Most routine work in HMRC agent services and at Companies House can be safely delegated to an admin team: checking statuses, requesting and tracking client authorisations, logging correspondence, chasing confirmation statement details and filing work that a qualified accountant has already approved. What stays with the practice is judgement: how figures are treated, technical replies to HMRC, sign-off before submission and the AML decisions behind your agent registration.
A practice can give support staff their own user access to HMRC agent services and set what they can see, then delegate the repeatable portal tasks while keeping review and submission decisions in-house. At Companies House, identity verification for clients and, from no earlier than November 2026, filing on their behalf run under the practice’s own ACSP registration.
Key points
- An agent services account is how tax advisers access HMRC’s online services; HMRC rejects applications while AML supervision is still pending (GOV.UK).
- Staff should each have their own Government Gateway user ID, with permissions set by an administrator.
- Confirmation statements can be filed up to 14 days after the review period ends (GOV.UK).
- Late accounts cost a private company £150 to £1,500, doubled if late two years running (GOV.UK).
- Only an ACSP can verify identities for Companies House on someone else’s behalf. An outsourced team works under your registration.
Terms used in this guide
- Agent services account (ASA): HMRC’s account for agents, used for services such as VAT, Making Tax Digital for Income Tax and Capital Gains Tax on UK property. It gives you an agent reference number.
- HMRC Online Services for Agents: the older agent portal still used for taxes such as Self Assessment, Corporation Tax and PAYE.
- Digital handshake: an authorisation request sent from the ASA that the client accepts online.
- ACSP: an Authorised Corporate Service Provider, a UK AML-supervised business registered with Companies House.
- Authentication code: the company’s code used to file at Companies House online.
What HMRC agent services and Companies House admin involves
Day to day, portal admin is a stream of small, recurring jobs across two or three systems:
- Sending authorisation requests and tracking codes until each client is linked
- Checking submission status, payment references and account balances
- Logging HMRC letters and Companies House notices against the client record
- Preparing confirmation statement details and chasing the client to confirm them
- Updating registered office addresses and officer details once the client has instructed the change
- Tracking directors’ and PSCs’ Companies House identity verification
None of the HMRC agent services work is complicated alone. Together it competes for the same hours as review and advisory work, and in small practices it defaults to whoever holds the login, usually a partner.
Delegate or keep: a task-by-task split
The dividing line is judgement, not complexity. The table shows a common split for HMRC agent services and Companies House work.
| Task | Delegate to admin | Keep with a qualified accountant |
|---|---|---|
| Client authorisation requests and code tracking | Yes | Decide which services to request |
| Status, balance and payment reference checks | Yes | Act on anything unexpected |
| Logging HMRC correspondence | Yes | Reply to technical queries and enquiries |
| VAT and other returns | Prepare and, if your procedure allows, submit after approval | Review and approve every return |
| Confirmation statements | Prepare, chase client confirmation, file after approval | Approve changes to shareholders or PSCs |
| Annual accounts | Track deadlines and chase signatures | Prepare, review and approve |
| Identity verification for Companies House | Chase and track personal codes | Verify through the practice’s ACSP registration |
| Penalty appeals | Gather evidence and draft | Decide grounds and approve |
A worked example
An administrator checks that a client’s VAT return was accepted, logs the payment reference, chases a missing director’s personal code and updates a registered office address on the client’s written instruction. When HMRC then queries a figure on the VAT return, the query goes straight to the accountant with the file attached. It is never answered by the administrator.
Setting up staff access to HMRC agent services safely
GOV.UK tells agents to create a Government Gateway user ID for each member of staff and set permissions to control their access to services and clients. Shared logins remove your audit trail and make it impossible to revoke one person’s access cleanly.
- Agent services account: an administrator adds team members by name and email and gives them a role. Standard users only access the services an administrator assigns (GOV.UK: staff access).
- Online Services for Agents: clients sit in an unallocated pool until an administrator assigns them, so you can give a support user only the client lists they work on.
- Companies House: keep authentication codes in your practice system, not in emails, and record who used them.
Review HMRC agent services user lists every quarter and remove access the day someone leaves. If the support team is outsourced, the practice still issues and controls every login.
