  • The Unique Taxpayer Reference for the client is invalid.
  • The Unique Taxpayer Reference is not displayed on the tax return.
  • Your user ID or HMRC password has not been entered correctly.
  • There's a problem with HMRC's online service.
important
For clients whose records are dealt with under separate arrangements, HMRC Exclusion 3 will apply. This means their Unique Taxpayer Reference will not be recognised by the authentication system. You will need to advise these clients that they can't file online.

Solution 1: invalid Unique Taxpayer Reference

  1. Select
    Edit
    , then
    Client Details
    .
  2. Select
    HMRC
    .
  3. Check that the UTR has 10 digits, that there are no spaces, and that digits have not been transposed.
  4. Make sure that the
    UTR
     checkbox is marked and greyed out.

Solution 2: Unique Taxpayer Reference missing from the tax return.

  1. Select
    Edit
    , then
    Schedule Editor
    .
  2. Select
    Other Return Information
    .
  3. Select
    Client Details
    , then
    HMRC
    .
  4. If the Unique Taxpayer Reference is not shown, mark the
    Current year details
     checkbox, then clear it.
  5. Select
    Yes
    .

Solution 3: incorrect User ID or HMRC password

  1. In
    Microsoft Windows
    , select
    Start
    , then
    All Programs
    ,
    Digita
    ,
    Database Security
    .
  2. Sign in to Database Security.
  3. Select the user
    Name
     that you use to sign in to
    Personal, Business, and Trust Tax
    .
  4. Select
    Edit
    .
  5. Check that your
    User ID
     and HMRC
    password
     are entered correctly.
    note
    If you test your ID and password in the Government Gateway, remember that the Government Gateway restricts passwords to the first 12 characters, whereas
    Personal, Business, and Trust Tax
     does no limit the characters.

Solution 4: problem caused by HMRC online services

If the error is caused by HMRC online services, contact the HMRC online helpdesk on telephone 0300 200 3600.