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Yes. An accountant with an HMRC agent services account can sign you up, send your quarterly updates and file your tax return, once you authorise them. Check what their fee covers before 6 April 2027.
Many sole traders and landlords already pay someone to do their tax return. Under Making Tax Digital for Income Tax (MTD), the same person or firm can take on the four quarterly updates too. It is not automatic, and it is usually extra work and an extra fee. This page follows GOV.UK as checked on 15 October 2026.
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What an accountant can do under MTD
Once you have authorised them as your main agent, an accountant can:
- sign you up for MTD;
- send your quarterly updates for each business and let property;
- send your tax return at the end of the year;
- add or cease a business, and deal with HMRC about your business and property income;
- keep your records for you, if you pay for bookkeeping.
A main agent cannot set up a Direct Debit for you or change how HMRC contacts you. If an accountant already files your Self Assessment return, they can bring that authorisation across and HMRC treats them as your main agent. They still have to sign you up as a separate step.
What they need first
Any firm that sends updates for you needs three things in place:
- An HMRC agent services account. GOV.UK says an agent needs one to sign clients up for MTD. HMRC is bringing in, in stages, a requirement for anyone paid to deal with it on someone else's behalf to register, through an online service opened on 18 May 2026, and for a new firm that registration is the agent services account.
- Money-laundering supervision, from HMRC or a professional body. HMRC rejects an agent services account application until that supervision is approved.
- Your authorisation. HMRC's standard for agents says agents must never ask for your HMRC sign-in details.
A note on the word accountant
GOV.UK's consultation on raising standards, updated on 30 October 2024, says there is no statutory regulation of this market and that money-laundering supervision is the only legal requirement to set up in it. That suggests "accountant" and "bookkeeper" are not protected titles in the UK, so anyone can use them. This is a reading of the guidance rather than a rule it states, so treat it as medium confidence. Some accountants belong to a professional body with its own rules; if so, ask which one and look them up on its public register.
Questions to ask before you agree
| Ask | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Do you have an HMRC agent services account? | It is needed to sign you up and send updates |
| Who supervises you for money laundering? | It is a legal requirement for this work |
| Will you be my main agent? | Only a main agent can send your tax return |
| Does the fee include all four quarterly updates? | They are often charged on top of the return |
| Do I keep the records, or do you? | Bookkeeping usually costs more |
| Which software will I use, and who pays for it? | Some fees include software and some do not |
| Will I see the figures before they are sent? | You can spot missing income or wrong categories |
| Do you hold professional indemnity insurance? | It is not a legal requirement, but it can pay out if the firm's mistake costs you money |
| How do I leave, and what notice is needed? | HMRC's standard for agents says terms should cover this |
What it typically costs
A typical return fee is £200–£500 + VAT, according to fee guides published by accountancy firms in 2026. Those guides come from firms with a commercial interest, not an independent survey. Quarterly updates are usually charged on top, often as a monthly fee. The page on accountant charges for MTD sets out listed prices.
What this means for you
If an accountant already files your return and you start on 6 April 2027, talk to them before 31 January 2027, when your 2025-26 return is due. That return is the one that decides whether you start. Your first update then covers 6 April to 5 July 2027 and is due by 7 August 2027. At the Budget on 28 October 2026 the government said people who must join in April 2027 will get no penalty points for late 2027-28 quarterly updates, though the updates must still be sent. For you, the earliest a late update can earn a point is 7 August 2028.
An accountant is not the only route. You can use software yourself, bridging software with your spreadsheet, a bookkeeper as a supporting agent for the updates, or a managed service.
Steps to get an accountant to do your MTD
- Use the free MTD check to find your start date.
- Ask the accountant whether they offer MTD quarterly updates, and get the price in writing, including VAT.
- Ask the questions in the table above.
- Agree whether they will be your main agent, and accept their authorisation request in your HMRC account.
- Ask them to confirm when they have signed you up and which tax year you start.
- Agree how you will pass on records each quarter, and when.
There are more guides for tradespeople in the trades section and for rental income in the landlord section.
Hold your place on the waitlist
We’ll email you when Trades Tax opens, with the founding offer while places last. No payment is taken.
Questions people ask
My accountant already does my tax return. Will they do MTD automatically?
Not automatically. They can bring their existing Self Assessment authorisation across, and HMRC then treats them as your main agent, but they still have to sign you up and agree to do the quarterly updates.
Do I still need software if an accountant does it?
The updates must be sent from MTD-compatible software, but it can be the accountant's. Ask whether you will use the same software and who pays for it.
Will it cost more than my tax return does now?
Usually. A typical return fee is £200–£500 + VAT, according to fee guides published in 2026, and quarterly updates are usually charged on top.
Can anyone call themselves an accountant?
In practice, yes. The title is not protected in the UK, although anyone paid to deal with HMRC for clients must now register with HMRC and have money-laundering supervision.
What if I want to change accountant later?
You can remove an agent in your HMRC online account. If you choose a new main agent, the old one loses access.
Sources
- Choose agents for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax (GOV.UK)
- Sign up your client for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax (GOV.UK)
- Apply for an agent services account (GOV.UK)
- The HMRC standard for agents (GOV.UK)
- Raising standards: strengthening the regulatory framework and improving registration (GOV.UK consultation)
- Penalties for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax (GOV.UK)
- Sleek: How much do accountants charge for Self Assessment? (fee guide, updated 11 September 2026)
- Budget 2026: Overview of tax legislation and rates (GOV.UK)
This is general information to help you understand the rules. It isn't tailored to your circumstances, so check your own position before acting on it.
Righto Tax is a trading name of NJG Consultancy Ltd, registered in England and Wales, company number 16095900. Registered office: Jubilee House, East Beach, Lytham St Annes, FY8 5FT.
What happens next
- Use the free Making Tax Digital checker to see your own start date and deadlines.
- See what Righto Tax for Trades does for you, and join the waitlist.
- Questions about this page? Email hello@rightotax.co.uk.