HMRC Personal Tax Account: How to Sign In, Update Your Address and Check Your Tax (2026)

Your HMRC personal tax account is the quickest way to deal with HMRC as an individual: check your tax code, see what you've earned and paid, claim a refund, find your National Insurance number and change your address — all without waiting on the phone. In 2026 the way you sign in is changing, as HMRC moves new users from Government Gateway to GOV.UK One Login. This guide explains how to get in, what you can do once you're there, and how to update your address with HMRC properly, including the separate steps for anyone who runs a business.

Quick answer

Set up or sign in at gov.uk/personal-tax-account. New users create a GOV.UK One Login (email and password) and prove their identity with a passport or photo driving licence; existing users can keep using their Government Gateway user ID until HMRC asks them to switch. To update your address, sign in and use the change of address service — it updates Income Tax, National Insurance, Child Benefit and State Pension records together.

• Free to use; available online and in the HMRC app for iPhone and Android

• Check your tax code and Income Tax estimate, and see income and tax paid for previous years

• Claim refunds — a P800 refund to your bank usually arrives within 5 working days

• Business addresses (Self Assessment trading, VAT, company, PAYE) are changed separately; VAT within 30 days

• Phone help: Income Tax helpline 0300 200 3300

What the personal tax account is

The personal tax account is HMRC's online dashboard for individuals. It pulls together the records HMRC holds about you — pay and tax from employers and pensions, Self Assessment, National Insurance, Child Benefit and State Pension — so you can check and change them in one place. Business taxes such as VAT, Corporation Tax and employer PAYE sit in a separate business tax account, even if you use the same sign-in details for both.

Anyone with a National Insurance number can set one up. You don't need to be self-employed or file a tax return; most users are employees and pensioners checking their tax code or claiming a refund. It's free, and it's the official route — never pay a website that offers to "register" you for it.

What you can do in your personal tax account

What the personal tax account covers

Task	Available?	Where to find it
Check your tax code and Income Tax estimate	Yes	Pay As You Earn / 'Check your Income Tax'
See income and tax paid in previous years	Yes — up to 5 years	Pay As You Earn
Claim a tax refund (P800 or PAYE)	Yes	Tax refunds / Income Tax
File or view a Self Assessment return, find your UTR	Yes	Self Assessment
Change your address or name	Yes	Profile and settings
Check your National Insurance record and number	Yes	National Insurance
Get a State Pension forecast	Yes	State Pension
Claim or manage Child Benefit	Yes	Benefits
Apply for Marriage Allowance	Yes	Marriage Allowance
Update company car or medical insurance benefits	Yes	Benefits from work
Track forms you've sent online	Yes	Track your forms
Manage VAT, Corporation Tax or employer PAYE	No	Business tax account

Check your tax code and Income Tax estimate

Available?

Yes

Where to find it

Pay As You Earn / 'Check your Income Tax'

See income and tax paid in previous years

Available?

Yes — up to 5 years

Where to find it

Pay As You Earn

Claim a tax refund (P800 or PAYE)

Available?

Yes

Where to find it

Tax refunds / Income Tax

File or view a Self Assessment return, find your UTR

Available?

Yes

Where to find it

Self Assessment

Change your address or name

Available?

Yes

Where to find it

Profile and settings

Check your National Insurance record and number

Available?

Yes

Where to find it

National Insurance

Get a State Pension forecast

Available?

Yes

Where to find it

State Pension

Claim or manage Child Benefit

Available?

Yes

Where to find it

Benefits

Apply for Marriage Allowance

Available?

Yes

Where to find it

Marriage Allowance

Update company car or medical insurance benefits

Available?

Yes

Where to find it

Benefits from work

Track forms you've sent online

Available?

Yes

Where to find it

Track your forms

Manage VAT, Corporation Tax or employer PAYE

Available?

No

Where to find it

Business tax account

The most-used features are the tax code check, the refund claim and the address change. You can also review voluntary National Insurance contributions to fill gaps in your record. The same HMRC sign-in details also open other services, such as Help to Save — our Help to Save guide explains the government bonus for people on Universal Credit.

How to set up and sign in

There are now two ways to sign in to HMRC online services. Government Gateway uses a user ID of up to 12 characters plus a password. GOV.UK One Login uses your email address and password, with a security code sent by text message or an authenticator app.

