Helping you prosper
Press release published in the Daily Telegraph, Daily Mail's This is Money, FT Adviser, Financial Planning Today, eprivateclient, and The Armchair Trader
The number of complaints made to HMRC about delays at HMRC and HMRC making mistakes surged 66% to 12,670 last year*, up from 7,620 the year before.
Neela Chauhan, partner in our London office, says the rise in the number of incidences where taxpayers suffered from both delays and mistakes suggests a sustained decline in HMRC’s customer service.
Neela warns that delays at HMRC are making it increasingly difficult for taxpayers to resolve their tax affairs. UHY Hacker Young calculate** that taxpayers spent a collective 558 years calling HMRC last year. These delays leave many people at risk of filing documents late and incurring tax penalties.
HMRC’s poor service levels is delaying the processing of tax repayments. These mistakes and delays mean some taxpayers are left out of pocket for extended periods. This is particularly concerning for self-employed individuals who may have overpaid tax due to a sudden drop in income and are relying on timely refunds to support their cash flow.
Neela says: “When people cannot get through to HMRC on their telephone lines, small problems quickly escalate.”
HMRC investing in expanding tax investigations yet fail to invest in customer service
Although HMRC have made significant investment in its tax investigation teams in recent years, not enough is being invested in improving HMRC’s customer service. HMRC has been given the resources by the Government to hire 5,500 new tax investigation staff and 2,400 new officers, to chase tax debt but HMRC has not publicised any plans to significantly increase its number of customer service staff.
Neela says: “HMRC is clearly prioritising enforcement over support. While tackling the tax gap is important, it cannot come at the expense of basic customer service. Taxpayers are finding it harder than ever to get help, even as the tax system becomes more complex.”
With worsening customer service and an ever-more-complex tax system Neela says it is more important than ever for taxpayers to ensure their tax codes, tax bills and tax returns are accurate and up to date.
Neela adds: “Taxpayers need to be more vigilant than ever. Getting things right first time is becoming increasingly important, as fixing mistakes later can be both time-consuming and expensive.”
*Data obtained from HMRC, 2024/2025 tax year
**Data obtained from HMRC, 2024/2025 tax year
