HMRC has issued a new Form 64-8 for authorising a representative to manage someone’s tax affairs. What does this mean for people that already have a tax agent?

The Form 64-8 is used to give accountants and tax advisors (collectively referred to as “agents”) authorisation to deal with HMRC on behalf of their clients. A new version of the form has been released. The main changes appear to be in response to GDPR requirements – the form outlines the information that HMRC will share with an agent once the authorisation is in place. It also mentions that HMRC may ask people to reauthorise their agent again in the future to comply with GDPR. This will not be required immediately, but you may find that your accountant or tax advisor sends you a new version of the form in order to be proactive.

HMRC stated that it is aiming to give customers a better experience because the form allows them to choose which tax regime the client wants their agent to access. Despite this, a separate process is still required to authorise an agent to deal with the High Income Child Benefit Charge or Capital Gains Tax on UK Property Account. The new form can be found here. HMRC will continue to accept the previous version of the form until Autumn 2022.

This article has been reproduced by kind permission of Indicator – FL Memo Ltd. For details of their tax-saving products please visit www.indicator-flm.co.uk or call 01233 653500.