Since 9 February 2026, HMRC has been directing individual customers who don't already have HMRC sign-in details to create a GOV.UK One Login instead of a Government Gateway account. It's being rolled out in stages rather than all at once. If you already use Government Gateway, HMRC's guidance is clear: you don't need to do anything differently until you're prompted. HMRC hasn't published a date for moving existing users, so ignore any message claiming you must "upgrade" urgently — especially one with a link.

Setting up your personal tax account for the first time

1. 1

   Start on GOV.UK

   Go to the personal tax account page and select Start now. Choose Create new sign in details if you've never used HMRC online — even if you have a One Login for another government service.

   Personal tax account
2. 2

   Create your sign-in

   Enter your email address, confirm it with the code HMRC sends, create a password and set up two-step verification by text or authenticator app.

3. 3

   Prove your identity

   Most people use the GOV.UK ID Check app to scan a passport or photo driving licence and take a selfie. Other routes ask questions about your credit record, payslips or P60.

   Tip: Have your National Insurance number and a recent payslip or P60 to hand.

4. 4

   Open your account

   Once your identity is confirmed, you land on the account home page. Next time you just sign in.

Proving your identity

HMRC needs to be confident it's really you before it shows your tax records, which is why identity verification is the step people find hardest. GOV.UK says this normally involves photo ID such as a passport or driving licence. If you have a biometric passport and a smartphone, the GOV.UK ID Check app is usually fastest. If you don't, you may be offered questions based on your credit history, a recent payslip, a P60 or tax credits. Have your National Insurance number ready; you can find it on a payslip or P60.

If you fail the online checks, don't keep retrying with guesses — you can be locked out for a period. Call the Income Tax helpline on 0300 200 3300 (Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm). Many tasks, including address changes, can be done by phone or post without an online account. Our HMRC contact numbers guide lists every helpline and the quieter times to call.

How to update your address with HMRC

Changing your address is one of the main reasons people sign in, and it matters more than it seems. HMRC sends tax code notices, P800 calculations, Self Assessment reminders and penalty letters to the address it holds. If that's out of date, you can miss a refund or a deadline, and "I'd moved" won't usually count as a reasonable excuse.

Your personal address

Sign in to your personal tax account or the HMRC app and choose to change your address. One update covers your records for Income Tax, National Insurance, Child Benefit and State Pension. Wait until you've actually moved before you tell HMRC — the service won't take a future date. If you file Self Assessment as an individual, your return details follow the same record.

If you can't use the online service, call the Income Tax helpline or write to HMRC. Include your full name, National Insurance number, old and new addresses and the date you moved.

What the HMRC change does not cover

HMRC's update does not reach every government body. Tell these separately:

• DVLA — your driving licence and vehicle log book (V5C).
• DWP — for Universal Credit report it in your online journal; other benefits have their own contact routes.
• Electoral register — through your new council.
• Student Loans Company, if you're repaying a loan.
• Your council for Council Tax at both the old and new addresses.

If you run a business

Business tax records sit apart from your personal record, so moving home can mean several updates:

• Sole traders and partners: your home address change covers personal Self Assessment, but if your business address changes, HMRC says you can write to the address on your latest HMRC letter or call the Income Tax helpline. Many changes can also be made through the business tax account's "manage account" section.
• Limited companies: change the registered office at Companies House first, then tell HMRC about any change to the Corporation Tax details.
• VAT-registered businesses: you must tell HMRC within 30 days of a change, usually through your business tax account.
• Employers: update PAYE details through the business tax account, the employer helpline on 0300 200 3200 or in writing.

Checking your tax code

Your tax code tells your employer or pension provider how much tax-free pay to give you before deducting Income Tax. In the account, open the Income Tax section to see the code for each job or pension and how HMRC worked it out — the personal allowance, minus any taxable benefits or untaxed income, plus any allowances or expenses.

1257L is the code most people with one job or pension have: it reflects the £12,570 personal allowance. The letters mean different things:

• L — the standard personal allowance.
• M / N — you receive or have given away part of your allowance through Marriage Allowance (£1,260).
• K — your untaxed income or benefits are bigger than your allowance, so extra tax is collected.
• BR, D0, D1 — all income from that job is taxed at the basic, higher or additional rate, usually a second job.
• 0T — no personal allowance, often because HMRC lacks details of a new job.
• S or C at the start — Scottish or Welsh rates apply.
• W1, M1 or X at the end — an emergency code, applied without your full pay history.

