Agent codes
You must have an agent code before you can set up agent authorisation for:
Self Assessment - apply in writing
Corporation Tax - apply in writing
PAYE/CIS for employers clients - apply online
If you need to arrange authorisations for more than one of these, you’ll need to apply for separate codes for each type.
As for the ins and outs.....there is a new shinier front end (requiring far more clicks to get to anything useful in personal tax than the old system), bolted onto parts of the much older legacy system, whereby if you do things like draft a new registration to register a client for a new tax like PAYE, and want to return to submit it after getting them to authorise it, you'll never find it again unless you know the secret menu options and completely unintuitive pathway between new and old systems to dig it out ;-) Probably easiest to ask/google when you run into problems.
When you get a new personal tax client authorised, if you have more than one staff user on your organisation, the new client won't appear on your lists until you go to managing your users and assign the client to one or both or all of the staff users on your list.
Date of registration for MOSS will most likely be different to registration for VAT, unless you registered for them both together? I have a screenshot of the original MOSS registration start date we submitted from back in 2015, and also have a pdf MOSS registration certificate which has the commencement date on it. Can't remember exactly how I got it set up, but my agent-auth has worked fine since back then.
My MOSS-client got automatically-de-registered from UK-MOSS around 12th December 2020, ahead of Brexit, as this clears/enables their VAT number to now sign up as a non-EU MOSS supplier (we have started the process of registering via Ireland).
Although we have been de-registered from UK MOSS from 1st Jan we still have access to file the last quarter ending 31st Dec through the UK system. If you are only just setting it up for the first time (for a period ending before 31/12/20?) I'm not sure if the de-registration for MOSS because of leaving the EU might be messing something up? What period should your first MOSS return cover?
Back when I first set it up, it was before any of the cloud providers gave any details on exactly where the data was held, so I assumed with US companies it was probably held on US sites, and thus I used Boxcryptor as my solution so that everything is encrypted before it leaves my computer to sync to the cloud. This gave me an offsite backup and made working between my PC and laptop (mobile) extremely easy.
In the last few years there is much clearer messaging from the providers about where they store your data and that it is EU and GDPR-compliant (not quite sure where we are now with possible Brexit changes but hopefully alignment keeps things ok for the time being). Boxcryptor gives me the extra peace of mind - though I see most people are embracing all the cloud storage options without it.
I think that Dropbox was the earliest to have a desktop app and synchronisation working so easily, or it was certainly the first that I was aware of - it did what I wanted it to at the time. I'm pretty sure GoogleDrive had no desktop app until much more recently, looks like SkyDrive didn't have a desktop app til 2012. I've been using Dropbox (with Boxcryptor) for about a decade with no issues, so hadn't been pro-actively keeping up to date on exactly how and when other products increased their functionality.
I have recently actively been reviewing this and may switch to OneDrive (with Boxcryptor) after tax season. Doing it now would break all the links in my tax software database due to the way I chose to set it up (different paths to files) so I have deferred restructuring til post tax season.
I use PM with Dropbox (complicated by using Boxcryptor with Dropbox for an extra level of encryption) and as long as I never have PM open on both my PC and laptop at the same time I don't get conflicted files (easy for me as a sole practitioner; perhaps problematic with multiple staff). I think PM does tend to 'lock'/reserve files while it is open (potentially all files in the designated folder? as it can access all of these for RTI batch processing etc) and if someone opens a second version of PM elsewhere simultaneously and tries to access the same folder/files that is where you are likely to get conflict issues.
I had the same problems in getting this question understood on another thread - we do now have to look at trading profit for the whole year, and because the previous criteria were looser it was easy for many to claim SEISS1 and SEISS2 where they had lost maybe 10-40% of income. But they had no choice over the amount to claim so with the 80% and 70% fixed grants, they have been put into a better position for this basis period than they would've been without COVID, even though they still have plenty of evidence of cancelled work beyond 1st November.
Morally, I think these are the people they are trying to exclude from SEISS3. However, if you look at trading profits WITHOUT including SEISS1 and SEISS2, they would qualify. I've searched and we've had a thread on this a few days ago but I can't find any certainty yet.
I feel just about on track for 31st January but my new client enquiries this year are absolutely through the roof, and tempting me into taking on too much - I have enough furloughs to make me hate the process and I totally appreciate why those with more payrolls may be struggling.
