TaxScout connects Socket to HMRC via your Government Gateway credentials and syncs Corporation Tax, PAYE, Self Assessment, and VAT data for your entire client base. The data is displayed in dashboard views with filtering, sorting and per-client detail views.
What's in TaxScout
The Tax Balances tab: A configurable all client dashboard showing every client across all tax types, with filtering and sorting by payment status, return status and direct debit.
Tax Type tabs: Individual dashboards for VAT, PAYE, Corporation Tax, and Self Assessment, each with their own filtering, sorting and column options.
Per-client Taxes tab: individual tax detail for each client, including a summary, period-by-period breakdowns per tax type, and an individual sync option.
Connecting TaxScout
You'll need your Government Gateway agent credentials before you start.
Go to Settings > Integrations > HMRC.
Click Add Login.
Enter your credentials for the gateway.
Select which tax types you want to access and save.
5. Navigate back to the TaxScout page and run your first sync. The initial sync takes around two minutes and shows a live status with an ETA.
Navigating TaxScout
TaxScout is organised into five tabs across the top of the screen: VAT, PAYE, Corp Tax, Self Assessment, and Tax Balances.
The Tax Balances tab shows your full client list across all tax types.
The four tax type tabs each show your client list filtered to that tax type.
To change which columns are visible, click the Columns button (top right) and toggle columns on or off and click Done to save. Each tab has its own set of available columns.
To customise your view even further, access all column types from the 'Report Builder' dashboard. Simply select Columns and select which you want to include.
Export a filtered view or all Tax balances.
Tax Balances
The Tax Balances tab shows every client across all four tax types in a single view. Use it to get a practice-wide picture of compliance status without switching between tabs.
Key filters: Return Status and Payment Status.
To see all clients with any outstanding balance, filter by Payment Status: Outstanding. To narrow by tax type, use the column filters alongside Payment Status to focus on a specific area.
Report Builder
The Report Builder gives you access to columns from every dashboard in one place.
To build a custom view, navigate to Report Builder, click Columns, and select the fields you want to include. You can combine columns from different tax types, so you can, for example, view VAT Return Status and CT Payment Status side by side.
VAT
Key filters: Return Status and Payment Status.
To find clients with returns due, filter by Return Status: Due. To see clients without a direct debit in place, filter by Direct Debit: No.
PAYE
Key filters: Payment Status and Direct Debit.
To see clients with outstanding PAYE, filter by Payment Status: Outstanding. To see clients without a direct debit arrangement, filter by Direct Debit: No.
Corporation Tax
Key filters: Filing Status and Payment Status.
To see clients with unpaid CT balances, filter by Payment Status: Outstanding. To see clients with returns not yet filed, filter by Filing Status: Due.
Self Assessment
Key filters: Filing Status and Payment Status.
To see clients with unpaid SA, filter by Payment Status: Outstanding. Sort by SA Upcoming Date to work through clients in payment-due order.
Per-client detail
To view tax detail for an individual client, click their name from any tab. Each client has a Summary tab and individual tax type tabs showing period-by-period data, including return status, payment due dates, outstanding balances, and direct debit status.
To sync a single client's data, click Sync from their detail view.
Tips
Customise columns per tax type. Each tab remembers its own column configuration, so you can set up each tab to show only the fields relevant to that tax type.
Use the Tax Balances tab for a cross-tax overview. Filter by payment status or return status to see which clients need attention across all tax types at once.
Sync individual clients before meetings. Open the client's Taxes tab and click Sync to pull the latest data before a call or review.
Export filtered views. Apply the filters and columns you need, then use Export to download the data for reporting or sharing with colleagues.