(If you are the taxpayer)
This page is for taxpayers submitting their own quarterly updates. For agents, see here instead.
You have been directed to this page because the National Insurance (NI) number set up in VT does not match that on HMRC's MTD record for the government gateway user ID entered when you granted authority (or there is no MTD record).
It follows from the above that the error must be caused by one or more of the following:
1. The NI number set up in VT is incorrect
It is a simple matter to check every single character. Your National Insurance number is made up of 2 letters, 6 numbers and a final letter, for example, QQ123456A.
Check the NI number in the software:
In VT Transaction+/VT Cash Book: select MTD > Taxpayer > NI and VAT numbers
In VT Report: select Taxpayer > Details
In VT MTD for Excel: check the NI number you have entered on the spreadsheet
2. The wrong government gateway user ID was used when granting authority
VT has no way of knowing what user ID was used to grant authority or of accessing the name of the user. Hence the best thing to do is to simply re-grant authority and be very careful that the correct user ID is entered into HMRC's web page.
When re-granting authority, make sure the checkbox labelled I'm using my agent services account... is unticked.
Also ensure you are using the government gateway credentials used to sign up for MTD for Income Tax and not for any other online services.
You can check if your government gateway ID is the correct one for MTD for Income Tax by signing in to your business tax account, which should show Making Tax Digital for Income Tax as one of the taxes.
If you have forgotten your government gateway ID, select one of the options in the 'Problems signing in' section on the page where you enter your government gateway details, and carry out the instructions that follow.
Please note: If you are submitting both VAT returns and quarterly updates from VT, you should ideally have one goverment gateway ID for both VAT and Income Tax. If you have a separate government gateway ID for each tax, it is best to pick one ID and add the other tax to that ID. To do this, please see the section 'Adding or cancelling a tax' in the HMRC guidance: Using your business tax account. Alternatively, you can grant authority with your VAT ID when submitting a VAT return, then re-grant authority with your Income Tax ID when submitting a quarterly update, however, this is not a practical solution.
3. You are not signed up for MTD for Income Tax
If you have not signed up to MTD for Income Tax or the sign up process was not completed, you can sign up from this link: Sign up for MTD for Income Tax.
4. There is a fault with your MTD record on HMRC's computers
If you have checked all of the above causes and are still getting this error, this indicates a known issue on HMRC's side of the records not being completed, in which case contact HMRC:
Individual taxpayers: call 0300 200 3310, then select option 2
Agents calling on behalf of taxpayers: call 0300 200 3311
HMRC error code
HMRC's code for this error is CLIENT_OR_AGENT_NOT_AUTHORISED.
Why this error arises
When any MTD application such as VT sends a request to HMRC for a list of your quarterly updates (or attempts to submit a quarterly update), it has to supply two pieces of information that identify you. These are the NI number set up in the application and a 32 character code stored in the application. The code is in turn is derived from the authorisation code issued when you granted authority.
HMRC uses the 32 character code to access the MTD Income Tax record for the government gateway user ID entered when you granted authority.
This error arises when the two items above do not match.
VT would like to assure you that this error does not arise from a software fault in VT.
VT is not able to provide support on the use of HMRC's website. If
necessary, please contact HMRC.
