Secure a GST or other business-tax account with a unique password, any available two-step verification, controlled staff and adviser access, and a recovery email and phone number you can trust. Keep complete, readable tax records and protected backups. The exact login steps, reporting route, and record-retention period depend on the country and tax service: the examples below are labeled for India, New Zealand, or the UK rather than treated as universal rules.
How do I secure my GST account?
Strengthen sign-in and recovery
- Use a unique password for the tax service. Do not reuse an email, banking, or other website password. HMRC recommends a unique password for every online service; UK business cybersecurity guidance says a password manager can help generate and store unique credentials. HMRC sign-in guidance and UK business cyber guidance.
- Enable or complete multifactor or two-step verification wherever the service offers it. HMRC uses a second, single-use code; the India GST Portal manual describes OTPs sent to the registered mobile number and email in relevant login situations. New Zealand myIR also has two-step verification; follow its current account instructions.
- Keep the email address and phone number registered to the tax account current, secure, and accessible. They may be used for sign-in codes or account recovery. If a code arrives when nobody on your team is trying to sign in, treat it as a warning; HMRC says changing the password would be sensible. HMRC sign-in guidance and the India GST Portal login manual.
- Do not follow unexpected links to sign in or disclose a password, security answers, or OTP to someone who contacts you. Go to the authority’s official portal using an address you already know or have independently verified. The India GST Portal manual specifically warns about sharing credentials and suspicious links.
- Sign out when finished, especially on a shared device. HMRC says its service automatically signs users out after 15 minutes of inactivity, but advises users to sign out themselves when leaving. The India GST Portal manual says not to save passwords on public or shared systems.
Give staff and advisers managed access
Keep an owner or administrator responsible for the account. Where the tax authority permits it, give each staff member or adviser the access appropriate to their role rather than passing around a shared login. Review permissions and remove access when a person leaves or no longer needs it. HMRC describes team-member access and agent authorization in its business tax account guidance; UK business cyber guidance also recommends reviewing accounts and removing unused access.
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For UK HMRC services specifically, a policy published on 27 May 2026 says third parties must not request, collect, or use another person or organisation’s HMRC sign-in details, and sets restrictions on automation that enters data into or navigates Government Gateway. This is HMRC policy, not a general rule for all countries’ tax services or accounting software. See HMRC’s web-services policy.
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How do I protect my business tax records?
Keep supporting records complete and readable
Retain the records needed to support returns and business transactions. Depending on local rules, these may include sales and purchase records, invoices or their local equivalent, bank statements, receipts, accounting books, and documents that verify entries. Keep records complete and readable, and make sure you can retrieve or export them if asked.
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In New Zealand, Inland Revenue says GST-registered businesses should keep taxable supply information for taxable supplies and to support expense claims. The related record-keeping rules took effect on 1 April 2023. See New Zealand Inland Revenue’s GST records guidance. In the UK, HMRC says records may be kept on paper, digitally, or in bookkeeping software; inaccurate, incomplete, or unreadable records can lead to penalties. See HMRC’s records overview. Format guidance does not replace rules for a particular tax or jurisdiction.
Check the retention period for your jurisdiction
There is no single retention period for every GST account. New Zealand’s Goods and Services Tax Act 1985, section 75, generally requires covered records to be kept for at least seven years after the end of the related taxable period. Its listed records include books of account, vouchers, bank statements, invoices, taxable supply information, correction information, receipts, and documents needed to verify accounting entries. Read section 75 of New Zealand’s GST Act and confirm the rules for your own country and tax type before applying that period.
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Back up records and control access
Keep protected copies of important records separate from the everyday device or account where practical, and limit access to people who need it. UK government business-security guidance recommends backing up important business information, but does not establish a universal backup schedule or storage product. Backups support recovery; they do not replace legally required source records or retention.
What should I do if someone accessed my tax account?
- Do not approve a login or share a code. If an unexpected caller or message asks for an OTP, password, or approval, refuse and do not use its sign-in link.
- Report the suspected access through the correct authority’s official route. HMRC directs users to report suspected unauthorized access or changes to its online-services helpdesk; details are in HMRC’s suspicious-activity guidance. The India GST Portal manual says to alert the GST Helpdesk if unauthorized activity or data leakage is suspected. Do not use one country’s reporting route for another country’s account.
- Secure the password and recovery accounts. From a trusted device, change the tax-account password and any reused password, starting with the linked email account that could reset it. HMRC advises changing the password if an unexpected sign-in code arrives.
- Check what changed. Review recent sign-ins, contact details, authorized users and agents, and payment or bank details where the portal provides those records. HMRC’s guidance points users to check the last sign-in time and report activity that was not theirs.
- Contact your bank promptly if money went to a suspected scammer. HMRC says to contact the bank immediately in that situation. Keep relevant messages and details of account changes for the authority or police report.
Should I give my accountant my GST login?
Do not hand over your password or one-time codes as a substitute for proper access. First check whether your country’s tax service lets you authorize an agent or assign a staff member a separate account with appropriate permissions. Use that official process where available, and review access periodically. For HMRC, team-member access and agent authorization are described in its business tax account guidance; HMRC’s policy also restricts third parties from using another person or organisation’s sign-in details. The available examples do not establish one access workflow for all GST portals, so check the rules of your own authority before connecting third-party software or appointing an adviser.
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