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.

From:
HM Revenue & Customs
Published
30 July 2021
Last updated
37 July 2023 — See all updates

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.

Report suspicious phone calls, emails or texts to HMRC.

Company structure and financial decision-making research

From 2 June 2023 up to and including 31 August 2023 Ipsos UK may contact you by email, post or phone call.

HMRC is working with the independent research agency Ipsos, to research:

  • the structure of UK companies
  • how companies make financial decisions, such as remuneration strategies

You may receive a letter or email from Ipsos asking you to complete an online or telephone survey.

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

  • confidential
  • used only for research purposes

Corporation Tax research

From 1 July 2023 up to and including 30 September 2023 Kantar Public UK may contact you by letter, phone or email.

HMRC is working with independent research agency Kantar Public to carry out research.

The research aims to understand small and medium sized enterprises experiences of administrative burdens when managing Corporation Tax. This will help HMRC to improve Corporation Tax processes and support businesses better in the future.

You may receive an email, letter or phone call from Kantar inviting you to take part.

Taking part is voluntary and all responses will be confidential. Any information you give will be used for research purposes only.

Data holder notice

We will contact you by letter, email or phone.

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

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 money laundering and terrorist financing
  • 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

Employment status in the UK

From 28 February 2023 up to and including 29 September 2023 NatCen will contact you by email or phone.

HMRC is working with independent research agency NatCen to conduct research on employment status. It will include:

  • a survey to identify different types of employment status in the UK, including less traditional working arrangements
  • in-depth interviews with individuals and engagers

Individuals may get an email or phone call from NatCen about this research.

Taking part is voluntary. Your answers and any information you give will be:

  • confidential
  • used for research purposes only

HMRC will not be able to identify individuals that take part or their answers.

Great Britain EU traders survey

From 19 June 2023 up to and including 11 August 2023 Ipsos will contact you by letter, email, or phone.

HMRC is carrying out research with independent research agency Ipsos. The research aims to understand how businesses continue to trade with the EU.

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

  • how your business is adapting to new processes
  • businesses’ awareness of new systems

We encourage you to take part. Your answers will help develop and improve existing advice and guidance on how to trade with the EU.

Taking part is voluntary.

HMRC will not be able to identify organisations or individuals from their answers. Information you provide will be confidential and used for research purposes only.

HMRC compliance check survey

HMRC may contact you by email or letter after the closure of a compliance, National Minimum Wage or securities check.

HMRC 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.

Impact of Making Tax Digital research

From 12 December 2022 up to and including 21 July 2023, Kantar Public may contact you by letter, email or phone call.

HMRC is working with the independent research agency Kantar Public to explore the impact of Making Tax Digital for VAT businesses.

You may receive a letter, email or phone call from Kantar Public asking you to take part in a telephone interview or survey.

We encourage you to take part and help HMRC understand:

  • your experiences of Making Tax Digital for VAT
  • how messaging and communication can be improved

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

  • confidential
  • anonymised
  • used only for research purposes

Landlord research

From 19 June 2023 up to and including 13 October 2023, Ipsos may contact you by post, email or phone call.

HMRC is working with research agency Ipsos to conduct research with individuals and companies who rent properties, to understand:

  • their property rental portfolios
  • key characteristics
  • investment behaviours

This information will help HMRC understand how the service we offer could be improved. You may receive a letter, email or phone call from Ipsos asking you to take part in a survey.

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

  • confidential
  • used for research purposes only

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

Lifetime ISAs — research into use, attitudes and behaviours

From 26 June 2023 up to and including 31 August 2023, Ipsos or their partner organisation iThoughts, may contact you by post, email or phone call.

HMRC is working with research agency Ipsos to conduct research to understand the use of Lifetime ISAs (Individual Savings Accounts).

You may receive a letter, email or phone call from Ipsos or iThoughts asking you to take part in an interview if you:

  • have a Lifetime ISA
  • have withdrawn from your Lifetime ISA
  • are eligible but have not yet opened a Lifetime ISA

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

  • confidential
  • used for research purposes only

HMRC will not be able to identify the employers or individuals who take part, or their individual answers.

