HMRC has confirmed it's scaling back its tax helpline service in moves that the Treasury Select Committee called "an alarming development" (Image: Shutterstock)

HMRC confirms cuts to tax helpline for millions just weeks from crucial deadline

The tax office says only high-priority calls will be able to get through to an adviser and others will be told to go online instead

by · Birmingham Live

HMRC has confirmed a major change to its tax payments helpline as millions will be told to look on its website instead. It said customers calling with queries that can be "quickly and easily resolved online" will instead be directed to HMRC's web services from now until the self-assessment deadline on January 31.

Bosses at HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) say advisers will focus on "priority calls" - but the move has been slammed for restricting access to help at a time when it's needed most. The new move follows the service being switched off entirely in the summer, when staff were redeployed to other phone lines and callers redirected to digital services.

Harriett Baldwin, chair of the Treasury Select Committee, called it "yet another alarming development for an increasingly pressured Government service." She said: "I remain concerned that this reduction in service will leave people sitting in long phone queues in the run-up to the deadline for filing tax returns."

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HMRC said the department's staff would be focusing on answering "priority" self-assessment queries – those that cannot be easily dealt with online – as well as supporting "the small minority of customers who require extra support or cannot engage with us digitally. " It added that it monitors all calls to identify people who may need extra help and these customers are passed on to its Extra Support Team who are trained to deal with vulnerable taxpayers.

HMRC chief executive Jim Harra said two-thirds of the 5.5 million callers to the helpline each year could have resolved their query much more quickly online. Examples of issues that could be answered online include updating personal information, chasing the progress of a self-assessment registration, ending a registration, and checking a Unique Taxpayer Reference number.

Mr Harra said: "With satisfaction rates of above 80 per cent, our online services are our best kept secret – too many people still don't realise they can resolve their queries quickly on GOV.UK or the HMRC app, at a time that is convenient to them. Instead they ring our helpline, spend their time waiting on hold, and then use our advisers' time when that could be better used helping other customers with urgent queries that cannot be handled online.

"Callers to our self-assessment helpline whose query can more quickly and easily be dealt with online will be directed by our interactive voice response system and helpline advisers to our highly rated online services. If our online guidance and digital assistant don't answer the customer's query, they will still be able to discuss their query with an HMRC adviser on webchat."

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The HMRC chief told MPs that 97 per cent of the 12.5 million income tax self-assessment returns filed each year are submitted online but around 5.5 million people still call the helpline for assistance - even though two-thirds of these calls could have been "resolved far quicker through our online services."

"We are modernising the tax system to allow more customers to self-serve and access the information they need online," Mr Harra explained. "We are continuously expanding online and app services to enable customers to do this more and more. We also need to reduce the volume of contact through phone and post by at least 30 per cent by 2025 compared to 2021/22 in order to deliver our service standards with the resources we have. Therefore, we will increasingly expect customers to use our online services where they can."

The helpline is now being dedicated solely to those with issues that cannot be sorted out on the website or who lack digital access. All other callers will, via an automated voice message and follow-up text, be directed to use the Department's online services, HMRC said.

Angela MacDonald, HMRC's Deputy Chief Executive and Second Permanent Secretary, 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."

She says HMRC is "transitioning to a digital-first approach, meaning customers can get their queries answered 24/7, without having to wait on the phone or write a letter. " It is continuing to improve and expand its online services, increasing their capabilities and ease of use so they become the default option for customers, she added. This includes the HMRC app, which is already used by more than a million people every month.

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