Guidance

Check genuine HMRC contact that uses more than one communication method

Check recent contacts from HMRC to help you decide if a suspicious email, phone call, text or letter could be a scam.

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 customers 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.

Capital allowances research

From 13 June 2022 up to and including 30 September 2022, we will contact you by letter, email or phone call.

HMRC is working with research agency IFF to carry out voluntary research. This research will help us to understand:

  • how capital allowances are used
  • how their implementation has effected businesses
  • what effect they have had on the wider economy

You may be contacted by IFF to take part in this research. Taking part is voluntary and if you do so, your answers and any information given will be:

  • confidential
  • anonymous
  • used for research purposes only

Customs intermediaries’ experience

From 23 June 2022 up to and including 1 August 2022, we will contact you by letter, email or phone call.

HMRC are working with Ipsos to carry out interviews as part of research. Ipsos or their partner organisation, Criteria, may contact you to ask you to take part.

This research will:

  • explore the experience of customs intermediaries facilitating trade to and from Northern Ireland
  • help HMRC support intermediaries and understand the sector

Taking part is voluntary and if you do so, all responses and information given will be:

  • confidential
  • used for research purposes only

Customs intermediaries monitoring survey

From 1 August 2022 up to and including 5 October 2022, we will contact you by letter or phone call.

HMRC will be working with Ipsos to carry out research. The research involves interviews to track the ongoing impact of full controls on customs intermediaries.

This will:

  • support customs intermediaries
  • make sure trade runs smoothly

You may receive a letter or phone call from Ipsos asking you to take part in this survey. Taking part is voluntary and if you do so, your answers and any information given will be:

  • confidential
  • anonymised
  • used for research purposes only

Cycle to Work Scheme

From 30 May 2022 up to and including 31 August 2022, we will contact you by letter, email or phone call.

HMRC will work with the independent research agency Ipsos to carry out research. The research aims to understand how the Cycle to Work Scheme is being used and why people do or do not use the scheme.

You may receive a letter, email or a phone call from Ipsos to tell you about the research and invite you to take part. They may recruit you directly if you have previously registered to take part in research with Ipsos.

Taking part in this research is voluntary and if you do so, all responses and information given will be:

  • confidential
  • used for research purposes only

Economic Crime Supervision

We will contact you by letter, email, phone call or text message.

The purpose of Economic Crime Supervision is to:

  • protect the UK against the risk of moneyMoney launderingLaundering and terroristTerrorist financingFinancing
  • help businesses understand their risks and obligations
  • prevent non-compliance
  • find and tackle unregistered businesses
  • carry out effective intelligence and risk-based interventions

To do this, HMRC will:

  • contact businesses by letter and phone
  • carry out compliance visits
  • issue email and text message alerts
  • offer online education to make sure businesses meet Money Laundering Regulations

Employer benefits in kind

From 5 July 2022 up to and including 31 October 2022, IFF Research will contact you by letter then phone call.

HMRC are working with research agency IFF Research to carry out research about:

  • the types of benefits in kind employers offer their employees
  • whether employers reimburse employee expenses

IFF Research are contacting employers by letter about this research. Employers will then receive a phone call asking them to take part in a survey interview.

Taking part is voluntary and if you do so, your answers and any information you give, will be:

  • confidential
  • used for research purposes only

HMRC will not be able to identify the businesses that take part, or their individual answers.

Employers’ experiences of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS)

From 30 May 2022 up to and including 22 September 2022, we will contact you by letter or email then phone call.

Research agency Ipsos are carrying out research on behalf of HMRC to understand the impact of the CJRS.

You may receive a letter or email inviting you to take part in this research. This will be followed by a phone call to conduct a survey. Employers may receive a letter or email even if they did not submit a claim through CJRS.

Taking part is voluntary but if you do so, your answers and any information given will be:

  • confidential
  • used for research purposes only

If you need further information, contact details for both Ipsos and HMRC will be on the letter or email.

Experiences of HMRC VAT registration

From 15 July 2022 up to and including 29 August 2022, we will contact you by letter, email or phone call.

HMRC will be working with research agency agency Ipsos to carry out research with businesses. This research will help HMRC understand the experiences of VAT registration.