Logging into your HMRC tax account

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 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 Making Tax Digital Income Tax Self Assessment 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 Making Tax Digital Income Tax Self Assessment 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

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

Research on the experiences of businesses new to customs

From 31 May 2023 up to and including 2431 July 2023 , Ipsos and iThoughtsPWL Recruitment and Consultancy might contact you by email, letter or phone call.

HMRC is working with the independent research agency Ipsos to understand the experiences businesses have when registering for and using customs processes for the first time.

You may be contacted by Ipsos or their partner organisation iThoughts.PWL Recruitment and Consultancy. They’ll ask if you would like to take part in the research and to arrange a convenient time to speak with you.

If you want to take part, iThoughtsPWL Recruitment and Consultancy will arrange a telephone or online interview with Ipsos which can last up to 60 minutes.

Taking part is voluntary, but we encourage you to take part to help HMRC improve our services.

All information given will be:

  • confidential
  • anonymised
  • used only for research purposes only

Self Assessment paper communications research

From 9 May up to and including 7 August 2023, People for Research may contact you by email or phone.

If you complete a Self Assessment tax return, People for Research, an independent research agency, may contact you on behalf of HMRC.

You may get an email inviting you to take part in research to explore views of HMRC’s paper communications such as letters and forms.

If you decided to take part, a phone call may follow. We’ll ask you if you want to take part in either a focus group or a one-to-one interview. This will take place online or in one of HMRC’s research facilities.

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

  • confidential
  • used for research purposes only

Small businesses’ interactions with HMRC

From 29 May 2023 up to and including 31 October 2023, BMG Research may contact you by email, letter or phone.

HMRC is working with independent research agency BMG Research, to understand the thoughts and experiences of smaller businesses interacting with HMRC. The research is to help make these interactions as efficient as possible.

You may receive an email, letter or phone call asking you to take part in a telephone interview or survey.

All information you provide will be confidential, anonymised, and will only be used for research purposes.

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.

Vaping market research

From 11 May 2022 up to and including 31 October 2023, Ipsos UK will contact you by email then phone.

Research agency Ipsos are carrying out research on behalf of HMRC:

  • with consumers and businesses
  • to better understand the vaping market

The research will be used to update findings from a similar study carried out in 2016.

You may receive an email from Ipsos inviting you to take part. This will not ask for any personal financial information.

This will be followed by a telephone call shortly after to ask if you would be interested in participating in the research.

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

  • confidential
  • used for research purposes only

VAT deregistration research

From 17 May 2023 up to and including 31 October 2023, HMRC or Ipsos may contact you by email, letter or phone.

Ipsos will carry out research on behalf of HMRC to establish how we can improve the process for businesses and agents who need to cancel a VAT registration.

You may receive an email, letter, or phone call from HMRC or Ipsos telling you about the research and inviting you to take part in an interview.

Taking part in this research is voluntary. HMRC will not be able to identify the organisations that take part or their individual answers. All answers will be confidential and used for research purposes only.

VAT payable order repayments

From 31 May 2023 up to and including 1 October 2023, Yonder may contact you by email, letter or phone.

HMRC is working with the research agency Yonder to carry out research with individuals and small businesses. The aim of the research is to understand the process of VAT repayments made through a payable order.

You may receive a letter, email or phone call from Yonder inviting you to take part. If you want more information, the email and letter both have contact details for Yonder and HMRC.

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

  • confidential
  • used for research 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 37 July 2023 + show all updates

  1. Information on the company names, and the dates they may contact you to take part in research on the experiences of businesses new to customs has been updated.

  2. Information about Lifetime ISAs research has been added. Information about employer pension salary sacrifice schemes, Income Tax Self Assessment research on future timely payment and research and development tax relief has been removed as contact for these has ended.

  3. Information about a Great Britain EU traders survey and Corporation Tax research has been added, and details about the schools outreach programme analysis, digital channels research and asset managers self-assessment feedback have been removed.

