Guide to the HMRC Personal Tax Account for Business Owners

Last updated: July 2, 2026 5 min read

Smiling professional woman holding a tablet in a meeting room, representing personal tax account management

Written by: Robert Engeham

Managing Director, Your Company Formations

Key Highlights

Directors need both a Personal and a Business Tax Account.
The PTA manages personal tax; the BTA manages business tax, like VAT and PAYE.
Set up your account on GOV.UK with your NI number and a passport or driving licence.
Key Self Assessment deadlines are 5 October (register) and 31 January (online file & pay).
From April 2026, sole traders over £50,000 must use software for quarterly MTD updates.
Your PTA shows your tax code, NI record, and State Pension forecast.

Centralise Your Tax Affairs with a Personal Tax Account

A HMRC Personal Tax Account is a secure online service that allows UK individuals to manage all their personal tax affairs, including Income Tax, National Insurance, and Self Assessment, in one place. The account’s core purpose is to give you real-time access to your tax information, removing the need for paper forms and long phone calls.

Under the legal framework of the Taxes Management Act 1970, the Personal Tax Account provides a transparent view of the information HMRC holds about you.

For a business owner, the account is essential for managing income from various sources, such as salary from your own company, dividends, or self-employed profits.

You access your Personal Tax Account using your Government Gateway ID to manage your Self Assessment return and check your National Insurance record with HMRC. You must register for Self Assessment online by 5 October following the end of the tax year for which you need to send a return.

Directors Must Have Both Personal Tax Account and Business Tax Account

As a business owner, you must manage two separate tax accounts for your distinct legal duties. The Personal Tax Account (PTA) handles your individual tax, while the Business Tax Account (BTA) manages your company’s tax obligations.

Comparison of Personal and Business Tax Accounts
Feature	Personal Tax Account (PTA)	Business Tax Account (BTA)
Primary Focus	Your individual tax affairs	Your business’s tax affairs
Income Tax	Manages tax on your salary, dividends, and other personal income.	Not applicable.
Self Assessment	File your personal tax return for income not taxed at source including self-employed profits as a sole trader.	Not applicable.
Corporation Tax	Not applicable.	Manage and pay Corporation Tax for your limited company.
VAT	Not applicable.	Submit VAT returns and manage payments.
PAYE for Employees	Not applicable.	Manage payroll, pay tax and NI for your employees.
National Insurance	Check your personal contribution record.	Manage employer’s NI contributions.
Allowances	View your Personal Allowance, Dividend Allowance, etc.	Not applicable.
State Pension	Check your forecast and NI contribution history.	Not applicable.

How to Set Up Your Personal Tax Account: A Step-by-Step Guide

Setting up your account takes around 15 minutes. You will need to create a Government Gateway user ID and verify your identity.

Step 1: Gather Your Information

Before you start, you will need:

Your National Insurance number
A recent payslip, P60, or a valid UK passport or driving licence
An email address and mobile phone

Step 2: Create a Government Gateway User ID

Go to the GOV.UK ‘Personal tax account: sign in or set up’ page.

Select ‘Create sign-in details’.
Enter your email address. HMRC sends a confirmation code for you to enter.
Follow the on-screen instructions to create a password and recovery word.
The service then displays your 12-digit Government Gateway user ID. Save your Government Gateway user ID somewhere safe.

Step 3: Verify Your Identity

HMRC will ask you to confirm your identity using the information you gathered in Step 1. The verification involves using a photo ID, such as a passport or driving licence, or answering questions based on your financial record.

You will also set up two-factor authentication by adding a mobile or landline number to receive security codes each time you log in.

Use Your Personal Tax Account to Manage Tax, NI, and Refunds

Your Personal Tax Account gives you access to a wide range of services to manage your tax affairs online.

Check Your Income Tax and Tax Code

View Your Tax Code: Check your current tax code (e.g., 1257L for the standard Personal Allowance) and see how HMRC has calculated it.
Estimate Your Tax: See an estimate of how much tax you’ll pay over the whole UK tax year (6 April to 5 April).
Check Income Details: Review the income information HMRC has received from your employer or pension provider for the current and previous years.
Manage Allowances: See how HMRC uses your Personal Allowance (£12,570). If you earn over £100,000, you can track how it tapers (£1 reduction for every £2 over).

