Sometimes HMRC uses more than one way to get in touch. For example, we may contact you by letter first before following up with an email, call or text message. This is because:

• it can provide an extra level of security
• it can help prepare you for the follow up contact
• these are the contact details HMRC has for you

All the HMRC contacts listed on this page can use more than one communication method. They are in alphabetical order.

Administration of employer tax obligations research

HMRC is working with Verian, an independent research agency, to understand the administrative time and costs of meeting employer-administered tax obligations.

You might receive a letter inviting you to take part in this research. After that, Verian may call you to carry out a survey.

Taking part is voluntary. Any information you give will be: 

• used for research purposes only
• held securely at all times in line with data protection law

Verian will not ask you for your personal financial information.

Advanced assurance pilot feedback

You may receive a phone call or email from HMRC inviting you to provide feedback on the advance assurance pilot.

Taking part is voluntary. Any information you give will be: 

• used for feedback purposes only

HMRC will not be able to identify the individuals or businesses that take part.

Agents, small and mid-sized businesses survey

HMRC is working with IFF Research, an independent research agency, to understand agents, small and mid-sized businesses’ experience of interacting with HMRC. This research will help HMRC improve how we engage with businesses moving forward.

You may receive a letter, email or phone call from IFF Research inviting you to take part in:

• the survey
• an interview about your experiences

Taking part is voluntary. All information given will be:

• used for research purposes only

You will not be asked to provide any personal financial information.

After HMRC speak with you about setting up a Budget Payment Plan, you will receive an email or text message with information on how to set it up.

If you are not expecting this message, ignore it.

Changes to your tax code 

If we believe you’ve been given an incorrect tax code after starting a new job, you may receive an email or text message explaining that your tax code will change.

You will not be asked for personal, business or financial information.

We may direct you to further support and guidance, including:

Childcare service

HMRC may contact you by text message about Tax Free Childcare or Free Childcare for Working Parents.

The text message may tell you that:

• we’ve got your application or reconfirmation
• we’ll call you, if we need more information

Claiming a VAT refund (VAT 126) as an organisation not registered for VAT

From 27 July 2026, you may receive a letter, email or phone call from HMRC about your VAT 126 claim.

HMRC are changing telephone numbers and email addresses used when:

• contacting you about your VAT 126 claim 

If you’ve submitted a VAT 126 claim, or are planning to do so, be aware that these changes are internal and relate to how your claim is managed.

Claims for overpaid VAT on gaming machine income — pub company tenant claims

We are contacting tenants of pub companies who made claims on behalf of their tenants for overpaid VAT on gaming machine income.

If you are contacted, we will:

• tell you which pub company made the claim on your behalf

• ask you if you want to pursue your claim

If you want to make a claim we’ll ask you for your bank account details if you are no longer registered for VAT.

Complaints about HMRC — confirmation

If you complained about the service you received from us, HMRC may contact you by email or text message to confirm your complaint has been received and is being reviewed.

We may tell you how:

• we’ll contact you with updates about your complaint
• to check when you can expect a reply from HMRC

You will not be asked for personal, business or financial information.

Complaints about HMRC — delays in responses

If you complained about the service you received from us and there is a delay in reviewing your issue, HMRC may contact you by email or text message to let you know how we’ll contact you with updates about your complaint.

You will not be asked for personal, business or financial information.

Compliance check feedback

HMRC may invite you to a short feedback session. This is your chance to tell us about your experience with HMRC, including:

• the communications you received
• what you thought about the process

• used only for research purposes

HMRC will not ask you for any personal financial information.

Compliance support for growing businesses research

Natcen is carrying out research for HMRC to understand how it can help small and medium-sized businesses reduce non-compliance.

You’ll be asked if you’d like to take part in an interview. If you take part in this research, Natcen will contact you to arrange an interview.

Taking part is voluntary but if you do your answers will be: 

• used for research purposes only 

We will not ask you for any personal financial information.

Construction Industry Scheme discrepancies on Income Tax Self Assessment Returns

HMRC may contact you if you are a subcontractor in the Construction Industry Scheme (CIS) and there is an error on your Income Tax Self Assessment return for your CIS deductions.

The letter or email will explain:

• why the correction has been made

• why we think the correction is needed

• what you can do if you think the information is wrong

If you have traded in cryptoassets, HMRC may contact you by letter, email or text message.

