How to manage someone's tax account online as Power of Attorney

Hello. My mother lives in a care home. I have registered the LPA for her NI but I want to manage her tax affairs online. What is the best way to register myself with her NI number? If I go to https://www.gov.uk/personal-tax-account it requires setting up of a Government Gateway account. I have an account myself but my mum has NONE of the verification documents list below that are required to set one up in her own name - a valid UK passport - a UK photocard driving licence issued by the DVLA (or DVA in Northern Ireland) - 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 made one - information held on your credit record if you have one (such as loans, credit cards or mortgages) Any ideas what to do next? Thank you

It doesn't help, but I am having exactly the same issue. Passed from pillar to post between various teams but I did get a response. I could do the previous tax payment, driving licence and credit history questions but; -For the previous tax payment details they've said "Please be aware that due to the way banks itemise payments the date on your statement may not be the day you made the payment " ....why ask for the date then.... -My mother does has a driving licence, though it is currently revoked pending tests, but a revoked licence is not valid for this purpose. -I've tried the credit record bit and can answer all the questions with her, but without one of the above, no joy Reading about various post the only option is paper, but we asked for as SA100 they said they are not issuing them.... Onwards and upwards

Hi Kate Homer,

This can only be done if the verification is passed allowing your mum to access the personal tax account. After this stage you request help and the request is sent to the other persons personal tax account.

Thank you.

I believe that I have been submitting tax returns on-line for my mother under power attorney through my own log in but this year something appears to have gone wrong and although the copy of the return that I downloaded is in her name and with her UTR, it seems to have got confused with my own account. Has anyone else experienced this? How do I put it right?

Hi,

We may need to review both accounts, to confirm where returns have been submitted to and if any transfers are required. Please contact our Self Assessment team and we can advise on any issues with either record.

Self Assessment: general enquiries

Thank you.

Non of the above helps. We have power of attorney over a 96 year old with dementia. Her house has been let and we need to register for self assessment. She has no standard proof of ID or UTR code and can not hold a coherent conversation with anyone. We just go round in circles both online and with the telephone help line. Where do we go to get this sorted. Please do not suggest the phone as it is clear your staff do not have the experience or knowledge to give us helpful guidance.

Hi
You can use the paper registration form SA1 - Register for Self Assessment if you are not self-employed. When you send this in, include a certified copy of the power of attorney so that the records are noted correctly.

I need to submit my mother's tax return but I don't have the details to log in to her account. I have power of attorney as she has dementia. I have tried ringing but one person gave me another number to try (after waiting 40 minutes) and then a second person couldn't help because the system was down (after I waited a further 60 minutes on the phone). I also wrote a letter to HMRC more than a month ago, with a photocopy of the PoA, but have heard nothing.

PS The answer you have given to New Reed (above) doesn't make sense as he needs to register for the rent income but you have advised he fills in a form 'if you are not self-employed'. What form do you use if the person is self-employed? Can I fill it in in my mother's name? And submit the PoA? Even though she is already registered but her address is different now.

Hi,
To update the power of attorney details it needs to be the original document or a certified copy.
If you have submitted thias but not yet updated you will need to contact HMRC to review:
Self Assessment: general enquiries
Thankyou.

Hi,
If you need to register for Self Assessment for property income then you are not self employed:
Register for Self Assessment if you are not self-employedso you can submit the SA1 registration.
If your mother is already registered as self employed she would not need to register agian.
To update the record with the new address and power of attorney you need to send the orginial or certified copy with a covering letter to
HMRC,
Self Assessment & PAYE, BX9 1AS UK
Thankyou.

I did send a letter with a copy of the certified POA. I sent that in nearly two months ago but have had no reply. I sent a second letter with the certified POA a week ago. I have tried to ring but spent 30 minutes waiting for an answer only to be redirected to a different number and waited another 45 mins to be told that the system was down and they couldn't help. We have not been able to send in her return for this year.

