Amending HMRC Gateway Credentials - What does "Authentication error check Gateway Sender ID and or Gateway Password for PAYE reference" mean?

When using the system's end of year or P46 (car) File by Internet (FBI) functionality, the P11D Organiser will need to use your Government Gateway username and password in order to make the submission successfully.

The Process

How the Prepare and Send Submission functions work:

1. When you click the Prepare button, the username and password you have entered are verified against Government Gateway. It is important to remember that this process ONLY checks that the credential pair you have entered actually work!
2. If the software starts building the preparation report, then the credentials you entered are valid, if not, you will need to go back and re-enter the details.
3. When the Prepare has finished, assuming there are no parsing errors, the Send Submission button will become active.
4. Clicking the Send Submission button will send your information to HMRC - please remember that you can only have ONE successful submission per PAYE reference per year.
5. Once you have clicked Send Submission, the P11D Organiser will then present the Government Gateway your credentials AND the PAYE reference.
6. If you get an authentication error at this point, it is likely that although you have entered a valid username and password, they are not the correct credentials for that PAYE reference. Our advice here would be to double check the credentials you have and re-enter as necessary. It is also recommended that you double check the PAYE reference and Accounts Office reference that is entered in the P11D Organiser - see below.

Please note: You may possibly get an XML error back from the Government Gateway saying that although the username, password and PAYE reference are correct, that particular PAYE reference has not been enrolled for Benefits & Expenses submissions - this is something you'll have to address on the Government Gateway site direct, it is not something with which we can assist.

Amending the details in the system

To amend the HMRC credentials you need to navigate to the View Employer Details screen and click on the HMRC Details option.

From here you can click on the Set Gateway sender ID and password button to be able to enter your details

If this still fails, see below....

Checking your username and password with the Government Gateway

We recommend that you use the HMRC's own websites to check that you are entering the correct credentials (username and password).

Use the links below to check if you can login successfully to the Government Gateway:

• https://online.hmrc.gov.uk/
• https://www.access.service.gov.uk/login/signin/creds

Screenshot of the Gateway 1

Screenshot of the Gateway 2 (incorrect credentials)

Screenshot of the Gateway - Confirmation of PAYE ref(s) you can submit for

Once you have verified these with the Government Gateway and have then successfully logged in to the Government Gateway, you should return to the P11D Organiser, launch the HMRC Filing screen again to re-enter your credentials, you should now be able to make a successful submission. 

Checking your Company Name & PAYE Reference number 

Another possible cause of authentication error can be the PAYE reference, Company Name or Accounts office reference number saved in the system have been entered incorrectly. Check these by viewing the COMPANY details screen and editing/changing these if they are incorrect.

e.g. The first 3 digits of the PAYE Reference number has been mistakenly entered twice!