Connecting to HMRC

The first step in setting up Provestor is connecting to HMRC. This authorises Provestor to access your Making Tax Digital information and send quarterly updates and tax returns on your behalf.

This step takes about 2 minutes. You'll enter your National Insurance number into Provestor, then be redirected to the HMRC website to sign in and grant access.

Why Provestor needs access

HMRC requires all MTD-compatible software, like Provestor, to connect securely to your tax account. This authorisation allows Provestor to:

Retrieve your Making Tax Digital status and property business details
Fetch your tax deadlines
Send quarterly updates to HMRC
Submit your final declaration at year-end
View your tax calculation

Provestor only accesses the minimum data needed to manage your property business tax obligations. HMRC never shares your password with any software.

How to connect

Step 1: Enter your National Insurance number

On the "Connect to HMRC" screen during setup, enter your National Insurance number. This identifies you to HMRC when Provestor requests access to your tax information.

Provestor will redirect you to the HMRC website. You'll need to sign in using your Government Gateway user ID and password.

Your Government Gateway login is what you use to access HMRC online services, including Self Assessment. It's typically:

A 12-digit user ID (numbers only)
A password you created when you registered

If you don't have Government Gateway credentials or can't remember them, see Troubleshooting login problems below.

Step 3: Authorise Provestor

Once signed in, HMRC will show you a screen asking if you want to grant Provestor access to your Making Tax Digital information. Review and accept.

Step 4: Return to Provestor

HMRC will redirect you back to Provestor. The connection is now complete, and you can continue with setup.

Reauthorisation

HMRC requires you to reauthorise Provestor approximately every 12-18 months. When your authorisation expires, you'll see a prompt in the app asking you to reconnect.

The process is identical to the initial connection: you'll be redirected to HMRC, sign in with your Government Gateway login, and grant access again. Your data in Provestor remains intact — reauthorisation just refreshes the connection.

Troubleshooting

If you're unable to sign in to HMRC during the authorisation process, the most common issues are:

Forgotten your user ID or password

HMRC provides a recovery service when you attempt to sign in. Follow the on-screen instructions to recover your credentials.

For detailed help, see HMRC's guidance on problems signing in.

Account locked

If you've entered incorrect credentials multiple times, your account will be locked automatically. Wait 2 hours, then try again. HMRC can't manually unlock accounts.

Asked for an activation code

If this is your first time using HMRC online services, you may need a 12-digit activation code. This arrives by post within 10 days (21 days internationally). If your code is missing or expired, sign into HMRC online services and request a new one.

Entered the wrong National Insurance number

If you enter an incorrect National Insurance number, Provestor won't be able to match your authorisation to your HMRC account. To fix this:

On the HMRC Setup step during onboarding, choose Restart
Start the connection process again from the beginning
Enter the correct National Insurance number

If you've already completed onboarding, you can disconnect from the Settings page in the app, then reconnect with the correct details.

Still can't connect

If you're unable to complete the connection after trying the steps above, see Getting help.

What happens after you connect

Once connected, Provestor will:

Check your Making Tax Digital registration status with HMRC
Look for your UK property business in HMRC's records
Fetch your quarterly deadlines

You'll then continue with the remaining setup steps: verifying your property business, adding properties, and setting up bank accounts.