A weekly HMRC agent services routine
Delegated portal work stays safe when it runs to a fixed rhythm. This routine suits a small or mid-sized practice; adjust the frequency to your client numbers.
| Frequency | Task | Output for the practice |
|---|---|---|
| Daily | Check HMRC agent services and Online Services for Agents for new messages; log Companies House notices | Correspondence log with anything urgent flagged the same day |
| Weekly | Chase outstanding authorisation codes and digital handshakes | Authorisation tracker with expiry dates |
| Weekly | Confirm accepted submissions and save receipts | Filing log by client |
| Monthly | Look ahead 60 days for confirmation statements and accounts deadlines | Deadline list with client chases sent |
| Monthly | Update identity verification status for directors and PSCs | Personal code tracker |
| Quarterly | Review user access across all portals | Access list for partner sign-off |
Each output gives the partner a single place to look, instead of logging in to HMRC agent services to find out what happened.
What a handover looks like
Moving portal admin to a support team, in-house or outsourced, usually follows four steps. First, list every recurring task and who does it today. Second, write the approval rule for each: what can be done without sign-off, what needs it, and what is never delegated. Third, issue named logins with the narrowest permissions that cover the task list. Fourth, run a short period where the practice checks every action before the routine settles. The aim is a log the partner can scan in minutes, with exceptions brought to them rather than found by them.
Client authorisation: the routes and timings
Getting clients linked is the first job in HMRC agent services. HMRC’s agent authorisation guidance lists the services authorised by digital handshake from the ASA, including VAT and Making Tax Digital for Income Tax. For services using online agent authorisation, HMRC posts the client a code within 7 working days, and the client usually has to give you the code within 30 days or the process restarts. Paper form 64-8 remains available for taxes including Corporation Tax and PAYE. Tracking those codes is ideal delegated work, and it is step 5 of our client onboarding checklist.
Companies House identity verification and ACSPs
Since 18 November 2025, directors and people with significant control must verify their identity with Companies House. People can verify through GOV.UK One Login, at a Post Office, or through an ACSP (GOV.UK). Only an ACSP can verify on someone else’s behalf, and ACSPs must be supervised by a UK AML supervisor.
Companies House also says that from no earlier than November 2026, firms will need to be ACSPs to file on behalf of clients (GOV.UK: being an ACSP). An outsourced team cannot be your ACSP. It can keep the tracker, chase personal codes and prepare filings for the practice to submit. Our Companies House identity verification checklist sets out the deadlines by person.
The cost of getting portal admin wrong
| Missed item | Consequence | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Confirmation statement | Fine of up to £5,000 and possible strike-off | GOV.UK |
| Private company accounts, up to 1 month late | £150 | GOV.UK |
| 1 to 3 months late | £375 | GOV.UK |
| 3 to 6 months late | £750 | GOV.UK |
| More than 6 months late | £1,500 (doubled if late two years in a row) | GOV.UK |
| Expired authorisation code | Authorisation restarts, delaying filings | GOV.UK |
When penalties do arrive, our guides to appealing HMRC penalties and appealing a Companies House late filing penalty cover the next steps.
FAQs
What is the HMRC agent services account?
It is how tax advisers access HMRC’s online services for clients, including VAT, Making Tax Digital for Income Tax and Capital Gains Tax on UK property. Creating one gives you an agent reference number. HMRC will reject the application if your AML supervision has been applied for but not yet approved.
Can an admin assistant use our HMRC agent services account?
Yes, with their own user access. GOV.UK says to create a Government Gateway user ID for each member of staff and set permissions for the services and clients they can reach. An administrator adds them as a standard user, and the practice can remove that access at any time.
How do I authorise an agent with HMRC?
For VAT and Making Tax Digital for Income Tax, send an authorisation request from your agent services account for the client to accept online. For other services, use online agent authorisation, which posts a code to the client within 7 working days, or the paper form 64-8 where it applies.
Can an accountant file at Companies House without being an ACSP?
For now, yes, but only an ACSP can verify identities for clients. Companies House says that from no earlier than November 2026, firms will need to be registered as ACSPs to file accounts, confirmation statements and other forms on behalf of clients. Register before then if you file for clients.
Does outsourcing portal admin mean giving up control?
No. The practice issues each login, sets its permissions and can revoke it. Every action should be logged, anything outside the agreed task list should come back for sign-off, and submissions happen only after approval under the practice’s own agent credentials.
Move the portal work off senior desks
Virtual Service Assists runs routine HMRC agent services and Companies House admin for UK practices, using logins you issue and working to your approval rules. See our HMRC and Companies House admin service, or book a consultation and we will map which tasks can move first.
