Account Settings

What this is

Settings is the one page for your account rather than your tax data: the identifier HMRC knows you by, the HMRC connection itself, sign-in security, the emails you receive, and the buttons to take your data out or close the account. Individuals reach it from the sidebar; agents from the account menu at the top right.

What you see on screen

The page is titled Settings, “Manage your account and HMRC connection”, and is a column of cards:

National Insurance Number (individuals) or Agent Reference Number (agents), with an Edit button
HMRC Connection - the current status, with Disconnect from HMRC while a connection is saved and Connect to HMRC when there is none. If the saved connection has expired and needs reconnecting, both buttons are shown. From 17 months after you connected, the card also carries a reminder that HMRC asks you to reconnect every 18 months and repeats its 2-step verification when you do, with the date to reconnect by and a Reconnect to HMRC button that starts a fresh HMRC sign-in
Your accountant (individuals) - Manage accountant access lets you choose who can view or manage your saved records
Account Information - email address, username and when the account was created
Practice logo (agents) - the practice name, whether a logo is saved, Choose logo, and once one is chosen, Save logo and Remove logo
Outlook connection, if a Microsoft connection is saved - the mailbox or connection status, selected folders and Disconnect Outlook from Aligned
Account security (new sign-in flow) - links to sign-in methods, device activity, linked accounts and connected applications open secure account controls in the same tab
Two-factor authentication (earlier sign-in flow) - the masked mobile number and Change phone number
Notification Preferences - switches for Deadline Reminders, Submission Results, Tax Calculations, Upload Confirmations, HMRC Alerts and System Notifications, plus Send Test Email
Marketing Communications - a switch for product updates and new features
Page tours, when switched on - “Short guided tours of the main pages. Each one shows itself the first time you open that page.” There is one row per tour for your account type, whether you file for yourself or for clients. Take the tour opens that page and replays its tour. For a client’s page, open any client and select Take the tour at the top of their page
Help us improve aligned.tax - a switch to share usage data to help us improve the app. We never collect what you type or your tax figures. You can turn this off at any time.
Your Data - Download My Data
Danger Zone - Delete My Account

How to

Change your Agent Reference Number

In Agent Reference Number, click Edit.
Enter the ARN: one letter, ARN, seven digits, for example XARN1234567.
Save. aligned.tax checks the ARN against the Agent Services Account you connected and tells you if HMRC does not recognise the pairing. You do not need to reconnect for that.

Below the field the card reports the result: Your HMRC connection and Agent Reference Number are confirmed once HMRC has checked the pairing, or Your HMRC connection is active and your saved Agent Reference Number will be checked automatically until that first check has run.

Disconnect from HMRC

In HMRC Connection, click Disconnect from HMRC.
Confirm in the dialog.

Disconnecting removes the saved connection from aligned.tax. HMRC still lists aligned.tax among your authorised applications until you remove it there or the authorisation expires, so the dialog also links to HMRC’s Manage authorised applications page. Removing aligned.tax there is optional and does not change your aligned.tax data.

If your connection has expired and the card is asking you to reconnect, Disconnect from HMRC is still there beside Connect to HMRC, so you can remove the saved connection without reconnecting first.

Until you connect again, aligned.tax cannot fetch obligations or submit. Your history stays. Connect again from Home (individuals) or the workspace setup card (agents); see Connecting to HMRC.

Invite an accountant to your saved records

In Your accountant, choose Manage accountant access. Only the taxpayer who owns the records can manage this access.
Choose Invite accountant and enter their email address. If you own records for more than one taxpayer, check the selected taxpayer first.
Choose a permission:
- View only is selected by default. The adviser can see saved records, your business details, calculations, past submissions and filing status, but cannot upload or change records.
- Manage my records also lets the adviser upload, review and correct your existing records.
Choose Send invitation. The invitation expires after 12 hours.

Both permissions apply only to the selected taxpayer. Neither lets the adviser connect HMRC, submit returns, change your settings, manage billing or account security, or invite other advisers.

You and an adviser with Manage my records use the same saved records and supporting evidence. You do not need to create another copy for the adviser. Corrections retain the record’s earlier revisions and audit history. See Keeping and checking transaction records.

Change or remove accountant access

Current advisers shows each person’s permission. Choose Change permission, select View only or Manage my records, then choose Confirm permission change. Selecting a different option does not change access until you confirm. Existing view-only invitations and advisers are not automatically upgraded.

To stop an adviser accessing your records, choose Remove access and confirm. To change a pending invitation’s permission, choose Revoke, confirm, and send a new invitation with the permission you want. Resend creates a fresh 12-hour link with the existing permission; the previous link stops working.

Each new request to view or change records checks the adviser’s current permission. An open, visible records page checks for access changes every 15 seconds and checks again when the adviser returns to the window. Removing access or changing it to View only does not grant a 15-second window to make further changes. Previously displayed information may remain visible until the page refreshes.

Accept an accountant-access invitation

Open the invitation link and check the taxpayer name and permission. Sign in using the invited email address, or create an account. Complete any email and mobile verification requested, then choose Accept invitation. Your selected taxpayer changes to the one who invited you.

If the invitation has expired, ask the taxpayer to send a new one. An accountant-access invitation does not grant HMRC filing or connection permission.