The letter or email will give you links to guidance to:

• check that you’ve declared crypto activities correctly 
• watch a HMRC YouTube video about how crypto transactions are taxed for individuals
• check if you need to pay tax when you sell cryptoassets

It will also explain what:

• a disposal is

The text message will direct you to guidance on GOV.UK.

HMRC will be working with Ipsos, an independent research company, to carry out research into Customs Civil Penalties (CCPs). The research will look at:

• the role of intermediaries in customs compliance

Ipsos may invite you to take part in a telephone or online interview.

If you take part in this research it will help HMRC improve processes and services.

Taking part is voluntary. All information given will be:

• used for research purposes only

Data holder notice

If you have received either a formal notice or a formal notice of assessments by letter, HMRC’s Data Acquisition and Exchange may contact you or your representatives to discuss this with you.

You may receive a phone call or email to help you to follow HMRC’s data gathering legislation.

Economic crime supervision

The purpose of economic crime supervision is to:

• help businesses understand their risks and obligations

To do this, HMRC will:

• offer online education to make sure businesses meet money laundering regulations

HMRC are working with Ipsos, an independent research agency, to understand awareness and adoption of Electronic Trade Documents (ETDs) among UK importers and exporters.

Ipsos may invite you to take part in this research.

We encourage you to take part to help HMRC:

Taking part is voluntary. Information given will be:

• used for research purposes only

Employment agency’s labour supply chains research

HMRC is working with Ipsos, an independent research organisation, to understand more about the labour supply chains of employment agencies.

You may receive a letter, email or phone call from Ipsos inviting you to take part in this research.

Taking part is voluntary. Any information you give will be:

• used for research purposes only

HMRC will not be able to identify the individuals or businesses that take part.

Extra support when using HMRC services research

You may receive an email or phone call from NatCen or Criteria inviting you to take part in research.

The aim of this research is to improve the support people receive when engaging with HMRC.

Taking part is voluntary. All information given will be:

• used for research purposes only

Help to Save — request to update your bank details

HMRC may contact you to tell you about funds in your Help to Save account that we cannot pay you as the bank details we hold are incorrect.

We will ask you to update your bank details in your Help to Save account. Once your bank details are correct, we will automatically make any outstanding payments.

You can call the Help to Save helpline to confirm the request to update your bank details is genuine.

High Income Child Benefit Charge — check if you need to pay

HMRC may contact you if you need to check whether the charge applies for the tax years: 

• 2024 to 2025
• 2025 to 2026
• 2026 to 2027

If you or your partner receive Child Benefit and either of you has an adjusted net income (ANI) of £60,000 or more, a charge may apply. If a charge is due, you can pay through your tax code or by filing a Self Assessment tax return.

If you’ve already submitted your 2024 to 2025 Self Assessment tax return, the information in the letter or text message will help you understand whether you need to amend it before 30 September 2026.

To find out whether the High Income Child Benefit Charge applies to you:

You will not be asked for any personal or financial information.

We may contact you following a compliance, National Minimum Wage or securities check, to complete a short survey on your experience during it. The survey will allow HMRC to identify if we need to improve how we conduct checks.

The survey is voluntary and will not ask for any personal or financial information. If you need any further information, contact the caseworker who dealt with your check.

Jointly Managed Engagement Team — HMRC payroll enquiry

HMRC may contact employers or third parties to clarify payroll information submitted through Real Time Information (RTI).

If contacted by phone, you will be:

• told we have a payroll enquiry
• asked to complete standard security questions
• asked for a breakdown of pay and deductions for an individual

If contacted by email, you will be:

• told we have a payroll enquiry
• asked to contact HMRC by telephone
• asked for a breakdown of pay and deductions for an individual — if you are emailed after speaking on a telephone call

If contacted by letter, you will be:

• told we have a payroll enquiry
• asked for a breakdown of pay and deductions for an individual

Large business survey — customer experience research

HMRC is working with the independent research agency IFF Research to understand large business customers’ experiences with HMRC. 

The research will help:

If you’re contacted, you may be asked to take part in a survey or interview.

• used only for research purposes

Logging into your HMRC tax account

Multi-factor authentication is an extra security feature which replaces 2-step verification. It helps prevent someone else from accessing your digital account, even if they know your user ID and password.

HMRC will send an access code by text message or voice call to your chosen mobile phone or landline number to activate the multi-factor authorisation. You will need this code to complete the access.

These text messages and voice calls will never ask you to give personal or financial information.

If you have activated multi-factor authentication you’ll only be able to access the account using the:

• mobile or landline device which you have registered

Managing Pension Schemes Service migration reminder

HMRC is contacting some Pension Scheme Administrators (PSAs) by email and then phone, to remind them to migrate their schemes to the Managing Pension Schemes (MPS) Service.

