This guide will walk you through the one-off setup process to connect your Clear Books account with HMRC and prepare for your quarterly MTD submissions.

Step 1: Connect to HMRC

In Clear Books, click on the Setup button under the “MTD for Income Tax” widget on the Dashboard to begin the process.

If you are not yet signed up for MTD for Income Tax, use the link to go through the HMRC sign-up process.

If you are signed up for MTD for Income Tax, enter your National Insurance number and hit the “Authorise Clear Books” button.

You will now be directed to HMRCs portal. You need to authorise Clear Books to access your income tax information by signing in with your HMRC Government Gateway ID and password.

Once authorised, choose which of your HMRC income sources you want to link to this Clear Books account.

Step 2: Understand Your Submission Schedule

After the setup is complete, you are ready to submit your quarterly updates.

The submission overview page shows the dates for each quarterly update period and the deadline for submission.

The standard quarterly end dates are the 5th of July, October, January, and April.

You have the option to switch to calendar periods, which will change the end dates to the last day of the previous month.

Step 3: Submit Your Quarterly Updates

When a quarterly update is due, your dashboard will notify you.

Click the link on the dashboard to go directly to the submission summary.

You can click on any category to check the digital records that make up the total amount.

When you're ready, click the Submit button.

Clear Books will send the summary to HMRC, and the quarter will be marked as fulfilled once it has been received.