How to Submit an ITSA Quarterly Update

Beta Release
Please be aware of 2 limitations in the current version of Solar Accounts:
1. Solar Accounts Online can submit your quarterly ITSA updates but for the full annual return you will need to use alternative software as listed on the HMRC website.
2. Solar Accounts Online is still awaiting approval to submit ITSA quarterly updates. You can view the ITSA report and submission workflow, but currently the 'Submit' button is disabled.

Authorising Solar Accounts

To view and submit HMRC ITSA quarterly updates you must first authorise Solar Accounts to interact with HM Revenue and Customs to act on your behalf. To do this click on Tax Returns from side menu, select ITSA Updates, and then click the 'Connect' button:

Screenshot showing 'Connect' button

Enter your National Insurance Number and click 'OK':

Screenshot nino dialog

The HMRC Authorisation window will be shown - click the link to open your web browser showing the HMRC login page:

Screenshot showing authorisation link

Log into the HMRC website and click the 'Give Permission' link:

Screenshot of HMRC grant authority page

Then click the 'Copy' button to copy the authorisation code to your computer's system clipboard:

Screenshot of HMRC copy authority code page

Close your browser and return to Solar Accounts, then click the 'Paste' button in the Solar Accounts window, then click OK:

Screenshot showing paste button to paste authorisation code
Submitting an ITSA Quarterly Update

Solar Accounts will show details of your ITSA quarterly updates for the current year. To submit an ITSA quarterly update to HMRC, double-click on a row where the Status is 'Open':

Screenshot of ITSA quarterly updates list in Solar Accounts

Choose whether you want to submit consolidated expense and click 'Next'. You will be shown a list of your accounts, and you must select the appropriate HMRC classification for each account. This classification is used by HMRC to determine which expenses are eligible for the simplified expenses rules, so it is important to select the correct classification for each account. Click 'Next' when you have assigned the classifications to all accounts:

Screenshot of tax payment to HMRC

Solar Accounts will calculate your ITSA quarterly update figures for that period and display them on screen. You can view the detailed breakdown of the figures by clicking the 'Detailed View' button, which will show you the breakdown of income and expenses that have been used to calculate the figures in the ITSA quarterly update:

Screenshot of ITSA quarterly update figures

Click 'Submit' to submit the ITSA quarterly update to HMRC. You will be asked to confirm that you want to submit the update, and once you confirm, Solar Accounts will submit the update to HMRC.

Screenshot of ITSA quarterly update result when successful