You will not be asked for any personal or financial information.

Making Tax Digital for Income Tax — research on Self Assessment changes

HMRC is working with independent research agencies NatCen and Walnut to understand how sole traders and landlords have responded to recent changes to Self Assessment.

You may receive a letter from NatCen or Walnut on behalf of HMRC inviting you to take part in a 45 minute interview. A Walnut interviewer may contact you by telephone or video call to carry out the interview.

This research will help HMRC improve communications and support for sole traders and landlords regarding Making Tax Digital for Income Tax.

Taking part is voluntary. All information given will be:

• used only for research purposes

Making Tax Digital for Income Tax — research on how agents are supporting clients

HMRC is working with the independent research agency Verian, to understand agent’s first experiences of Making Tax Digital for Income Tax and how they are supporting their clients.

You may be contacted by Verian if you are an agent and asked to take part in a:

You will not be asked for information about your tax affairs.

Taking part is voluntary. All information given will be:

• used only for research purposes

Making Tax Digital for Income Tax — sole trader and landlord preparedness research

HMRC is working with Verian, an independent research agency, to understand the preparedness of sole traders and landlords for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax.

You may receive a letter from Verian and HMRC inviting you to take part in a 20‑minute telephone survey.

If you choose not to opt out, an interviewer on behalf of Verian may contact you by telephone to carry out the survey.

This research will help HMRC improve communications and support for sole traders and landlords regarding Making Tax Digital for Income Tax.

Taking part is voluntary. All information given will be:

• used only for research purposes

Moving to the UK — research on tax responsibilities

HMRC may contact you by email, letter or phone call to invite you to a short feedback session.

The session will give you an opportunity to share your experience of moving to the UK, including how you learned about your UK tax responsibilities, as well as any information or support you used.

Taking part is voluntary. All information given will be:

• used only for research purposes

National Insurance refunds 2 — request for information to process refund

HMRC will contact you by letter or email if we think you may be due a National Insurance refund after a review requested by your employer.

We’ll explain:

• whether you are due a refund
• how to provide your bank details

National Insurance refunds 3 — outcome of refund review

HMRC will contact you by letter or email to confirm the outcome of your refund review.

We’ll confirm:

• the process to follow if you think the refund amount is incorrect

National Insurance — requests for information and confirmation of application outcomes

HMRC may contact you by text message to tell you that:

• we’ll be calling you for further information to deal with your National Insurance enquiry 
• we’ve sent you a form by post to complete 
• a decision has been made about your National Insurance credit application, for example, Home Responsibility Protection (HRP) or Specified Adult Childcare Credits (SACC)
• your A1 or S1 certificate application has been successful

We may contact employees to discuss details of their current or previous employment.

If we call you, we’ll:

• tell you our enquiry is about the National Minimum Wage or National Living Wage
• ask you basic questions about your current work or previous employment experiences
• complete some standard security questions

We’ll never ask for personal financial information such as bank details without writing to you first.

You can ask us not to tell your current or previous employer about the call.

HMRC will also contact employers in relation to National Minimum Wage or National Living Wage enquiries.

If you have received a letter, email, text or phone call from another HMRC office you can call the Income Tax general enquiry helpline to check this contact is genuine.

National Minimum Wage common errors

We may contact employers or third parties to share information on common errors with the National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage. The email will provide links to further information and support.

We may contact employees by letter to provide information on common errors to look out for in their pay.

The letter will explain how to make a National Minimum Wage complaint and contain links to further information and support.

Overseas businesses that sell digital services to UK consumers

Overseas businesses that sell goods on online marketplaces to UK consumers

We will send:

• a formal notice of assessments by letter
• an email to inform you this letter has been sent

The email will:

• not request any personal, business or financial information
• inform you to pay your assessment by visiting www.gov.uk and searching ‘pay your VAT bill’
• contain a link to this webpage, so you can see that HMRC is using email for this purpose

Public bodies research

HMRC is working with Ipsos, a research agency, to understand public bodies’ experience of dealing with tax.

You may receive a letter, email or phone call from Ipsos inviting you to take part in:

• a survey
• an interview

Taking part is voluntary. Any information you provide will be:

• used for this research only
• securely destroyed when it is no longer needed

Research and Development (R&D) claiming tax relief

HMRC may contact you by phone, email or letter to invite you to a short feedback session.

