UK Personal Tax Account Guide 2026/27: What You Can Do

Q What is the UK personal tax account?

The personal tax account is HMRC's online service for individuals at gov.uk/personal-tax-account. GOV.UK lists what it lets you do: check your Income Tax estimate and tax code; submit, view or manage a Self Assessment return; claim a tax refund; check your Child Benefit; check your income from work and the Income Tax you paid in the previous 5 years; check your State Pension, and whether voluntary National Insurance would help and can be paid online; track forms you sent online; check or update Marriage Allowance; tell HMRC about a change of name or address; check or update benefits from work such as a company car; find your National Insurance number and UTR; and check a Simple Assessment bill. Registering for Self Assessment and reporting Capital Gains Tax on UK property are separate services. Some features, such as the State Pension forecast, are also in the HMRC app.

Q How do I sign in to the personal tax account?

Go to gov.uk/personal-tax-account and choose to sign in, or create sign-in details if you do not have them. GOV.UK says you will be told when you sign in if you need to prove your identity, which "normally involves using photo ID like a passport or driving licence". If you have technical problems signing in, the HMRC online services helpdesk is on 0300 200 3600. Always type the address yourself rather than following a link in an email or text.

Q What tax codes can I check in the account?

The account shows the code each employer or pension provider is using. GOV.UK's meanings: 1257L is the code currently used for most people with one job or pension (the £12,570 Personal Allowance, last digit replaced by L). BR - all income from that job taxed at the basic rate, usually a second job. D0 / D1 - all income taxed at the higher / additional rate. 0T - Personal Allowance used up, or the employer lacks the details to give a code. K - untaxed income (such as company benefits) is more than your Personal Allowance. NT - no tax on this income. W1, M1 and X - an emergency code. S and C prefixes - Scottish and Welsh rates. M and N - you have received or transferred Marriage Allowance. Common things to check: a benefit still in your code after it ended, the allowance split wrongly between two jobs, or an old underpayment still being collected. You can update company benefits in the account, or call the Income Tax helpline (0300 200 3300).

Q How does the account help with State Pension planning?

It links to your State Pension forecast and your National Insurance record, showing qualifying years and any gaps, and whether paying voluntary contributions would increase your pension. The full new State Pension is £241.30 a week in 2026/27, normally needing 35 qualifying years, so each year is worth about £6.89 a week. Worked example: a forecast of £180.00 a week is £61.30 short of the full rate, which is about 9 missing years. A year of Class 3 voluntary contributions at the 2026/27 rate of £18.40 a week costs £956.80, and adds about £359 a year of pension, so it pays for itself in about 2.7 years of receiving it. Deadline: you can only pay voluntary contributions for the past 6 years, with a 5 April deadline each year - for example, until 5 April 2032 for 2025/26 (GOV.UK). If you pay Class 3 for one of the previous 2 tax years you pay that year's original rate; for earlier years you pay the 2026/27 rate. Always check the forecast first: some gaps do not increase your pension, for example if you will reach 35 years anyway.

Q How do I check and fill National Insurance gaps?

Check your record at gov.uk/check-national-insurance-record. Gaps commonly come from years out of work without claiming benefits, living abroad, low earnings, or low self-employed profits. Some gaps can be filled for free with credits: for example, a parent registered for Child Benefit for a child under 12 gets credits even if they do not receive the payments. Who can pay voluntary contributions (GOV.UK): an employee can pay Class 3 if earning less than £129 a week and not eligible for credits; a self-employed person with profits below £7,105 can pay Class 2 (£3.65 a week in 2026/27) or Class 3 (£18.40 a week); someone not working and not claiming benefits or credits can pay Class 3. From 6 April 2026 the rules changed for people who live or work abroad, or have done in the past - check GOV.UK before paying. Help: HMRC National Insurance helpline 0300 200 3500; Future Pension Centre 0800 731 0175, which can check whether a payment would benefit you.

Q How do I use the account for Self Assessment?

You can submit, view and manage a Self Assessment return, see what you owe, and pay. Key dates for the 2025/26 tax year (GOV.UK): register by 5 October 2026 if you are new to Self Assessment; paper returns by 31 October 2026; online returns and the balancing payment plus first payment on account by 31 January 2027; second payment on account by 31 July. A return filed even a day late gets an initial £100 penalty. If you expect lower income this year you can ask HMRC to reduce your payments on account online, or by form SA303. You can correct a return within 12 months of the Self Assessment deadline - for 2024/25 that is by 31 January 2027 - after which you need to write to HMRC. If you need evidence of income for a mortgage, you can get your SA302 tax calculation for the last 4 years, but not until 72 hours after you file; check your lender accepts self-printed documents. If you cannot pay in full, HMRC may agree a payment plan.

