HMRC to close phone lines every summer

Man on the telephone looking frustrated

HMRC is introducing an annual summer break on its phone lines in a bid to push customers online.

From April 8, taxpayers will be unable to call the tax office for help with their tax return until September 30. These measures, the tax office said, will be repeated every year to allow “helpline advisers to focus support where it is most needed”.

It comes weeks after the Public Accounts Committee, an influential group of MPs, said HMRC’s customer service had hit an “all-time low”.

The latest statistics showed that nearly one million calls went unanswered in January, the tax office’s busiest month, with taxpayers scrambling to file for self-assessment tax returns on time in order to avoid automatic late fines.

On average those who got through had to wait 25 minutes before HMRC answered the phone.

The six-month closure will coincide with an “annualised hours” pilot scheme that will involve 100 customer service staff working a three-day week during the summer period, generally a quieter month for the tax office, before working extra hours over the winter.

The decision to permanently cut the helpline follows its summer closure between June 12 and September 4 last year.

This trial was highly criticised by accountancy bodies and MPs, with the Treasury Select Committee last year grilling HMRC on the decision – which had been announced with just four days’ notice.

However, HMRC said the seasonal pilot was “successful”, with calls initially spiking when the helpline reopened before returning to “expected levels”.

Others have warned that the new “seasonal” helpline will result in more taxpayers filing late and filling in their tax returns incorrectly, creating problems further down the line.

The Chartered Institute for Taxation has said it is concerned the summer trial could have led to a drop in the number of people filing on time. Official statistics suggest there were about 180,000 fewer filers in January 2024 compared to the previous year.

Gary Ashford, of the CIOT, said the decision to make the summer closure permanent was “missguided”.

“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.”

HMRC has been focused on shifting customers online as it struggles to cope with a huge rise in people needing help with their tax affairs. Around three million taxpayers will be dragged into the 40pc income tax bracket over the next five years due to the freeze on tax thresholds.

In addition to shutting the self-assessment helpline, the tax office is permanently closing its VAT helpline, except for the five business days leading up to the submission deadline every month.

On top of this, the “pay-as-you-earn” (PAYE) helpline will no longer deal with calls to chase PAYE refunds, unless going online is not an option for the taxpayer.

Angela MacDonald, HMRC’s second permanent secretary and deputy chief executive, said: “Online services have transformed our lives and often provide a better service for managing tax – they’re quicker, easier and always available.

“Changing our services to encourage customers to self-serve online wherever possible will allow our helpline advisers to focus support where it is most needed – helping those with complex tax queries and those who are vulnerable and need extra support.

“We must maximise every pound of taxpayers‘ money. Embracing online self-service allows us to help more customers and improve our customer service levels without spending additional public money.”

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