Before you can submit MTD for Income Tax updates through Dext, two things need to be in place: your practice connected to HMRC, and each Solo client's income sources linked to their HMRC records. This article covers both.
Before you start
The HMRC connection is available to all Dext practice accounts with Solo licences. Only Practice Admins can connect the practice to HMRC.
Check your HMRC setup
Before connecting, the following HMRC steps must be completed in order:
Set up an HMRC Agent Services Account (ASA) - you need one to use MTD for Income Tax as an agent. Create or check your ASA
Add your client to your ASA - if you already act for them for Self Assessment, add their existing authorisations. Adding authorisations doesn't sign the client up for MTD for Income Tax.
Sign your client up for MTD for Income Tax - each client must be signed up individually before their income sources can be connected. Sign up your client
Complete software authorisation - connecting Dext to HMRC is the final step, and what this article covers. Use Making Tax Digital for Income Tax
For the full sequence, see Making Tax Digital for Income Tax as an agent: step by step.
Have these details ready
To complete the practice connection, you'll need:
Your Agent Reference Number (ARN)
Government Gateway credentials - 12-digit User ID and password
Primary agent identity details for HMRC verification - passport details and National Insurance Number (NINO)
Connect your practice to HMRC
Connecting your practice to HMRC authorises Dext as your Making Tax Digital for Income Tax (MTD IT) software.
To connect your practice:
Go to Clients in the left navigation. Select Connect practice in the banner at the top of the page.
Follow the on-screen checklist, then enter your Agent Reference Number when prompted.
Select Go to HMRC. You'll be redirected to HMRC's website to authorise the connection.
Complete the authorisation steps on HMRC's website. Dext will redirect you back automatically.
You can also connect from Practice settings > Practice profile > HMRC connection - select Connect in the HMRC connection section.
Once connected, you'll land on the MTD for IT obligations dashboard under Insights > MTD for IT.
Connect clients' income sources to HMRC
Once your practice is connected, you need to link each Solo client's income sources to their HMRC records. This makes their income sources available for quarterly submissions.
To find clients with unconnected income sources:
Go to Clients and select View Solo clients in the banner, or filter the client list manually using Product: Solo, Status: Active, and HMRC connection: Not connected.
Select the unconnected icon next to a client's name to go directly to their Income sources page, or open the client account and go to Lists > Income sources. If a client doesn't have income sources set up yet, see How to add and manage income sources in Dext Solo first.
For each income source, select Manage > Connect to HMRC. You can also connect by selecting the unconnected icon or status indicator next to the income source.
In the window that appears, select the matching HMRC record and select Confirm.
Repeat for each remaining income source.
A success message confirms each connection. The income source's HMRC status updates to Connected.
What you can do after connecting
Once your practice and income sources are connected, you can:
Track MTD IT obligations across all Solo clients from the MTD for IT dashboard - see Using the MTD IT obligations dashboard
View and manage HMRC submissions for individual clients from HMRC submissions in the client's left navigation