From 9 May 2016, HMRC has made changes to the process for submitting IHT returns electronically. The change is in advanced of electronic filing of IHT forms. The directions to introduce this are contained in the Inheritance Tax (Electronic Communications) Regulations 2015 (SI 2015/1378) which were published in May.

As a result, the person submitting the return must:

• enter a User ID and password issued by the Government Gateway service;
• enter an access code sent to their mobile phone; and
• on first registration only, answer a series of identity verification questions.

This is known as the two stage verification process and is already being used for self-assessment, the Personal Tax Account and Your Tax Account (businesses only).

HMRC have recently provided us with the following update on two step verification:-

“Protecting customer data is a priority for HMRC and since 29 March 2016 we have provided optional 2 Step Verification – an extra layer of security which requires a mobile phone – to all HMRC customers enrolled in Self-Assessment.

Over the last few months we’ve had the opportunity to learn from and, based on customer feedback, improve the 2 Step Verification customer experience. We have seen really positive results, with 4 in 5 people choosing to use our voluntary 2 Step Verification offer.

We will now be undertaking trials to look at the next stage of 2 Step Verification and considering whether we will make this a requirement for all SA customers in HMRC. Any further implementation of 2 Step Verification would be subject to a successful trial and introduced on a phased basis. At this stage we are not looking at implementing 2 Step Verification for SA customers who are also in other Business Tax regimes, including VAT, or for agents and other helpers. We will keep you updated as plans develop and work with you to support any implementation for agents.”