You may receive an email or letter from Ipsos and HMRC to invite you to take part in the research. If you need further information, contact details for both Ipsos and HMRC will be on the letter or email.

Taking part in this research is voluntary and if you do so, all responses and information given will be:

  • confidential
  • used for research purposes only

Government analysis schools outreach programme

From 5 May 2022 up to and including 31 May 2023, we will contact you by email, letter or phone call.

The Government Social Research and Government Economic Service are running an outreach programme. The programme aims to promote a career in government analysis to school pupils aged 14 to 18.

It will inform students and schools about:

  • career opportunities within the Civil Service
  • the role of analysis in government

Our aim is to:

  • promote and encourage a diverse and inclusive Civil Service
  • improve awareness of the opportunities the Civil Service offers

HMRC may contact you by email, letter or phone call about setting up a session with your school.

To check that this contact is genuine you should call 03000 557 755 (find out about call charges).

HMRC and HM Treasury’s 10 year Tax Administration Strategy

Between 25 July 2022 up to and including 26 September 2022, we will contact you by letter, email or phone call.

HMRC are working with research agency Kantar, to carry out a research study with small businesses.

This research will explore understanding of the expected customer benefits from the reforms set out in HM Revenue and Customs and HM Treasury’s 10 year Tax Administration Strategy (TAS).

You may receive a letter, email, or phone call from HMRC or Kantar to:

  • tell you about the research
  • invite you to take part

Taking part in this research is voluntary and will not impact on any of your current or future dealings with HMRC. If you choose to take part, all your answers and any information given will be:

  • confidential
  • used for research purposes only
  • anonymous

Logging into your HMRC tax account with multi-factor authentication

We will contact you by text message or automated voice call.

Multi-factor authentication is an extra security feature for customers which replaces 2-step verification. It helps prevent someone else from accessing a customer’s digital account, even if they know the 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:

  • Government Gateway user ID and password
  • mobile or landline device which you have registered

Making Tax Digital ― VAT registered businesses

Between 22 June 2022 up to and including 31 July 2022, we will contact you by email, letter or text message.

HMRC are contacting VAT registered businesses who are under the VAT threshold. This is because the way you need to submit your VAT returns has changed.

Even if you currently keep digital records, you must check that you:

There are deadlines for signing up, and you could receive a penalty if you dodon’t not act in time.

Support is available, including our live webinars. If you have an accountant or agent, they may be able to help you too.

Some people will receive a text message saying that they need to keep digital records and sign up for MTD. The message will include a search term for GOV.UK.

Making Tax Digital for Income Tax pilot

From 1 August 2022 up to and including 29 February 2024, HMRC will contact you by email, letter or phone call.

HMRC will be inviting customers who have signed up to the MTD ITSA pilot to an interview with one of their social researchers.

You’ll receive information about this research by email, phone call or letter.

The interviews aim to understand views and experiences of the MTD ITSA pilot. HMRC will work with research agency People for Research, to arrange incentives.

We encourage you to take part and if you do so, your personal details will:

  • be held securely at all times in line with data protection law
  • not be shared outside of the research team without your explicit consent

National Minimum Wage and employment

We will contact you by letter, email or phone call.

HMRC may sometimes 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.

To check that this contact is genuine you should:

  • have a copy of the letter or email you’ve received from National Minimum Wage to hand
  • tell us the details of the person who called you from National Minimum Wage
  • call 03000 557 755 (find out about call charges)

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 will contact you by email or letter.

HMRC 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.

HMRC 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.

To check this contact is genuine you should:

  • have a copy of the letter or email you’ve received about National Minimum Wage to hand
  • telephone 03000 557 755 (find out about call charges)

Overseas businesses that sell digital services to UK consumers

We will contact you by email and letter.

HMRC is contacting overseas businesses who sell digital services to UK consumers about their UK VAT obligations by email and letter.

This communication will explain why we are contacting them, and ask them to contact us. We will not ask for any personal, business or financial information.

Overseas businesses that sell goods on online marketplaces to UK consumers

From July 2022, we will contact you by letter and email.

HMRC is contacting customers who are based overseas and trading on online marketplaces to issue VAT assessments.

