Back in 2001, HMRC introduced Government Gateways for people to be able to access tax systems and submit information. Since then, the requirements to have different logins for different services (currently around 191 different ways to set up accounts and 44 different sign in methods), has caused problems and confusion for many. The government are investing £305m into a single login system for taxpayers and agents to hopefully simplify this – GOV.UK One Login.
One Login will involve 2 factor authentication to try and reduce fraud and the system will be rolled out over the next couple of years to replace Government Gateway accounts. Once the system is fully operational, the full range of HMRC and wider government services will be available online through the single login, including income tax, student loans, and Universal Credit.
📌 Existing Government Gateway users will be prompted to create a One Login account by HMRC (you may already have received this notification), and you do not have to do anything until you are instructed to migrate. Government Gateways will continue to run concurrently until the new system is completely rolled out, so there won’t be any sudden switch off.
🚀 Setting Up Your One Login
1️⃣ There is a new authorisation and identity verification process to sign up to the One Login, which means you will need to have some identification documents such as a passport or driving licence to complete the application.
2️⃣ You will need to input an email address and include the preferred method to get security codes, either via a mobile number or an authenticator app.
3️⃣ Once you start the registration process, HMRC first checks your email address by sending a six-digit security code to verify the email.
4️⃣ Once your account is created, the system will send security codes to verify identity via text message or authenticator app for mobiles, tablets or computers. Then users can access their account via 👉 https://www.gov.uk/account
⚠️ As always, care should be taken to ensure that any correspondence from HMRC is legitimate, as this is an ideal opportunity for fraudsters!