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HMRC error messages · Income Tax and VAT

CLIENT_OR_AGENT_NOT_AUTHORISED

HMRC does not hold an authorisation linking your agent services account to this client for this tax. For income tax that means the client has not accepted your authorisation request, it has expired, or it was set up as a supporting agent where the request needs a main agent.

HMRC's message · HTTP 403
The client and/or agent is not authorised

When it appears

Any Making Tax Digital request made for a client: quarterly updates, obligations, VAT returns, calculations.

What to check

  • The client is shown against the right tax in your agent services account.
  • Your request was for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax (or VAT), and the client accepted it.
  • You are signed in to the software with the agent services account that holds the authorisation.

How to fix it

Send the client a new authorisation request from your agent services account and ask them to accept it, then try the submission again.

Making Tax Digital in Accountin

Accountin shows HMRC's code and message next to a plain explanation, and keeps HMRC's reply against every submission.

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