HMRC limits helpline calls to 'priority queries' as Self Assessment deadline approaches
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Posted: Wed 13th Dec 2023
With the deadline for 2022/23 Self Assessment tax returns on 31 January, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) is focusing its telephone helpline on priority calls, with other enquiries directed to online services.
The change, which started on 11 December and runs until the deadline day, means advisers are addressing queries that can't be easily dealt with online, as well as calls from taxpayers who require extra support or cannot engage with HMRC digitally.
HMRC's Angela MacDonald said:
"This is a busy time for customers who want to get their taxes sorted. We want to help customers resolve any issues in the quickest and easiest way, which is often through our online services.
"The vast majority of Self Assessment customers file their returns digitally, so we’re helping them make the next step to resolving simpler queries through our online services.
"Our expert advisers will be there to help people with urgent and more complicated queries as well as helping the small number who are unable to access our online services."
The announcement follows the complete closure of the Self Assessment helpline from 12 June to 4 September to free up advisers to deal with urgent queries.
Jim Harra, HMRC chief executive, wrote to the Treasury Committee to inform MPs of the latest change to the helpline.
Committee chair Harriet Baldwin responded to Harra's letter and asked if it is related "to pent up demand caused by the closure of the helpline over the summer". She also asked why the announcement was made only two working days before the change began. She said:
"The Treasury Committee has repeatedly stressed our concern about the management of the Self Assessment helpline, particularly when it closed at such short notice over the summer leaving many struggling to access help with tax issues.
"Giving the public less than two working days' notice of a significant reduction in service, while the deadline for Self Assessment returns looms, is yet another alarming development for an increasingly pressured government service. I have written to the CEO of HMRC in order to get much-needed answers about what this means for taxpayers."
Responding to the closure in the summer, Chartered Institute of Taxation president Gary Ashford said:
"This looks like a cry for help in a desperate situation. This is another clear indicator that HMRC can't cope with everything it is being tasked to do, and simply cannot meet the demands of a growing and ever more complex tax system.”
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