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 customers to pay their assessment by visiting www.gov.uk and searching “pay your VAT bill”

  • contain a link to this webpage, so customers can see that HMRC is using email for this purpose

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Research on capital allowances

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    Statutory notices requesting information

    We will contact you by letter, email or phone call.

    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.

    Tax relief evaluations

    From 1 July 2021 up to and including 30 November 2022, we will contact you by letter or phone call.

    Independent agencies will carry out interviews, on behalf of HMRC, as part of a series of evaluations on a range of tax reliefs.

    You may receive a letter or phone call from IFF Research, Ipsos, Kantar Public, London Economics or Global Data Collection Company (GDCC) inviting you to take part in an interview.

    Taking part is voluntary but we encourage you to do so. This will help HMRC to evaluate the effects of these tax reliefs.

    If you do take part, your answers and any information you give will be:

    • anonymous
    • confidential
    • used for evaluation purposes only

    VAT register inactivity

    We will contact you by phone call or email.

    HMRC is contacting customers who are believed to no longer need to hold a VAT registration number due to recent inactivity on their 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.

    Published 30 July 2021
    Last updated 185 July 2022 + show all updates
    1. Information on Making Tax Digital for Income Tax pilot and employer benefits in kind has been added.

    2. Information on economic crime supervision and experiences of HMRC VAT registration has been added.

    3. Information on HMRC and HM Treasury’s 10 year Tax Administration Strategy has been added.

    4. Information on customs intermediaries' experience and Making Tax Digital for VAT registered customers has been added.

    5. Information on the customs intermediaries monitoring survey has been added.

    6. Information about research on Capital Allowances has been added.

    7. Research into understanding tax administration for businesses has been extended from 27 May 2022 to 8 July 2022 and information about research for the Cycle to Work Scheme has been added.

    8. Added section on 'Overseas businesses that sell goods on online marketplaces to UK consumers'.

    9. Added information on the government analysis schools outreach programme and employers' experiences of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme.

    10. The information for the 'Research to explore market shifts and behaviours relating to Stamp Duty' section has been re-added as it has been extended.

    11. Added information on 'Research to improve VAT services for small and micro businesses'.

    12. The section about tax relief evaluations has been updated with new contact information from 1 July 2021 to 30 November 2022.

    13. Added information on 'Research into understanding tax administration for businesses'.

    14. Added section 'Annual Tax on Enveloped Dwellings (ATED) reminder to agents and companies'.

    15. Added information on research on the Profit Diversion Compliance Facility and the Diverted Profits Investigation Approach, and the end date of the traders survey has been changed from 10 March 2022 to 25 March 2022.

    16. Added information on repayments research.

    17. Added information on research into self-assessment and VAT repayment systems.

    18. Added information on research to explore market shifts and behaviours relating to Stamp Duty.

    19. Information on research on agent experiences of HMRC's digital services has been added.

    20. Added section 'Research letters about the disability element of Tax Credits'.

    21. Added 'Research to improve HMRC communications for individuals and businesses' section.

    22. Added sections 'Research into the impact of full controls on customs intermediaries' and 'Traders survey'.

    23. Added sections Effects of the super-deduction, Single Trade Window research and Trust survey.

    24. Information on 'Payment of Class 2 National Insurance Contributions through Self Assessment' has been added.

    25. Information on further research on the HMRC Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme added.

    26. Information about the EU Settlement Scheme has been added.

    27. Information added about reform research for off-payroll working rules from 24 September 2021 to 10 December 2021.

    28. Information has been added about HMRC contacting CHIEF users who declare goods into Northern Ireland from outside the UK and EU.

    29. Added 'Large Business Customer Experience Survey 2021' section.

    30. Information about Tax relief evaluations from 1 July 2021 to 31 June 2022 and Traders survey research from 27 August to 12 October 2021 added.

    31. Information about customer research on Corporation Tax reliefs from August 2021 to 30 September 2021 has been added.

    32. We have added information about customer research by HMRC from 12 August to 15 September by 2021.

    33. We have added research on detached workers and social security.

    34. Updated to show HMRC is using a new number to send text messages to customers.

    35. Added translation