HMRC have published their first Agent Update of 2026 (issue 139) and we detail some of the relevant issues covered.
Tax
There is only one section we want to draw your attention to. This provides details of the UK Budget 2025 announcement that from April 2026 (for tax year 2026/27 and onwards), voluntary Class 2 National Insurance contributions for periods abroad will end.
This is replaced by Class 3 (voluntary) National Insurance, however, applications for time abroad will need 10 years of continuous UK residency (or National Insurance contributions).
This will impact members if you have clients currently pay Class 2 National Insurance contributions abroad. See also HMRC’s guidance ‘Voluntary National Insurance contributions for periods abroad from April 2026’ published with the UK Budget on 26 November 2025.
Making Tax Digital for Income Tax (MTD IT)
This part contains three points that ICB wants to draw your attention to:
1. An update from HMRC on their ‘customer awareness letters’. The first batch was sent in November 2025 to taxpayers who may have a MTD ITSA obligation from April 2026, based on 2024/25 tax year information held by HMRC at August 2025. Similar awareness letters will be sent to taxpayers throughout February and March 2026 based on updated 2024/25 filing information held by HMRC. Like the November 2025 batch, these letters advise taxpayers to contact their tax agent;
2. A reminder of HMRC’s resources on MTD IT, starting with the MTD agent step by step guide all the way to HMRC’s recorded webinars; and
3. A link to the latest MTD IT ‘Ready Steady File’ newsletter and a link to previous editions
HMRC Agent Services
ICB is highlighting one point from this section.
Currently, HMRC’s sign-in pages allow login via either a Gov.UK One Login or an existing Government Gateway account. HMRC are rolling out ‘GOV.UK One Login’ from January 2026. This is a gradual rollout, commencing with users who do not have a current Government Gateway account.
The Update advises that the log-in process change means:
- Existing users can continue to use their Government Gateway account (or GOV.UK One Login if this has been created). There is no change now and the move to GOV.UK One Login will be gradual; but
- New users without a Government Gateway account will have to create a GOV.UK One Logon account
The important point to note if you are contacted by clients is that if they have an existing Government Gateway account then sign-in remains unchanged – until promoted by HMRC. For agents, the move to GOV.UK One Login at a much later stage.
For Bookkeepers
Perhaps, the move from Government Gateway sign-in to GOV.UK One Login is one to note for both existing and new users (clients).
In January 2026, there are some topics ICB believes are out of the scope of bookkeepers, for example:
But, as always, recognising the wide range of topics that members embrace in their professional lives, we recommend reading the entire Update.
