HMRC Self-Assessment repayment claim verification letters – update

2 Nov 2021

We have received the following update from HMRC regarding their Income Tax Self-Assessment (ITSA) repayment claim verification letters (‘SURF’ letters). HMRC have advised us that all outstanding repayment related post will have been actioned by the end of November 2021. Thereafter ITSA repayment related post will be actioned within 30 calendar days of receipt.

START

HMRC are currently undertaking an increased level of checks to stop criminals abusing the Income Tax Self-Assessment (ITSA) repayment systems. This means that unfortunately some of our legitimate repayment customers have been experiencing delays in receiving tax refunds.

We have significantly increased resources to minimise delays and expect to have brought our customer service levels back to normal by the end of November, at which point ITSA repayment related post will be actioned within 30 calendar days of receipt.

Further background

  • We must balance our commitment to good customer service with our vital role to protect public funds from criminal attack.
  • Preventing these fraudulent repayment claims is a critical part of HMRC’s efforts to protect the public purse from the small minority seeking to abuse the system.
  • We prioritise preventing these fraud attacks before repayments are made, so all claims for ITSA repayments are checked before any money is paid.
  • Claims identified as a risk are suspended and subject to further checks by our compliance experts. If we’re satisfied the claim is genuine, the repayment will be released. If we are not, the claim will either be cancelled or amended to a lower value.
  • Minimising the impact on all genuine customers is important to us. We recognise we are facing some significant challenges and that our current service performance to legitimate customers is not at an acceptable standard and have therefore deployed additional resources to help us get back on track.  

ENDS

More information about HMRC’s ‘SURF’ letters can be found on our website here.