A worked example

Say you earn £32,000 and your employer gives you a company car with a taxable benefit of £4,000 a year. HMRC takes the benefit off your allowance: £12,570 minus £4,000 leaves £8,570, so your code becomes 857L. Your employer then gives you £8,570 of tax-free pay instead of £12,570, which collects the 20% tax on the car benefit — £800 over the year — through payroll. If you hand the car back in, say, October and don't tell HMRC, you keep paying tax on a car you no longer have. Updating the benefit in your account fixes the code, and the overpayment comes back through your wages.

The same logic runs the other way. If you claim Marriage Allowance from a partner, the code rises; if you have untaxed income such as rent HMRC is collecting through PAYE, it falls. Checking the breakdown after every job change or pay review takes a minute and avoids an underpayment letter the following year.

If your code looks wrong — a job you've left still showing, a company car you've handed back, or an emergency code that didn't clear — correct it in the account. Update your estimated income or tell HMRC about the change, and HMRC usually issues a new code to your employer. A corrected code then refunds or collects the difference through payroll.

Claiming a tax refund

If HMRC works out that you've paid too much tax in a tax year, it sends a P800 calculation. If the letter says you can claim online, do it through the personal tax account or the HMRC app: a refund to your bank account usually arrives within 5 working days. If you don't claim within the time allowed, HMRC posts a cheque, which typically takes around 6 weeks.

Refund timings at a glance

5 working days

P800 refund to your bank

Claimed online or in the app

6 weeks

Cheque if you don't claim

Posted to the address HMRC holds

4 years after the end of the tax year

Time limit for most claims

Older years are lost

You can also claim refunds yourself through the account — for example, for uniform and work-related expenses or working from home where you qualify, or when you've stopped work partway through the year. Claims can usually go back 4 years after the end of the tax year. Our HMRC tax refund guide covers each type of refund, including emergency tax and Self Assessment overpayments.

A refund only ever comes through GOV.UK or the HMRC app. HMRC does not text or email links to "claim your refund now". Those messages are scams.

Self Assessment, UTR and National Insurance in the account

If you file a tax return, the account links to Self Assessment. You can file online, view past returns and payments, check what's due, and find your Unique Taxpayer Reference — useful if you've lost the letter. Our UTR number guide explains where else to look, and the Self Assessment guide covers deadlines: 31 October for paper and 31 January for online returns.

The National Insurance section shows your number and your contribution record year by year. Gaps can reduce your State Pension; the account shows whether paying voluntary contributions for a past year would increase it and how much it would cost. The State Pension forecast estimates your weekly pension and the date you can claim it.

Using the HMRC app

The HMRC app for iPhone and Android uses the same sign-in details and covers most of the account: tax code and income estimates, your National Insurance number and UTR, Child Benefit, State Pension forecast, forms you've submitted, payments and updating your contact details. If you don't yet have sign-in details, you can create them in the app.

After the first full sign-in, you can secure the app with a 6-digit PIN, fingerprint or face recognition, so you don't type your password each time. For people who check their tax code after every pay rise or job change, the app is usually the quickest route. Download it only from the Apple App Store or Google Play.

Keep your HMRC account secure

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• Use a unique password you don't use anywhere else
• Keep two-step verification on, and update your phone number if you change it
• Only download the HMRC app from the official app stores
• Never share your sign-in details or security codes — not even with an accountant (they use their own agent account)
• Forward suspicious HMRC texts to 60599 and emails to [email protected]
• Check your account if you get an unexpected letter about a refund or tax code

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Security and scams

HMRC impersonation is one of the most common scams in the UK. Criminals send texts, emails and calls claiming you're owed a refund or face arrest over unpaid tax, with links to fake sign-in pages that harvest your details. The safest habit is never to click a link in a message about tax: type gov.uk into your browser or open the HMRC app yourself and check there. If something is genuinely due, it will be in your account.

If you think you've given your details to a scam site, change your password straight away, contact your bank if you entered card details, and report it to HMRC. An accountant or tax agent should never ask for your personal sign-in details; agents use their own agent services account and are authorised separately.

