How to set up the Making Tax Digital (MTD) for VAT connection in FreeAgent

This article explains how to connect your FreeAgent account to HMRC in order to make Making Tax Digital (MTD) for VAT submissions.

If you're an accountant with a Practice Dashboard, here's how to set up your practice for MTD.

Before you start

Before you can connect FreeAgent to HMRC, you'll need to enter your VAT registration details in FreeAgent.

To do this, select ‘Settings’ from the drop-down menu at the top-right of the screen and select ‘VAT Registration’.

Enter the relevant details and select 'Save Changes' at the bottom of the screen to complete the process. See more information on how to enter your initial VAT settings.

Connect FreeAgent to HMRC

Navigate to the drop-down menu at the top-right of the screen and select ‘Connections & Add-ons’.

Select ‘Learn more’ in the ‘HMRC connections’ section. Please note that only users with full (level 8) access will be able to see the ‘HMRC connections’ section.

Select ‘Connect FreeAgent to HMRC’.

You'll be redirected to the HMRC website to complete the connection process. Select ‘Continue’ and fill in your Government Gateway credentials.

When the connection is completed successfully, you’ll see the following screen:

You will now be able to file your VAT returns via MTD using FreeAgent. HMRC requires you to update your connection every 18 months. Find out how to reconnect to HMRC for Making Tax Digital (MTD) for VAT.

To learn more about the government's Making Tax Digital initiative, check out our MTD guides and resources.

Problems connecting

If there is a problem during the connection process, you will see the following error message:

The error could mean one of the following things:

1. You’ve entered your VAT number incorrectly. Please double-check that the VAT number in your FreeAgent account matches the VAT number in your HMRC business tax account.
2. If the VAT numbers in your FreeAgent account and HMRC business tax account do match, please try again using the same credentials you used to sign in to your business tax account.