HMRC Stakeholder Digest - 8 June 2023

Please see the following message from HMRC, which we are sharing for information:

The HMRC Stakeholder Digest provides a round-up of our latest news and updates, which we’d be grateful if you could share with your clients, customers, or members.

Updates

HMRC to trial seasonal Self Assessment helpline

We have announced that we are piloting a new seasonal model for the Self Assessment (SA) helpline, to prioritise helping those with urgent queries.

For three months from 12 June, HMRC will trial directing SA queries from the helpline to the department’s digital services, including its online guidance, digital assistant and webchat. This will free up around 350 advisers to support customers online, take urgent calls on other lines, and answer customer correspondence.

The vast majority of SA customers already use our online services. 97 per cent file online, and only one per cent of HMRC customers are digitally excluded.

The helpline will re-open on 4 September this year, so in addition to the online support available, customers can call us in the five months running up to the SA deadline on 31 January 2024.

Further information about the announcement can be found on GOV.UK.

SMS text messages continue to help customers find support online

In May, we expanded our SMS text service where callers to HMRC are given a digital alternative to answer their queries rather than staying on the line.

We’ve now added more topics to this service where customers calling our helplines will be given the option to use a link sent via text message for a quicker answer or remain on the phone if preferred.

From 6 June, these topics will include:

• Tax Credit renewal change of circumstances
• Tax Credit renewal no changes to report
• Child Benefit reference number
• Child Benefit new online claim
• Child Benefit change of bank details
• change of address
• register for Self Assessment
• check import duty on an overseas parcel
• VAT repayments
• ending Self Assessment  

We’ll continue to automatically redirect routine queries where this SMS service is already in place and expect to add more common queries to the service over the coming months, to help customers find answers quickly and easily.

Your clients and members can check if a text message they’ve received from HMRC is genuine on GOV.UK.

Claiming Child Benefit is now quicker and easier online for new parents

Our new online Child Benefit claims service means the majority of parents can now claim for a first or additional child at a time that suits them, on GOV.UK and be paid quicker.

Parents can claim as much as £1,248 a year for their first child, which could add up to almost £20,000 by the time they’re 16. They could also receive nearly £827 a year for any other children they have.

By logging in to their Government Gateway account - or taking just a few minutes to set one up if using our services for the first time - a straightforward online claim (for example a new baby under six months old and registered in the UK) could see their first payment made in as little as three working days, rather than waiting weeks previously.

We know how important this payment can be to families, so we’d really appreciate if you could share this information with your clients and members to support and encourage them to claim online.

Advertising Standards Authority have taken action against tax repayment agents

The Advertising Standards Authority have banned individual adverts from three tax repayment agents for various claims which included being unclear about fees when claiming a tax refund from HMRC, exaggerating the size of the refunds, and failing to mention that clients were signing over rights to a cut of potential repayments from preceding years. The ASA determined these adverts must not appear again in the form complained of.

We are reminding customers that they can claim tax refunds directly from us, ensuring they get 100% of any money due and that they should be cautious about promises of easy money – if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Please share this information with your constituents to make them aware of this issue and direct them to the guidance of how to claim a tax refund on GOV.UK.

We have recently introduced a range of new measures to improve transparency in the repayment agent market and to further protect customers, including requiring repayment agents to register with us, new transparency requirements, and removing the use of legally binding assignments. We urge anyone thinking of using a tax repayment agent to do their research and check the guidance on how to choose a tax agent on GOV.UK before committing to anything.

Helping customers spot tax avoidance and get help to leave schemes

We are running a ‘Tax avoidance – don’t get caught out’ campaign to help contractors and agency workers spot the warning signs of tax avoidance, report suspicious companies, and get support to leave tax avoidance schemes.

You can help us reach workers by sharing our campaign messages from the Tax Avoidance – don’t get caught out page on GOV.UK. You can also support this campaign by telling your clients and members about our tools and guides.

The resources include published details of tax avoidance schemes and their promoters to steer clear of. Two contractors, Duncan and Tanya, have also shared their personal stories of tax avoidance to help other people learn from their mistakes.

Reminders

HMRC Stakeholder Digest experience survey

As mentioned in the previous Stakeholder Digest, we are always working to make sure that the content you receive in our Digests is timely and relevant to you or for your networks.

The HMRC Stakeholder Digest experience survey will be available for you to complete until 15 June to have your say.

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