The most difficult point would be, if they cancel all 31st Jan penalties, so that accountants get some breathing space - but then if SEISS4 were to suddenly include 2019-20 returns filed by....31st January? I know its a long shot - I was sort of hoping for this for the newly self-employed who have been left in the cold - but the guns will fire straight at the accountants if we have received their information but not filed by any arbitrary date the Chancellor might set next. Hopefully the newly self-employed are sensible enough to have filed early in case of this eventuality, but who knows.
I'm looking at the latest Treasury Directive that requires you to look at the whole basis period/acccounting year when considering significant reduction in profits - this is an additional new criteria on top of the other requirements of reduced activity after 1st Nov. Not sure what HMRC put in their email but this is what it is based on:
"4.2. Subject to paragraph 4.3, a claim may only be made for a SEISS 3 payment in respect of the period beginning on 1 November 2020 and ending on 29 January 2021 (“the qualifying period”) in relation to a trade— the business of which has suffered reduced activity, capacity or demand in that period from that which could reasonably have been expected but for the adverse effect on the business of coronavirus or coronavirus disease, and which the claimant reasonably believes will suffer a significant reduction in trading profits for a relevant basis period from that which would otherwise have reasonably been expected as a result of that reduced activity, capacity or demand."
I mean in regards to the new eligibility criteria "a significant reduction in trading profits for a relevant basis period" being discussed in this thread, which is for the basis period/accounting year, not the other separate criteria for 1 Nov to 31 Jan.
When looking at 'significant reduction' in profits, it is unclear to me if SEISS1 and SEISS2 grants (if claimed) should be included in this calculation? My instinct was yes, as the grants are intended to replace lost income, but I am not sure that they have been defined anywhere as part of trading income?
I have clients who lost 10-50% of income, entitled to and did claim the first two grants, who are now slightly ahead of where they would have been without COVID (taking the first two grants into account) - so would not be eligible for SEISS3. However, if you look at trading figures without the grants, they clearly have significantly less income/profits and are still affected post 1st Nov and could claim.
(NB While I do not believe they should claim, it is my duty to inform them of the rules and if the first two grants don't have to be considered it would enable more claims).
My answers
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/client-authorisation-an-overview#agentcode
Agent codes
You must have an agent code before you can set up agent authorisation for:
Self Assessment - apply in writing
Corporation Tax - apply in writing
PAYE/CIS for employers clients - apply online
If you need to arrange authorisations for more than one of these, you’ll need to apply for separate codes for each type.
As for the ins and outs.....there is a new shinier front end (requiring far more clicks to get to anything useful in personal tax than the old system), bolted onto parts of the much older legacy system, whereby if you do things like draft a new registration to register a client for a new tax like PAYE, and want to return to submit it after getting them to authorise it, you'll never find it again unless you know the secret menu options and completely unintuitive pathway between new and old systems to dig it out ;-) Probably easiest to ask/google when you run into problems.
When you get a new personal tax client authorised, if you have more than one staff user on your organisation, the new client won't appear on your lists until you go to managing your users and assign the client to one or both or all of the staff users on your list.
Date of registration for MOSS will most likely be different to registration for VAT, unless you registered for them both together? I have a screenshot of the original MOSS registration start date we submitted from back in 2015, and also have a pdf MOSS registration certificate which has the commencement date on it. Can't remember exactly how I got it set up, but my agent-auth has worked fine since back then.
My MOSS-client got automatically-de-registered from UK-MOSS around 12th December 2020, ahead of Brexit, as this clears/enables their VAT number to now sign up as a non-EU MOSS supplier (we have started the process of registering via Ireland).
Although we have been de-registered from UK MOSS from 1st Jan we still have access to file the last quarter ending 31st Dec through the UK system. If you are only just setting it up for the first time (for a period ending before 31/12/20?) I'm not sure if the de-registration for MOSS because of leaving the EU might be messing something up? What period should your first MOSS return cover?
Back when I first set it up, it was before any of the cloud providers gave any details on exactly where the data was held, so I assumed with US companies it was probably held on US sites, and thus I used Boxcryptor as my solution so that everything is encrypted before it leaves my computer to sync to the cloud. This gave me an offsite backup and made working between my PC and laptop (mobile) extremely easy.
