Choosing Your Account Type

What this is

The first screen of sign-up asks how you will use aligned.tax. Pick Individual if you file your own quarterly updates, and Tax Agent if you file for clients. The choice decides which screens you get, and it is not something you can switch yourself later, so it is worth a moment’s thought.

What you see on screen

Create your account shows two cards under “How will you use aligned.tax?”:

Individual - “I’m filing my own taxes”. Perfect for self-employed individuals and landlords managing their own MTD submissions.
Tax Agent - “I file taxes for clients”. For accountants and tax professionals managing multiple client submissions.

Selecting a card opens the sign-up form for that type. A Sign in link is underneath for people who already have an account.

Account type selection

The two options explained

Individual

Choose this if you are a sole trader, a landlord, or anyone filing their own Making Tax Digital for Income Tax updates.

What you get:

A setup wizard on first sign-in: verify your mobile, connect to HMRC with your own Government Gateway account, and file your first update.
A personal home screen with your quarters, deadlines and progress for the tax year.
My businesses, showing the income sources HMRC holds for you.
Quarterly updates, where you choose a quarter and upload your spreadsheet. There is no client to pick, because everything is yours.
Free for filing your own MTD Income Tax quarterly updates. See /pricing for details.

Tax Agent

Choose this if you are an accountant, bookkeeper or tax practice acting for other people.

What you get:

Work: every business filing across the practice in one list, with its deadline, who it is assigned to and what to do next.
Clients: every client in one list with their status, next deadline and who holds the filing work.
Add Client and Import clients to bring clients in one at a time or from a spreadsheet, and HMRC agent authorisation through your Agent Services Account and Agent Reference Number.
A page for each client, with tabs for their filing, businesses, obligations, submissions and history. Press Ctrl+K, or Cmd+K on a Mac, to jump to any client.
HMRC messages: the feedback HMRC sends back about your clients’ submissions, across every client.
Secure files: request or send a document to a client through a private link.
Records requests: ask a client for their quarterly spreadsheet through a private upload link.
Demo videos and Help at the bottom of the sidebar, which both open on aligned.tax in a new tab: short walkthroughs of the screens, with the set for accountants shown first, and the aligned.tax help centre. Individual accounts have the same two links, with the set for individuals shown first.

Things to know

Account type and permission both shape navigation. A direct invitation from a taxpayer gives View only or Manage my records access to their saved records. It does not create a practice membership or grant HMRC filing permission. See Accountant access in Settings.
Switching is not a setting. If you chose the wrong type, contact hello@aligned.tax. Do not sign up again with the same email address; it is already taken.
Accountants who also file for themselves should choose Tax Agent and add themselves as a client. The agent journey covers both.
A sole trader whose bookkeeper does the filing does not need an account at all. The bookkeeper signs up as a Tax Agent and adds them as a client. If a practice asks you for your records, you receive a private upload link and do not need to sign up.

FAQ

Can I change my account type later?

Not from within the app. Contact hello@aligned.tax and say which type you need.

Can I have both an individual and an agent account?

Only with two different email addresses. An agent account already covers filing for yourself, so one Tax Agent account is usually enough.

I am a sole trader with a bookkeeper. Which should I choose?

If your bookkeeper will file through their practice, they sign up as a Tax Agent and add you as a client. If you will file yourself, choose Individual. You can then invite your bookkeeper to view or manage your saved records while keeping HMRC filing with you.