The UTR number, also known as the Unique Taxpayer Reference number, is the tax number generated by HMRC for each company registered in the UK and sent to the company registered address.

You will use the UTR number every time you contact HM Revenue and Customs about your company's Corporation Tax and want to file your company tax returns.

Every registered company in the UK is obliged to notify HMRC once it has started to actively trade. With the UTR activation, your company is subject to corporation tax and the company must file a corporation tax return at the end of the fiscal year.

UTR activation is done through the Government Gateway account, which will be opened on the official portal of HMRC. This account is opened and delivered with two-factor authentication via e-mail and phone number to be provided by the company representative.

There are two tax numbers in the UK. One of them is the tax number created for Corporate Tax and referred to as UTR (Unique Taxpayer Reference) number. This tax number is created as soon as each company is incorporated and sent to the registered address of the company. Since there is no corporation tax exemption in the UK, every company has a UTR number. The second one is the VAT number created for Value Added Tax and referred to as VAT. This tax number is available if the company is VAT registered, and companies that are VAT exempt do not have a VAT number.