In the last few years there is much clearer messaging from the providers about where they store your data and that it is EU and GDPR-compliant (not quite sure where we are now with possible Brexit changes but hopefully alignment keeps things ok for the time being). Boxcryptor gives me the extra peace of mind - though I see most people are embracing all the cloud storage options without it.
I think that Dropbox was the earliest to have a desktop app and synchronisation working so easily, or it was certainly the first that I was aware of - it did what I wanted it to at the time. I'm pretty sure GoogleDrive had no desktop app until much more recently, looks like SkyDrive didn't have a desktop app til 2012. I've been using Dropbox (with Boxcryptor) for about a decade with no issues, so hadn't been pro-actively keeping up to date on exactly how and when other products increased their functionality.
I have recently actively been reviewing this and may switch to OneDrive (with Boxcryptor) after tax season. Doing it now would break all the links in my tax software database due to the way I chose to set it up (different paths to files) so I have deferred restructuring til post tax season.
I use PM with Dropbox (complicated by using Boxcryptor with Dropbox for an extra level of encryption) and as long as I never have PM open on both my PC and laptop at the same time I don't get conflicted files (easy for me as a sole practitioner; perhaps problematic with multiple staff). I think PM does tend to 'lock'/reserve files while it is open (potentially all files in the designated folder? as it can access all of these for RTI batch processing etc) and if someone opens a second version of PM elsewhere simultaneously and tries to access the same folder/files that is where you are likely to get conflict issues.
I had the same problems in getting this question understood on another thread - we do now have to look at trading profit for the whole year, and because the previous criteria were looser it was easy for many to claim SEISS1 and SEISS2 where they had lost maybe 10-40% of income. But they had no choice over the amount to claim so with the 80% and 70% fixed grants, they have been put into a better position for this basis period than they would've been without COVID, even though they still have plenty of evidence of cancelled work beyond 1st November.
Morally, I think these are the people they are trying to exclude from SEISS3. However, if you look at trading profits WITHOUT including SEISS1 and SEISS2, they would qualify. I've searched and we've had a thread on this a few days ago but I can't find any certainty yet.
I feel just about on track for 31st January but my new client enquiries this year are absolutely through the roof, and tempting me into taking on too much - I have enough furloughs to make me hate the process and I totally appreciate why those with more payrolls may be struggling.
The most difficult point would be, if they cancel all 31st Jan penalties, so that accountants get some breathing space - but then if SEISS4 were to suddenly include 2019-20 returns filed by....31st January? I know its a long shot - I was sort of hoping for this for the newly self-employed who have been left in the cold - but the guns will fire straight at the accountants if we have received their information but not filed by any arbitrary date the Chancellor might set next. Hopefully the newly self-employed are sensible enough to have filed early in case of this eventuality, but who knows.
I'm looking at the latest Treasury Directive that requires you to look at the whole basis period/acccounting year when considering significant reduction in profits - this is an additional new criteria on top of the other requirements of reduced activity after 1st Nov. Not sure what HMRC put in their email but this is what it is based on:
"4.2. Subject to paragraph 4.3, a claim may only be made for a SEISS 3 payment in respect of the period beginning on 1 November 2020 and ending on 29 January 2021 (“the qualifying period”) in relation to a trade— the business of which has suffered reduced activity, capacity or demand in that period from that which could reasonably have been expected but for the adverse effect on the business of coronavirus or coronavirus disease, and which the claimant reasonably believes will suffer a significant reduction in trading profits for a relevant basis period from that which would otherwise have reasonably been expected as a result of that reduced activity, capacity or demand."
I mean in regards to the new eligibility criteria "a significant reduction in trading profits for a relevant basis period" being discussed in this thread, which is for the basis period/accounting year, not the other separate criteria for 1 Nov to 31 Jan.
When looking at 'significant reduction' in profits, it is unclear to me if SEISS1 and SEISS2 grants (if claimed) should be included in this calculation? My instinct was yes, as the grants are intended to replace lost income, but I am not sure that they have been defined anywhere as part of trading income?
I have clients who lost 10-50% of income, entitled to and did claim the first two grants, who are now slightly ahead of where they would have been without COVID (taking the first two grants into account) - so would not be eligible for SEISS3. However, if you look at trading figures without the grants, they clearly have significantly less income/profits and are still affected post 1st Nov and could claim.
(NB While I do not believe they should claim, it is my duty to inform them of the rules and if the first two grants don't have to be considered it would enable more claims).