Q How does Tax-Free Childcare relate to the personal tax account?

Tax-Free Childcare uses a separate online childcare account rather than the personal tax account. For every £8 you pay in, the government adds £2 (a 20% top-up), up to £500 per child every 3 months (£2,000 a year), or £1,000 every 3 months (£4,000 a year) for a disabled child. Your child must usually be 11 or under (16 or under if disabled). You must sign in every 3 months to confirm your details or the top-ups stop. You are not eligible if you or your partner expect adjusted net income over £100,000 in the tax year, so a pension contribution that keeps adjusted net income at or below that line can preserve the support. The Childcare Service helpline is 0300 123 4097. See our Tax-Free Childcare deep-dive.

Q How do I apply for or cancel Marriage Allowance?

Marriage Allowance lets the lower earner transfer £1,260 of their Personal Allowance to a spouse or civil partner, cutting the partner's tax by up to £252 a year. To benefit, the lower earner normally has income below their Personal Allowance and the partner pays tax at the basic rate (in Scotland, the starter, basic or intermediate rate). You can apply online; you need both National Insurance numbers. You can backdate a claim to 6 April 2022 for any years you were eligible. Tax codes change to end in N for the person transferring and M for the person receiving, and the partner's code change can take up to 2 months. The allowance carries on each year until you cancel it. You must cancel if the relationship ends (divorce, dissolution or legal separation) or your income changes so you are no longer eligible; you can cancel online or on 0300 200 3300. If you cancel because income changed, the allowance runs to the end of the tax year; if the relationship ended, the change may be backdated to 6 April. You do not need a third-party claims company - the application is free.

Q What documents can I get from HMRC online?

If you file Self Assessment, you can get your SA302 tax calculation for the last 4 years and a tax year overview for any year, often asked for by mortgage lenders when you are self-employed (GOV.UK). You can print them yourself 72 hours after filing; check that your lender accepts self-printed copies. The personal tax account also shows your income from work and the tax you paid for the previous 5 years, which helps if a P60 is lost, and your National Insurance number. If you are employed or get a pension and paid too much or too little tax by 5 April, HMRC sends a tax calculation letter (P800) or a Simple Assessment letter telling you how to get a refund or pay what you owe; refunds can be claimed through the account.

Q Can I manage Child Benefit and the HICBC through the account?

You can check your Child Benefit in the account. Rates for 2026/27: £27.05 a week for the eldest or only child and £17.90 for each additional child - about £1,407, £2,337 and £3,268 a year for one, two and three children. High Income Child Benefit Charge: 1% of the Child Benefit for every £200 of adjusted net income over £60,000, reaching 100% at £80,000. Employees whose only reason for Self Assessment is the charge can now pay it through PAYE via their tax code instead (GOV.UK). Pension example: a £20,000 pension contribution taking adjusted net income from £85,000 to £65,000 cuts the charge from the whole benefit to 25% of it - about £351 with one child or £584 with two. If you choose to stop the payments to avoid the charge, keep the claim open: that keeps National Insurance credits for a parent with a child under 12.

Q Which HMRC services are not in the personal tax account?

Business taxes use separate services under HMRC online services, with their own enrolment: VAT, Corporation Tax, PAYE for employers, and the Construction Industry Scheme. Others are separate too: registering for Self Assessment, reporting and paying Capital Gains Tax on UK residential property, Inheritance Tax accounts, trust registration, and the Annual Tax on Enveloped Dwellings. Making Tax Digital for Income Tax applies to sole traders and landlords with qualifying income over £50,000 from 6 April 2026, over £30,000 from 6 April 2027 and over £20,000 from 6 April 2028; quarterly updates are sent from compatible software, not typed into the personal tax account.

Q How do I keep the account secure and spot scams?

Use a strong password you do not use elsewhere, and keep your phone number and address up to date in the account so you can pass HMRC's security questions. HMRC says it will only ever email you about a tax rebate, or ask for personal or payment information, from an address ending in hmrc.gov.uk. Forward suspicious HMRC emails to [email protected], and report suspicious phone calls through HMRC's online service. For scams generally, forward emails to [email protected] and texts to 7726. If you have lost money to an online scam in England or Wales, contact Report Fraud (0300 123 2040); in Scotland, Police Scotland. If you think someone else has accessed your account, contact HMRC straight away; the online services helpdesk, which deals with sign-in problems, is on 0300 200 3600.