Common problems and how to fix them

• Lost user ID or password. You can recover or reset your sign-in details from the sign-in page; it tells you how when you try to sign in.
• "We cannot confirm your identity." Try the ID Check app with a different document, or the questions route using a P60 or payslip. If both fail, call 0300 200 3300.
• Locked out after too many attempts. HMRC locks the account after too many wrong sign-in attempts. Wait for the lock to clear rather than retrying, or follow the reset steps on the sign-in help page.
• New phone number, can't get the access code. Codes can come by text, voice call or authenticator app, and you can change the method once signed in. If you can't sign in at all, call the online services helpdesk on 0300 200 3600.
• Two sets of sign-in details by mistake. If you created a One Login while also having a Gateway ID, use the one that shows your tax records and ask the online services helpdesk if neither does.
• Wrong or old employer showing. Update it in the Income Tax section; HMRC relies on employers' payroll submissions, which can lag by a month or two.

Official HMRC and GOV.UK links

• Personal tax account: sign in or set upStart here
• Tell HMRC about a change of addressIndividuals
• Change of business name or addressSelf-employed, VAT, companies, employers
• Accessing HMRC services with GOV.UK One LoginWho uses One Login
• Download the HMRC appiPhone and Android
• What your tax code meansLetters and numbers
• Report HMRC phishingScam emails, texts and calls

What to do next

Set up your account now, before you need it — identity checks are far less stressful when you aren't facing a deadline. Then check your tax code, confirm your address is current and look at your National Insurance record. If you're self-employed or starting a side business, our guide to how to start a business in the UK explains when you'll need Self Assessment and the business tax account too.

This is general information, not legal or tax advice — confirm on the official source or with a professional.

Frequently asked questions

How do I set up an HMRC personal tax account?

Go to the personal tax account page on GOV.UK and choose to create new sign-in details. Since 9 February 2026, most new users create a GOV.UK One Login with an email address and password. You then prove your identity, usually with a passport or photo driving licence through the GOV.UK ID Check app. Once that's done the account opens straight away.

How do I update my address with HMRC?

Sign in to your personal tax account or the HMRC app and use the 'change your address' service. It updates your address for Income Tax, National Insurance, Child Benefit and State Pension in one go. Wait until you've actually moved. Business addresses for VAT, Corporation Tax or PAYE are changed separately, and VAT changes must be reported within 30 days.

Do I need to switch from Government Gateway to GOV.UK One Login?

Not yet, unless HMRC asks you to. If you already sign in with a Government Gateway user ID, you can keep using it. HMRC says it will prompt existing users when it's time to move. New users are being directed to GOV.UK One Login, which uses your email address instead of a 12-character user ID.

Can I check my tax code in my personal tax account?

Yes. The 'Check your Income Tax for the current year' section shows your tax code for each job or pension, how it was worked out, and an estimate of the tax you'll pay this year. Most people with one job have code 1257L. If your code looks wrong, you can tell HMRC about missing or changed income in the same place.

Is the HMRC app the same as the personal tax account?

Mostly. The HMRC app uses the same sign-in details and gives access to the main features: tax code, income and tax estimates, National Insurance number, UTR, Child Benefit, State Pension forecast, payments and updating your address. After signing in once, you can open it with a 6-digit PIN, fingerprint or face recognition.

What do I do if I can't prove my identity online?

Try another route first: the GOV.UK ID Check app with a passport or photo driving licence, or answering questions from your credit record, payslips or P60. If none works, call the HMRC Income Tax helpline on 0300 200 3300 (Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm). Many changes, including an address update, can also be made by phone or post.

Sources & verification

Figures on this page were checked against the sources below when it was last reviewed on 7 October 2026. Each rate and limit is stored once with its own official source and review date, and official update channels are monitored daily so changes are picked up. How we verify

1. 1.Personal tax account: sign in or set up — GOV.UK · accessed 7 October 2026
2. 2.Tell HMRC about a change of address — HMRC / GOV.UK · accessed 7 October 2026
3. 3.Tell HMRC about a change to your personal details — GOV.UK · accessed 7 October 2026
4. 4.Tell HMRC about a change to your business: change of name or address — GOV.UK · accessed 7 October 2026
5. 5.Accessing HMRC online services using GOV.UK One Login — HMRC · accessed 7 October 2026
6. 6.GOV.UK One Login for HMRC: how we made it happen and what comes next — Government Digital Service blog · accessed 7 October 2026
7. 7.Download the HMRC app — HMRC · accessed 7 October 2026
8. 8.Tax codes: what your tax code means — GOV.UK · accessed 7 October 2026
9. 9.HMRC online services: sign in or set up an account — GOV.UK · accessed 7 October 2026
10. 10.Government Gateway replaced by GOV.UK One Login — Accountancy Daily · accessed 7 October 2026