What amuses me is that UK Gov HMRC and UK Gov DWP are both quite sure that my mother in law, aged 98, following notification three years ago, now lives with us and are happy to send pension notices, tax statements etc etc to her at our address. It would be simpler to pay any income tax she owes through the Government Gateway Service but they would like further proof that the person they are sending all the notices to actually lives at the address they are sending them to. I did phone them and ask who they thought they were sending the tax and pension notices to if not her and how she would know that she had unpaid tax and the exact amount if she hadn't received the notices there but that apparently wasn't well received. She has a passport, I arranged a new one for her, but alas no: -UK photocard driving licence issued by the DVLA (or DVA in Northern Ireland) - I do hope there aren't many 98 year olds still driving... - payslip from the last 3 months or a P60 from her employer for the last tax year - (not surprising at 98) - details of a tax credit claim if you made one - she hasn't ..ever - details from a Self Assessment tax return if you made one.. nope, never been asked to file one. - information held on your credit record if you have one (such as loans, credit cards or mortgages)- alas no credit agreements, ever. I usually try and help her handle these things herself because it keeps her amazingly agile mind, well.. still amazingly agile, but I do also have a PoA for financial matters. OK, if they won't believe she actually lives where they all the mail they send to her is addressed to perhaps I should use the PoA to set up a Gateway account for her. Must be very easy I thought, the UK government operates secure access for interested parties to view registered PoA agreements at https://www.gov.uk/view-lasting-power-of-attorney. Nope, you have to get a certified copy and send that off.. whereupon absolutely nothing will happen for many weeks. Expecting very elderly people to have driving licences, payslips, tax credit claims or credit records is, well, a bit ridiculous isn't it? And not accepting Gov UK's own PoA verification service is, well, just plain daft.

Has there been a solution to this problem. I too hold PoA for an elderly person who doesn’t have passport etc to comply with Hmrc identity check. The LPA is already logged with HMRC. What is the process to create an on-line account for the donor (elderly person) SA1 or SA100 or what ?

This question has been asked of HMRC a number of times in this community and there is no satisfactory answer, ever! My mother is a few weeks shy of 100 and incredibly she probably could apply for a provisional driving license (just need her to read the number plate at 20 meters)! She can get a license with EITHER a birth cert OR a DWP letter, both of which we have. So, logically a birth cert is equivalent to the driving license HMRC want as ID. No? As we are living longer HMRC have to get a grip of this issue FAST. Its only going to get (much) worse. I think its time to engage with our MPs (which maybe what HMRC would like us to do). HMRC have no chance whatsoever of coping with the imminent deluge of Senior's issues.

Name removed admin .

Please can one if HMRC Admin groups reply to this topic. How to have a self assessment account on line for a very elderly person so a person appointed as an attorney (LPA registered by the OPG and submitted to HMRC), if the elderly person (the donor) understandably does not have photo ID etc as required by HMRC Please facilitate the process for an attorney to prepare a self assessment return and hence settle any tax bills.

Hi
For assistance contact our online helpdesk.

Technical support with HMRC online services

Thank You Admin 10 The hyperlink above to Technical Support returns a 404 error Other routes I tried led me to a chatbot which did not answer the question at all and declined to connect to a real person This topic has been present and unresolved for months. Why? What is the point of a LPA registered by the OPG and accepted by HMRC if HMRC won’t allow an Attorney make a self assessment for the Donor? The elderly Donor has to get a passport and pass a driving test to get a driving licence !in order to get an online S.A. account?!?! Or the elderly person pays an accountant to submit the tax form (in which case the person’s identity passport etc is not needed, and the LPA is redundant) So you want to see an elderly person’s passport to allow an Attorney to open a S.A. account but identity check is not needed at all if an accountant makes the tax return.

I was amazed to find this forum and read everyone's frustration, as I have been having exactly the same issues! I sent a certified copy of a POA document to HMRC in January. In a letter dated April, but not received until June, they (incorrectly) disputed its validity. I replied immediately in June explaining why I thought they were mistaken and asking them a) to reconsider and b) to return the document. I have had no reply. I also sent an OPG access code so that HMRC could view the document online if they wished; the code was not used during its limited validity. I have, however, succeeded in getting my mother registered for self-assessment, so I am in the process of completing her 23-4 tax return which I shall return well within the 31 October deadline. (I had to request a paper form since I was unable to register her for on-line self assessment, in line with others' experiences above.) The notes to the self-assessment form say that if you have not previously sent the POA you should send it with the form AND IT WILL BE RETURNED WITHIN 15 DAYS!!! So why has my form been retained for almost 8 months now? I know my mother has underpaid tax and I am doing my best to sort out her affairs but instead of welcoming my efforts, HMRC seem determined to make it as difficult as possible. My mother is 97 so I wonder if it will all be resolved before she dies?!

Hi Rosamund,
I am sincerely sorry to hear of the issues you've experienced in trying to contact us and register your power of attorney - we genuinely appreciate everything you're doing
to help declare your mother's self-assessment information.
If your Power of Attorney document has not been returned to you yet, please contact us by webchat, post or phone via  Self Assessment: general enquiries  and we can arrange
to have it sent to you immediately.
Thank you.