What is a Personal Tax Account?
HM Revenue and Customs (“HMRC”) encourage taxpayers to manage their tax affairs online as much as possible. Taxpayers will find most of the information that they need within their Personal Tax Account (“PTA”). It is much like accessing online banking to manage your bank account. Access is available 24/ 7 and allows you to manage many aspects of your tax affairs in your own time, without the need to call or write to HMRC.
What can I do using the information in my PTA?
You can use your PTA to check your tax information and to manage that information. For example, from within your PTA you can:
- check your Income Tax estimate and tax code
- claim a tax refund and have it paid into a bank account
- check your income from employment in the previous 5 years
- check how much Income Tax you paid in the previous 5 years
- determine if income tax has been over or under paid for previous years and any action required in relation to payments/ repayments
- check and manage your tax credits
- get an estimate of your projected State Pension, alongside checking your national insurance contributions
- track tax forms that you’ve submitted online
- check or update your Marriage Allowance claim
- tell HMRC about a change of name or address
- check or update benefits you get from work, for example company car details and medical insurance
- claim working from home benefits
- report changes that may affect child benefit
- find your National Insurance number
- find your Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR) number
- check your Simple Assessment tax bill
- access online self-assessment records
What do I need to do to get access to my PTA?
To access your PTA, first you’ll need to sign in using your Government Gateway user ID and password. If you don’t already have this, you’ll have to prove your identity to register for Government Gateway.
You’ll need your National Insurance number or UK postcode and up to 2 of the following:
- a valid UK passport or non-UK passport with a biometric chip
- a UK photocard driving licence issued by the DVLA (or DVA in Northern Ireland)
- a UK biometric residence permit or card
- a payslip from the last 3 months or a P60 from your employer for the last tax year
- details of a tax credit claim if you made one
- details from a Self-Assessment tax return if you submitted one
- information held on your credit record if you have one (such as loans, credit cards or mortgages)
Further information including more detailed guidance on how to obtain a Government Gateway password can be found by clicking on the link below:
Personal tax account: sign in or set up – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)
