A new way for agents to obtain pay and tax details

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HMRC is developing a new service that gives agents access to pay and tax details for their clients and will cut out the need to contact HMRC when the client can’t provide P60s. ICAEW’s Tax Faculty explains how to join the trial.

HMRC’s Income Record Viewer (IRV) service allows agents to view (not amend) their clients’ pay and tax information for the current and the four previous tax years, along with the coding and employment history.

The service is available for all taxpayers with a record in NPS (National Insurance and PAYE system) and can be used for clients whether or not they are in self assessment. It provides an alternative to the self assessment pre-population service if an agent is not using commercial software which incorporates those APIs, or if that rather fragile service is not working.

The drawback is that the client needs to authorise the agent for the new service through a digital handshake. However, this is a one-off process and does not need to be repeated if the service is required in the future.

As part of the private beta trial to expand the IRV service, HMRC is seeking volunteers to use the service and provide feedback. If you are interested, please email hmrcirvrequest@hmrc.gov.uk.

Title the email ‘Income Record Viewer or IRV’. HMRC will contact you to advise what information it needs to provide access to the service. Access is provided by adding the service to the firm’s agent services account (ASA).

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