Manage Your Self Assessment

Register for Self Assessment: Use your Government Gateway ID to register online if you are a new sole trader, a company director receiving untaxed income, or have other income to declare.
File Your Return: Complete and file your Self Assessment tax return directly through the service.
View Calculations: See a full calculation of what you owe after submitting your return.
Make a Payment: Pay your tax bill online via bank transfer, Direct Debit, or debit card.
Check Deadlines: Key deadlines are 5 October (to register), 31 October (paper returns), and 31 January (online returns and payment).

Check Your National Insurance and State Pension Forecast

View NI Record: Check your National Insurance record to see if there are any gaps.
State Pension Forecast: See an estimate of how much State Pension you will get at retirement. You need at least 10 qualifying years to get any State Pension and 35 years for the full amount.
Make Voluntary Contributions: Find out if you can pay to fill gaps in your record to increase your State Pension.

Claim a Tax Refund

If you have overpaid tax, you can claim a refund directly through your Personal Tax Account.

HMRC typically pays refunds to your bank account within 5 working days or sends a cheque within 6 weeks.

Manage Allowances and Benefits

Marriage Allowance: Apply to transfer 10% of your Personal Allowance to your spouse or civil partner, which can reduce their tax by up to £252 per year.
High Income Child Benefit Charge: If your income is over £60,000 and you or your partner gets Child Benefit, you can view and manage the tax charge.
Other Allowances: Your PTA incorporates other allowances like the Dividend Allowance (£500) and Personal Savings Allowance (£1,000 for basic rate taxpayers, £500 for higher rate).

Find Your UTR and National Insurance Number

Your Personal Tax Account displays your 10-digit Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR) for Self Assessment.

You can also find your National Insurance number if you have lost it.

The Future is Digital: Your PTA and Making Tax Digital (MTD)

Making Tax Digital for Income Tax Self Assessment (MTD for ITSA) is changing how self-employed business owners and landlords report their earnings.

From 6 April 2026, if you are a sole trader or landlord with a total annual income over £50,000, you must:

Use HMRC-compatible software to keep digital records of your income and expenses.
Send quarterly summary updates of your income and expenses to HMRC.
Submit a final declaration by 31 January after the end of the tax year.

HMRC will lower the income threshold to £30,000 from 6 April 2027.

Your MTD-compatible software will be your primary tool for submitting and viewing quarterly updates. After each submission, HMRC calculates an in-year estimate of your tax liability, which your software retrieves and displays directly. You can also log in to your Business Tax Account to check your submissions, quarterly obligations, and tax estimates at any time, giving you a clearer picture of your tax position throughout the year rather than waiting for a single calculation at year end.

FAQs on Personal Tax Account

Do I need a Government Gateway ID or a GOV.UK One Login to access my Personal Tax Account?

It depends on when you registered. From 9 February 2026, new users who do not already have a Government Gateway account will create a GOV.UK One Login using an email address and password, rather than a 10 to 12 digit user ID. Existing Government Gateway users do not need to take any action and will continue using their current credentials until HMRC contacts them about switching, with the migration of existing users expected to begin towards the end of 2027. Both routes give you access to the same Personal Tax Account services.

Can I access my Personal Tax Account through the HMRC app?

Yes. The HMRC app gives you mobile access to many of the same features available through the browser-based Personal Tax Account, including checking your tax code, viewing your NI record, and paying your Self Assessment bill. A new online service, accessible through both the Personal Tax Account and the HMRC app, is being introduced for PAYE customers to check and update income, allowances, reliefs, and expenses.

Do I need to file Self Assessment to use my Personal Tax Account?

No. Any UK individual can set up a Personal Tax Account, including PAYE employees who do not file a tax return. The account lets you check your tax code, NI record, and State Pension forecast regardless of whether you are registered for Self Assessment.

Article byRobert Engeham

Robert Engeham is Founder and CEO of Your Company Formations and an expert in UK company formation, Companies House compliance and business startups. Having worked with thousands of entrepreneurs from the UK and overseas, Robert regularly provides commentary on entrepreneurship, regulatory reform, corporate governance and the practical challenges facing growing businesses. His work focuses on making complex business topics easier to understand while helping founders build stronger businesses from day one.