HMRC to close in the Summer

Following on from last years highly criticised trial closure of the self-assessment tax helpline , HMRC are again this year closing the helpline from April 6th through the summer to September 29th.

Even the government are not rallying behind the closure of the helpline, Harriet Baldwin (Chair of the Treasury Select Committee) said “It is a great shame that HMRC have decided now is the time to essentially close down any avenues for people to contact them over the phone for huge parts of the year. I say once again, these are well-meaning people just trying to get their taxes right.  We’ve heard time and time again that every effort is being made to direct people to resolve issues online. The committee welcomes efforts to make the tax system more efficient but HMRC has not yet demonstrated that the department or the public are ready to make such a monumental change to how they resolve tax issues.  This should not be forced upon taxpayers until there is evidence that people know how to do their taxes on HMRC’s incredibly complex website.”

Gary Ashford of the Chartered Institute for Taxation said the decision to close was “misguided” and “We are deeply dismayed that, so soon after the criticisms levelled at them by the Public Accounts Committee, and in the light of an inconclusive evaluation, HMRC has decided to make these big, permanent cuts to the help it provides to taxpayers.  If last year’s announcement of the summer closure of the self-assessment helpline was a ‘flashing indicator’ that HMRC can’t cope, today’s announcements are a blinding light.  HMRC’s own evaluation of both the closure of the helpline in summer 2023, and the helpline restrictions during the 2024 self-assessment peak, concluded that it is too early to say if there has been a long-term shift from phone contact to online self-service. Yet HMRC have decided to go ahead anyway.”

This year HMRC will also close its VAT helpline except for five days before the VAT deadline each month.  The PAYE (Pay As You Earn) helpline will now not help with refunds unless there is a reason why the tax payer can not get the information required online.