[Basic] Troubleshooting: Linking HMRC to Clear Books

If you are having trouble connecting your Clear Books account to HMRC for Making Tax Digital (MTD), don’t worry. This guide will walk you through the most common issues and how to quickly resolve them.

Issue 1: Cannot Link an Income Source During Setup

If you are trying to add an income source during your initial setup and the system is blocking you, it is usually due to one of two reasons:

1. HMRC System Outages Occasionally, HMRC experiences temporary service interruptions that prevent new connections.

• What to do: Check the official HMRC service availability page to see if there are any current outages. If there are, please wait a little while and try again later.

2. Property Plan Restrictions If you have property income, HMRC only allows one property income source per setup. To align with this, Clear Books requires all property income to be managed under a single business on a Property plan.

• What to do: Ensure you are recording all of your property income within your single designated "Property" plan business. If you have created a second business on a "Sole Trader" plan specifically for property, the system will prevent you from linking it.

Issue 2: Clear Books cannot access your MTD for Income Tax information

If you complete the authorisation process, but see the message 'Clear Books cannot access your MTD for Income Tax information', you likely have a credentials mismatch.

Important Note: Seeing a "Successfully authorised" message only means that the username and password you typed are a valid combination. It does not guarantee you have linked the correct HMRC account for this specific business.

Please run through the following checks to fix the loop:

Check 1: Are you fully registered for MTD?

Before Clear Books can connect, you must have completely finished your Making Tax Digital (MTD) registration directly on the HMRC website.

Check 2: Does your National Insurance (NI) Number match?

The NI number you entered into Clear Books must perfectly match the one registered on your HMRC account. Double-check for any typos and ensure that specific NI number is the one linked to your MTD registration.

Check 3: Are you using the correct Government Gateway ID?

Many people have more than one Government Gateway account. You must log in using the specific ID that is linked to your MTD for Income Tax Self Assessment (ITSA). Using an older or secondary Gateway ID is the most common cause of authorisation issues.

Check 4: Is your web browser causing a clash?

Sometimes, your web browser remembers an old HMRC session in its cache, which confuses the new login attempt.

• How to fix this:

  1. Open a new Incognito or Private Browsing window.

  2. Log into your Clear Books account.

  3. Go to your HMRC connection settings and de-authorise any pending or stuck connections.

  4. Re-attempt the authorisation process from scratch.
     

Check 5: Is HMRC currently down?

As with setup issues, an authorisation loop can sometimes be caused by HMRC's servers. Check the official HMRC service availability page to ensure their systems are running normally.