The session will provide an opportunity for you to share your experience of claiming R&D tax relief.

Taking part is voluntary and all feedback provided will be treated confidentially. It will only be used for research purposes to help HMRC improve the services it offers its customers.

Safety and security declarations research

HMRC is working with independent research agency Verian, and their partner organisation RONIN, to understand more about businesses’ experiences of submitting safety and security declarations.

You may receive a phone call or email from Verian or RONIN inviting you to take part in an hour-long interview. The interview will be conducted online or by telephone.

Taking part is voluntary. All information given will be:

• used for research purposes only

Self Assessment — registration confirmation

HMRC will contact you if you’ve registered for Self Assessment online and chosen to receive confirmation.

If we email or text you, you’ll receive a message to confirm:

• you’ve registered for Self Assessment
• we’ve registered you for Self Assessment

You will not be asked for any personal or financial information.

Self Assessment — request to appeal a late payment or filing penalty

HMRC may contact you by email or text message when you submit an appeal against a late payment or filing penalty. These messages will:

• be sent automatically when you submit your appeal
• provide you with updates on the progress of your appeal

If we email you, the subject line will be one of the following:

• we’ve received your appeal against a Self Assessment penalty
• update on the Self Assessment penalty we charged you
• we’ve cancelled your Self Assessment penalty

You will not be asked for any personal or financial information.

Self Assessment — request to leave

HMRC may contact you by email or text message if you tell them:

• you want to leave Self Assessment

HMRC will contact you using the email address or phone number you have provided. The email will be titled ‘Your request to leave Self Assessment’.

You will not be asked for any personal or financial information.

Sharing risk review ratings feedback

HMRC may invite you to a short feedback session. This is your chance to tell us how sharing a risk rating after a structured risk review could affect your organisation.

• used only for research purposes

HMRC will not ask you for any personal financial information.

Statutory notices requesting information

HMRC’s Data Acquisition and Exchange regularly issues statutory notices to the holders of certain types of information, asking them to provide relevant details to HMRC. The holders of the information have a legal obligation to provide the data requested.

The notices requesting information can be sent by post or email.

Notices issued by email will contain a link to this webpage, so you can see that HMRC is using email for this purpose.

Taking part in research conducted by HMRC’s Customer Lab

HMRC’s Customer Lab are working with the independent research agency People for Research to recruit participants for social research projects. You may be invited to take part in a research session:

• in person

Taking part is voluntary. All information given will be:

Tax changes for non-UK domiciles

If you’re a non-UK domiciled individual, HMRC may contact you by:

The rules for taxing non-UK domiciled individuals have changed. The message from HMRC will:

• direct you to guidance on GOV.UK

Traders and intermediaries research panel survey

HMRC are working with Ipsos, an independent research agency, to understand traders’ and intermediaries’ experiences of importing and exporting, to and from the UK.

The survey is part of HMRC’s trader and intermediary panel and you may have been contacted previously for the same research.

We encourage you to take part in this study to help HMRC develop and improve processes and services.

Taking part is voluntary. All information given will be:

• used for research purposes only

HMRC will contact you if our records show that you have not submitted 2 or more VAT returns.

We will write to you, and may also send you a text or email to:

• remind you to submit your outstanding VAT returns
• explain what you need to do if you are no longer required to submit VAT returns

The message from HMRC will:

• direct you to GOV.UK so you can check which VAT returns are missing and submit them online
• explain what may happen if you do not submit your VAT returns when required

The messages from HMRC will not:

• ask for personal, financial or bank details
• ask you to make a payment by text message

If you have already submitted your VAT returns, you do not need to take any action.

We may contact you if we believe you no longer need to hold a VAT registration number, due to recent inactivity on your VAT account. You may receive a phone call or email, with the email referring to VAT register inactivity.

The phone calls or emails will ask you to confirm whether you still require to be VAT registered, and to provide some basic information on where you’re trading.

The calls or emails will not ask for personal or financial information.

We may contact you to arrange VAT visits and inspections.

An email will tell you we’ve attempted to call you and ask you to call us back.

The phone call will:

• ask you to arrange a visit
• confirm what information we’ll want to see

A letter will:

• ask you to call us to arrange a visit
• confirm what information we’ll want to see

We’ll always attempt to contact you by phone first, if unsuccessful we’ll send a letter or email.

We’ll already have your name and your business’s name when we contact you. We will not ask you for any personal information, such as your bank details.

If you’re not sure if the call, email or letter is from HMRC you can contact the VAT helpline.