Check if a letter you've received from HMRC is genuine

Cost of Living Payment

From 16 August 2022 up to and including 23 August 2022, HMRC will send tax credit customers a letter.

The letter will:

• explain that you may be eligible for up to 2 Cost of Living Payments
• include the eligibility criteria for the first Cost of Living Payment
• confirm that eligible customers will receive this payment in September

If you get tax credits from HMRC and a low income benefit from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), you will only get the Cost of Living Payment from DWP.

You do not need do anything to receive these payments. You will receive payment automatically if you’re eligible.

Experiences of pension scheme administrators

From 12 September 2022 up to and including 2 December 2022, HMRC will work with research company IFF Research to carry out research with Pension Scheme Administrators.

This research will look at the experiences of Pension Scheme Administrators in providing information to HMRC to fulfil their pensions tax obligations.

You may receive a letter from HMRC and IFF Research inviting you to take part in the research online or by phone.

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

• confidential and any information you give will be
• used for research purposes only

If you need any further information about the research, you can:

• email matilda.kinnersly@hmrc.gov.uk
• call 03000 51458

Letter OCA300 — repayment of Student Loan deductions

HMRC will contact you by letter to tell you there is a repayment of Student Loan deductions due.

We will include details of why the repayment is due and the employer you worked with at the time.

This letter will tell you about changes to the way we issue repayments as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) situation.

We will ask for personal information to allow us to make a faster repayment.

You can call the Taxes general enquiry helpline to confirm this request is genuine.

Research about employee experience of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme

From 11 April 2022 to 31 August 2022, HMRC will work with an independent research company called Ipsos to carry out research with employees. This research will examine the views and experiences of being put on furlough through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS), or having colleagues on furlough. It will also examine the wider impacts of the scheme.

You may receive a letter from HMRC and Ipsos inviting you to take part in the research, which will be carried out by telephone, or online. You may receive this letter regardless of whether you were put on furlough through the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme or not.

Taking part is voluntary. If you do take part, your answers will be confidential and any information you give will be used for research purposes only.

Refund of Income Tax from changes to your Self-Employment Income Support Scheme (SEISS) grant

From 11 April 2022 to 31 January 2023, we may write to you if you claimed one or more of the first, second or third SEISS grants and later repaid some, or all, of the grant.

You may be entitled to a refund of Income Tax if you reported the original SEISS grant amount on your 2020 to 2021 tax return, and later made a repayment which reduced the amount of Income Tax you needed to pay.

To receive the refund, you’ll need to update your 2020 to 2021 tax return by 31 January 2023. You can do this on GOV.UK.

If you’re not sure whether the letter is genuine or you want further information, you can contact our Self Assessment helpline on 0300 200 3310.

Other letters you should check

You can also to check letters listed in HMRC contact that uses more than one communication method.