Summary
HMRC holds your official employment and income history through the PAYE system - who you've worked for, your employment dates, and associated income records, going back up to 5 tax years. It's one of the most comprehensive sources available to confirm your employment or income history.
Connecting HMRC involves signing in to the government's secure system and authorising Konfir to view your Income Record. Your login credentials stay entirely with HMRC - Konfir never sees them.
Step by step
Step 1: Click "Connect HMRC"
In your Konfir verification page, select the HMRC option and click to connect. You'll be redirected to the GOV.UK official website.
Step 2: Click "Start now"
The GOV.UK page will show "Authorise Konfir to view your Income Record". Click Start now to proceed.
Step 3: Sign in to HMRC
You'll be asked to choose how to sign in:
Government Gateway - use your Government Gateway user ID (up to 12 characters) and password
GOV.UK One Login - use the email address you registered with GOV.UK One Login
Create new sign in details - if you don't have either, you can set them up from this page
Step 4: Authorise Konfir
After signing in, HMRC will show you a consent screen - it will say "Konfir want to be your agent" for the Income Record Viewer service. Review the access summary (in short: who you've worked for and when), then click Continue. On the next screen - "Check your answer" - read the declaration and click Accept. You should see a confirmation message "You have authorised Konfir"
Step 5: Return to Konfir
Switch back to the Konfir tab in your browser. You'll see a screen asking "Have you connected HMRC?" - tap "Yes, I've already connected HMRC". Konfir will retrieve your records, which takes up to 15 seconds.
💡Tip: If Konfir can't retrieve your records after tapping "Yes", select "No, I haven't connected HMRC" and then "Go back to HMRC" - this lets you retry the authorisation from the beginning. If it still fails after retrying, skip the step. Your other connected sources will still be included in your result.
How Konfir's access works
Once authorised, Konfir can see your employment history from your HMRC tax account - who you've worked for, dates of employment, and associated income records.
Konfir automatically cancels its HMRC authorisation shortly after your data has been retrieved - typically within minutes of you accepting. You don't need to do anything.
💡Tip: If you'd like to confirm this, you can check under "Manage who can deal with HMRC for you" in your HMRC personal tax account and you should see the authorisation has already been removed.
If you can't connect
If you run into problems, check I can't connect my HMRC account and the other troubleshooting articles linked at the bottom of this page. If you're still unable to connect, skip this source and continue with your other available data sources - you can still submit your verification. Your verifier will review the result and let you know if they need anything further.
FAQs
Is it safe to authorise Konfir on HMRC's site?
Yes. You're authorising on the government's own secure system. Konfir never sees your login credentials - only the HMRC data you authorise it to view.
What's the difference between Government Gateway and GOV.UK One Login?
They're two different sign-in systems for government services. Government Gateway is the older system (12-character user ID). GOV.UK One Login is the newer email-based system. Either works for connecting HMRC to Konfir.
How far back do HMRC records go?
Up to 5 tax years. If your employment history within the period being checked goes back further, HMRC alone may not cover it all - bank data can help fill the gap.
What if I've never worked or filed taxes in the UK?
You won't have HMRC employment records to connect. Skip this source and use bank or payroll instead.
Why do I have to switch tabs manually?
The GOV.UK authorisation flow doesn't redirect back to Konfir automatically - it's by design on their end. Once you've authorised, switch back to the Konfir tab and tap "Yes, I've already connected HMRC" to trigger the data retrieval.
What if I tapped "Yes" but Konfir says it didn't connect?
This usually means the authorisation was completed on a different HMRC account than expected, or there was a brief delay. Check you used the right account, wait a moment, and try again. If it still doesn't work, skip the step and use your other sources.