If your business is changing legal entity

Your tax agent firm is a legal entity if it has any legal rights and responsibilities, including tax filings.

If your business is changing legal entity for any reason, such as changing from a sole trader to a limited company, there are some things you must do.

If you’re using an agent services account

YouYou’ll will need to:

• create a new agent services account for the new legal entity using your new Unique Taxpayer Reference
• get authorisation from your clients again  
• deauthorise any clients not moving to the new legal entity
• write to the Agent Compliance Team to remove your original agent services account against the old legal entity

If you’re using HMRC online services for agents

YouFor willSelf Assessment and Corporation Tax you’ll need to:

• write to the Agent Compliance Team to request new agent codes
• ask the Agent Compliance Team to remove any agent codes for legal entities that are no longer trading or supervised for antianti-money money laundering

YouFor mayother beduties, askedrequest new agent codes.

HMRC may ask for additionalmore information when you change your agent designatorycontact details.details. This is to ensuremake thatsure the new legal entity still meets the registration requirements, suchlike as supervision for antianti-money money laundering.

If your agency firm is merging with another one

If your agency firm is merging with one or more other agency firms, you must let HMRC know about the new business set up.

If a new legal entity has been created, you must:

• register it as a business
• follow the steps for what to do if your business is changing legal entity
• apply for new agent codes if you’re using HMRC online services for agents

If one agency firm has merged into an existing firm which does not change legal entity, you do not need to do anything with the clients of the existing firm.

For the clients of the merged firm, you must:

• get authorisation from your clients again for the new firm
• ask the Agent Compliance Team to remove any agent codes for the legal entity thatthat’s is no longer trading

If you want to move clients between client lists

WheneverWhen you need to get new authorisation from your client, you do not need to remove your current authorisation first,first. gettingThis a new authorisation will automatically remove the old one.

If you want to move clients between client lists, you must:

• get authorisation from your clients again
• remove any clients that you do not want to move over

HMRC will not move clients between client lists for you.

If your agency is de-merging from another one

If your agency firm is separating into two2 firms, youyou’ll will need to:

• create a new agent services account for eachany new legal entity
• get authorisation from your clients that need to be moved over against theany new entity
• get new agent codes for theany new legal entity

TheAny firm thatthat’s is not changing legal entity does not need toto:

• create a new agent services account
• obtain new agent codes
• get new client authorisation.
  authorisations

WriteIf toyou thestop Agenttrading Complianceas Teaman agent

IfYou youmust needremove toall your clients on both:

• your HMRC online services account
• your HMRC agent services account

You must also write to the Agent Compliance Team to lettell them knowyou have stopped trading. Include these details:

• your name
• business isname
• business changing,address and postcode
• the date you stopped trading, known as the ‘date of cessation’
• agent code or codes, from your HMRC online services account
• agent reference number (ARN), from your HMRC agent services account

If your business dealt with employer PAYE, individual PAYE or both

You’ll also need to send a list of your requestclients to:to the Central Agent Authorisation Team. Post it to this address:

For employer PAYE, include these details for each client:

• business name
• employer PAYE reference number

For individual PAYE, include these details for each client:

• name
• National Insurance number

Write to the Agent Compliance Team

If you need to contact the Agent Compliance Team, write to: