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

Businesses’ experience of HMRC customer service

HMRC will work with Kantar Public to carry out research into businesses’ views of HMRC. The purpose of the research is to help improve service quality.

You may get a letter from HMRC inviting you to take part in this research online.

Information you provide will only be used for research purposes. We will not ask you for any financial information or details of your tax affairs. All answers will be confidential.

Taking part is voluntary and if you do not wish to take part, you do not need to do anything.

Child benefit take-up research

HMRC is working with independent research agency BMG Research, to conduct research into the take-up of Child Benefit. The research aims to:

• understand why Child Benefit take-up rates are declining, and why eligible customers may not be claiming
• explore how to address any barriers to applying for Child Benefit

You may get a letter from BMG Research inviting you to complete an online survey.

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

• confidential
• used for research purposes only

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.

Letter VPCF1 — decision to cancel your VAT registration

As part of HMRC’s VAT registration security procedures, we check registrations to test their intention to trade is valid.

If we believe you are not eligible to be registered for VAT, you may receive a letter from us advising of our intention to deregister you.

If you send us information to show you’re eligible for registration within 30 days, you will stay registered. This means you will be able to manage your VAT records with HMRC.

We will let you know what information and documents to provide. If this is not sent within 30 days HMRC will deregister the business from VAT.

Mid-sized business services

HMRC is working with Kantar Public to carry out research with mid-sized businesses. The purpose of the research is to help us better tailor our services to meet your needs.

You may get a letter from HMRC inviting you to take part in this online research.

We will not ask you for any financial information or details of your tax affairs.

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

• confidential
• used for research purposes only

OECD Pillar 2 user research with mid-sized businesses

If you’re an organisation likely to fall within the scope of Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Pillar 2, you may get a letter from HMRC inviting you to take part in research. Taking part is voluntary and interviews will take place in March and April 2023.

We’ll ask how your organisation files tax returns and incorporates new tax regimes. We will not ask you to disclose any sensitive information.

If you agree to take part, information you provide will be used in the development of OECD Pillar 2 digital services.

Overdue deferred VAT

You may get a letter from HMRC asking you to pay your deferred VAT bill from the VAT payment period 20 March 2020 to 30 June 2020.

If you do not pay or contact us within 30 days of the date of the letter, we may charge you a penalty.

More information about how to pay your VAT bill is available.

Self Assessment — claiming a repayment

You may get a letter from HMRC asking you to contact us about your repayment claim.

We may ask you to send more information to verify your claim.

You must respond to the letter so we can make any repayments owed to you as soon as possible.

You can call the Self Assessment: general enquiries helpline if you need further support or you’re not sure if the letter is genuine.

Other letters you should check

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