Add or change your practice logo

In Practice logo, click Choose logo and pick a PNG, JPEG or WebP image no larger than 2 MB. “A wide logo works best.”
Check the preview, then click Save logo.

The logo appears at the top of the private records upload page your clients open from a records request email. With no logo saved, that page shows your practice name. Remove logo goes back to the name. SVG is not accepted.

Disconnect a saved Outlook connection

A practice owner or manager can click Disconnect Outlook from Aligned in the Outlook connection card to remove aligned.tax’s access. This remains available if practice-agent features are switched off. To revoke the Microsoft grant itself, use your Microsoft account as well.

In Account security, choose Manage sign-in methods to add or remove passkeys and authenticator apps, manage recovery codes, or change your password.
Choose View device activity to review recent sign-ins and active identity sessions.
Choose Manage linked accounts to link or unlink available social sign-in accounts.
Choose Review connected applications to review access granted to applications.
You may be asked to sign in again. Use Back to aligned.tax to return to Settings.

These controls navigate in the same browser tab, so a pop-up blocker does not affect them. Adding SMS later from the account page is still being verified in staging.

Change the mobile number on the earlier two-factor flow

In Two-factor authentication, click Change phone number.
Enter the new UK mobile number and click Send verification code.
Type the code from the text message.

Replay a page tour

Find the tour you want in Page tours.
Choose Take the tour. aligned.tax opens that page and runs its tour again.
For a client’s page, open any client, then select Take the tour at the top of their page.

Choose which emails you receive

Use the switches under Notification Preferences. Deadline Reminders sends friendly quarterly reminders when filing opens and as your deadline approaches, grouped into one email. Send Test Email sends one message so you can check delivery. Marketing Communications is separate and off unless you opted in at sign-up.

Take a copy of your data

Click Download My Data. The export is a JSON file with your profile, taxpayer details (including NINO and UTR), submission history and legal acceptance records.

Delete your account

Click Delete My Account in Danger Zone, choose the main reason you are leaving, and type DELETE to confirm. Both are required: until they are done, Yes, Delete My Account stays unavailable and a line under it says what is still needed. The reason is stored without your name, email address or account ID.

The dialog lists what is removed, including your saved records and uploads, your notifications and preferences, your legal acceptance records and your access to shared practice records. If you file for yourself, it also lists your HMRC connection, which aligned.tax disconnects for you as part of the deletion, so you do not need to disconnect first.

Records held by a shared practice remain available to its other members, and records already submitted to HMRC remain on HMRC’s records. When deletion finishes, aligned.tax signs you out of both the app and the secure sign-in service and shows a confirmation page. There is no undo. Deleting the aligned.tax account does not change anything held by HMRC.

Things to know

If deletion cannot finish, the confirmation dialog shows the reason and what to do next. If you file for clients, an active HMRC connection may need to be disconnected first; Disconnect from HMRC stays available in HMRC Connection even when the connection has expired and the card is asking you to reconnect. Shared mapping templates or other dependent records may require help from hello@aligned.tax. If your connection is interrupted, contact support to check whether deletion completed before trying again.

The NINO and ARN are validated on entry. NINO: two letters, six digits, one letter; prefixes BG, GB, NK, KN, TN, NT and ZZ are rejected. ARN: one letter, ARN, seven digits.
Changing the NINO or ARN does not by itself change what HMRC has authorised. The connection belongs to the Government Gateway account you signed in with. If the identifier no longer matches that account, disconnect and connect again.
If HMRC’s latest check did not authorise aligned.tax for your record, a Fix the HMRC connection panel appears above the HMRC results in Settings. It gives three steps to try in order: check or edit your National Insurance number (saving checks with HMRC again at once), connect again with the login you used to sign up for Making Tax Digital, or sign up on GOV.UK and connect again. Connecting again from the panel starts a fresh HMRC sign-in without deleting your saved data.
Practice branding is only ever shown on the records upload page. There is no client portal or client login.
Page tours are available whether you file for yourself or for clients. Each tour shows itself the first time you open that page, and Page tours in Settings lets you run any of them again.
Two-factor authentication applies to every account, individual or agent. With Keycloak sign-in, an unchecked Remember this device for 7 days choice appears on the sign-in form. Choosing it lets aligned.tax remember that browser for seven days after sign-in. Without it, closing the browser normally ends that sign-in, and aligned.tax asks you to confirm it again after 12 hours if the browser stays open. Some browser settings restore the previous session after closing. On a shared or public computer, leave the box unticked and log out when you finish. On the earlier sign-in flow, the choice remains on the verification code screen.
The HMRC Feedback bell in the header is not a notification inbox. It shows messages from HMRC about your submissions. Emails from aligned.tax are controlled here, in Settings.

FAQ

I have moved practice. Can I change the ARN?

Yes, with Edit in Agent Reference Number. If the new ARN belongs to a different Agent Services Account, disconnect and connect again with that account’s sign-in.

Can I change my email address?

Not from Settings. Contact hello@aligned.tax.

Will deleting my account delete my HMRC submissions?

No. Submissions already accepted by HMRC stay on HMRC’s record. Deleting removes aligned.tax’s copies and its permission to act for you.