You can change accountants while you continue driving. Start by agreeing who will finish each outstanding return, then arrange the records transfer and HMRC authorisation. Moving a folder or paying a new firm does not confirm that someone has taken responsibility for your next deadline.
For an Uber, Bolt or private hire driver, the useful handover goes beyond last year’s tax return. Your new accountant needs the history behind platform income, vehicle claims and any VAT or Making Tax Digital work. Use the checklist below to organise that transfer without losing track of a filing already in progress.
Agree the work and the handover date first
Tell the new accountant why you want to move: unanswered questions, a change in your driving business, records you struggle to organise, or a service that no longer fits. Explain what you need help with and send a summary of your platforms, other income and deadlines. You can compare the scope using our guide to accountant fees.
Ask for written confirmation of the tax years and tasks the new firm will handle. Annual Self Assessment, VAT returns, bookkeeping and MTD updates may have different start dates. If your current accountant has nearly finished a return, agree whether they will submit it or hand the unfinished work over. Ask both firms to confirm the arrangement so that neither assumes the other is filing.
Review your current engagement terms for notice, unfinished work and fees. A payment dispute and the responsibility for an approaching deadline need separate attention. Ask the new firm what information it needs before accepting the work, rather than assuming a fee quote means the handover is complete.
Give permission for professional communication
Tell your current accountant that you are changing firms and give permission for them to share relevant information with the incoming accountant. Include the new firm’s contact details and the work you want transferred. Keep a copy of your instruction.
ACCA’s practice compliance guidance says firms should obtain professional clearance from the previous accountant before taking on a new client. This communication helps the incoming firm assess the appointment. It is separate from appointing an agent with HMRC and from moving your bookkeeping software.
Ask the incoming accountant to confirm what they have received and what remains missing. Avoid guessing that silence means completion. If your former accountant does not respond, keep a dated record of requests and ask the new firm to assess the available evidence and immediate deadlines.
Build a driver-specific handover file
Use the following as a transfer checklist. For each row, record where the documents are, who will send them and whether the new accountant has acknowledged receipt. Our Self Assessment document checklist covers the wider annual filing pack.
| Records to transfer | What to include | Confirm with the new accountant |
|---|---|---|
| Filed tax returns | Copies of returns, tax calculations and submission acknowledgements for relevant years | Which years are complete and whether amendments remain outstanding |
| HMRC correspondence | Notices, account statements, payment records and unresolved letters | The next filing, payment or response date and who handles it |
| Platform income | Each operator’s statements, fee invoices, bank payouts, cash fares and adjustments | The last reconciled period and any missing weeks |
| Vehicle history | Purchase or finance agreements, mileage logs, previous expense method and capital allowance schedules where relevant | Which records support the treatment already used |
| VAT, if registered | Registration details, scheme records, previous returns and underlying reconciliations | The next VAT period and any unresolved corrections |
| MTD and software | Digital records, submitted updates, exports and subscription details | Access, ownership, the last submitted period and the next task |
A new accountant should not have to infer your previous vehicle method from a total labelled “car expenses”. Include the workings that explain the claim. Preserve the mileage or actual-cost history so the new firm can check continuity before preparing the next return.
Keep your own copies when you transfer records. HMRC sets record-retention requirements for self-employed businesses; changing firms does not remove them. Ask before closing an old software account if it holds receipts or reports you cannot recover elsewhere.
Update HMRC authorisation without sharing passwords
HMRC says you need a new authorisation request when changing the agent you have authorised. Ask the incoming accountant which route applies to the services they will handle. Follow the official process yourself where it requires your approval; do not send your Government Gateway password to either firm.
Check the taxes covered rather than assuming one change closes every old connection. HMRC’s change or remove an agent guidance specifically tells taxpayers removing an agent from Self Assessment to check MTD for Income Tax too, and vice versa. If you are ending the old firm’s involvement, confirm the position for both services and any VAT work.
HMRC authorisation gives an agent access for particular tax services. It does not itself transfer your receipts, agree the new firm’s fee or tell a software provider who should own the subscription. Keep those tasks on the handover list.
Check software access and the next deadline
- Export the records and supporting documents you need before cancelling an old subscription. Confirm that the export includes attachments as well as totals.
- Agree who owns the new subscription and who can access it. Use the provider’s accountant invitation or transfer process where available.
- Write down the last period reconciled and the last return or update submitted. Keep submission receipts with the corresponding figures.
- Ask who will deal with the next deadline and what records they need from you, with a specific date for supplying them.
If MTD applies, discuss record access and submission responsibilities as part of the move. The MTD guide explains the wider obligations. Changing advisers does not, by itself, move an HMRC deadline; check the official filing dates and your own notices.
A handover example
Illustration only: a driver uses Uber and Bolt, has a tax return in progress and stores receipts in an account managed by the current accountant. The driver asks a new firm to take over. Before anyone submits the return, the two firms and driver confirm who will finish that year’s work. The driver exports the receipts, provides the last reconciled platform statements and identifies a missing month of bank records.
The new accountant then confirms whether they can take on the agreed work and deadline. The driver keeps the unfinished return separate from any filed version and asks for a receipt when the responsible firm submits it. This example shows the decisions to document; it does not promise that every transfer can follow the same timetable.
Before you treat the switch as complete
- You have written confirmation of the incoming firm’s scope, fee and start date.
- Both firms know who handles outstanding work, and you know which records you still need to supply.
- The new accountant has confirmed receipt of the essential records and identified any gaps.
- You have checked agent authorisations and software access for the services involved.
- You have retained your own copies and know your next action and deadline.
You remain responsible for your tax. HMRC’s agent authorisation guidance says you must check a return’s information and confirm it is correct before your agent submits it. Review the figures even if a previous firm supplied part of the handover.
Request help with your next return
For a broader explanation of the filing process, read our Self Assessment guide. To discuss moving your annual preparation and filing work, request an Uber tax return quote and explain the year involved, your platforms, the next deadline and whether another accountant is already working on it. The written scope should confirm the work the practice agrees to take on.
Sources checked 10 October 2026. This article provides a preparation checklist; the transfer steps depend on your engagement terms, tax services and software.
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