HMRC Agent Services Account Integration

An HMRC Agent Services Account (ASA) lets accountants, bookkeepers and tax agents deal with HMRC’s Making Tax Digital (MTD) services on behalf of their clients. You can use it to submit VAT Returns and view VAT obligations, payments and liabilities, and to file MTD for Income Tax updates for sole traders and landlords.

In QuickFile you connect your ASA once, from your QuickFile Affinity account. It is then available to every business profile you manage, and you choose which profiles it files for with an Agent Filing Link.

Prefer to watch?

Prefer a video walkthrough? Watch our QuickFile HMRC Agent Services Account Integration Guide tutorial on the QuickFile Help Guides YouTube channel.

Before you start

A QuickFile Affinity account. An ASA can only be connected from Affinity, not from a client’s own QuickFile account.
An HMRC Agent Services Account and its sign-in details. If you don’t have one yet, see HMRC’s guide Get an HMRC agent services account (GOV.UK).
Each client you want to file for added to Affinity as a managed business profile.

Can a client connect your ASA from their own account?

No. A client’s own QuickFile account can connect their own HMRC Tax Account, but not an agent’s. The client’s HMRC Tax Accounts page says so:

Connect the ASA from your Affinity account as shown below, then add an Agent Filing Link to the client’s profile.

How do I connect my Agent Services Account?

Sign in to your Affinity account and select Tools > HMRC Agent Services Account from the top menu.
On the HMRC Agent Services Account page, click Connect your Agent Services Account.
You are taken to HMRC. Sign in with your Agent Services Account details and authorise QuickFile.

HMRC connection required: This step happens on HMRC’s website. QuickFile never sees your HMRC password.
HMRC returns you to the HMRC Agent Services Account page in Affinity, which now shows Agent Services Account Connected on and the date.

Your ASA is now available to all the business profiles you manage in Affinity. Before you can file for a client, add an Agent Filing Link to their profile.

How do I add an Agent Filing Link?

An Agent Filing Link tells QuickFile that your ASA can be used to file for a particular business. Add one to each client profile you file for, choosing VAT, Income Tax and Self Assessment, or both.

Important: The HMRC Agent Links panel only appears on business profiles once your ASA is connected. If you can’t see it, connect your ASA first.

From your Affinity dashboard, click the client’s business name to open their profile.
In the HMRC Agent Links panel, click the edit icon at the top right.
Under Agent Filing Links, tick VAT, Income Tax and Self Assessment, or both.
Click Update. The panel then lists the links you added.

Please note: For an Income Tax and Self Assessment link, the client’s name and National Insurance number must be provided. For VAT, the client’s VAT registration number is used. Once the tax reference is in place, the filing options appear in the HMRC Connect section of the client’s QuickFile account.

Filing MTD for Income Tax updates for a client? See MTD ITSA - Agent Onboarding for the other steps, including enrolling the client with HMRC.

How do I revoke access?

You can stop QuickFile using your ASA at any time, in either of these ways:

In Affinity, go to Tools > HMRC Agent Services Account and click Remove.
Remove QuickFile’s access from within your HMRC account.

Warning: Revoking access removes it straight away for all the profiles you manage in Affinity, not just one client.

Troubleshooting

I can’t see the HMRC Agent Links panel on a client’s profile

The panel only appears once an ASA is connected. Go to Tools > HMRC Agent Services Account in Affinity and check that it shows Agent Services Account Connected on a date. If it shows Connect your Agent Services Account instead, connect it first.

My client tried to connect my ASA from their own QuickFile account

Agent Services Accounts can only be connected from Affinity. Connect it in Affinity, then add an Agent Filing Link to the client’s profile.

The filing options don’t appear in my client’s QuickFile account

Check that the client’s profile has an Agent Filing Link for the right tax (VAT or Income Tax and Self Assessment), and that the tax reference is entered: the National Insurance number for Self Assessment or the VAT registration number for VAT.