  4. Information about research and development tax relief has been added.

  5. Information has been added about Company structure and financial decision-making research, Impact of Making Tax Digital, Asset managers self-assessment feedback, and Landlord research.

  6. Information about VAT payable order repayments has been added.

  7. Information about research on the experiences of businesses new to customs has been added.

  8. We have removed 'Impact of Making Tax Digital research'.

  9. Research on VAT deregistration, the vaping market, small businesses' interactions with HMRC, and Self Assessment and paper communications, has been added. We have removed out-of-date information on: digital by default, electronic sales suppression, impact of Making Tax Digital for newly registered VAT customers, Income Tax for small businesses, VAT Flat Rate Scheme.

  10. Information has been added about Digital channels and Employer pension salary sacrifice schemes.

  11. Information about contact regarding Electronic Sales Suppression has been added.

  12. Added translation

  13. We have added two updates on research about employment status and Income Tax for small businesses.

  14. Added translation

  15. We have added information about a HMRC compliance check survey.

  16. We have added information about contact from HMRC on the Let Property Campaign. We have also updated the section Income Tax Self Assessment research on future timely payments. IFF Research will contact you by letter and then phone call from 20 February 2023 up to and including 28 June 2023. We have added information on Digital by default. HMRC may contact you about this between 20 February 2023 and 28 April 2023.

  17. Information about research on customs authorisations of UK businesses, temporary customer compliance manager support, the temporary customer compliance manager support survey, and VAT registration experience has been removed as contact for these has ended.

  18. Information about research into the impact of Making Tax Digital for newly registered VAT customers been added.

  19. Information about research on stakeholder engagement has been added.

  20. Information about the VAT on the Energy Bills Support Scheme has been added. Information about the Customs intermediaries monitoring survey has been removed as the contact dates for this ended on 23 January 2023.

  21. Information about research on making a payment to HMRC, Tax-Free Childcare and parent’s working patterns and data holder notices have been added. Information about the Large Business Customer Survey 2022 has been removed as the contact dates for this ended on 6 January 2023.

  22. Research into agents of wealthy customers has been extended from 30 December 2022 to 31 March 2023. In addition agents may now be contacted by email or letter then phone or video call.

  23. Information about research on Customs authorisations of UK Businesses, Customs declarations, Debt management payment plan questionnaire, Making Tax Digital for VAT, VAT Flat Rate Scheme and VAT registration experience has been added.

  24. Added translation

  25. Information about offshore advice for taxpayers and their advisors has been added. We have also added information on employer National Insurance contributions relief for veterans.

  26. Information about supply chains research has been added.

  27. Information about research into agents of wealthy customers and businesses recently in debt with HMRC has been added.

  28. Information about Income Tax Self Assessment research on future timely payment and information about the temporary Customer Compliance Manager support survey has been added. Information about Corporation Tax research and research on HMRC's digital services has been removed as the contact dates for these ended on 18 November 2022.

  29. User research on employers' experiences of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme has been extended from 17 November 2022 to 18 November 2022.

  30. Information on Child Benefit digital service research has been added.

  31. Research on employer benefits in kind has been extended from 30 November 2022 to 9 December 2022.

  32. Research on HMRC’s digital services has been extended from 31 October 2022 to 18 November 2022.

  33. User research on employers' experiences of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme has been extended from 10 November 2022 to 17 November 2022.

  34. IFF Research on employer benefits in kind has been extended to 30 November 2022.

  35. Information on the Automatic Exchange of Information has been added. The customs intermediaries monitoring survey research will continue until 23 January 2023.

  36. Research on employers' experiences of the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme will continue until 10 November 2022.

  37. Information on navigating between business taxes and personal taxes online research has been added.

  38. Updated because the research on employer's experiences of the coronavirus job retention scheme has been extended to 7 October 2022.

  39. Information about research on HMRC's digital services has been added.

  40. Information on Corporation Tax research has been added.

  41. Information on VAT return research has been added.

  42. Information on the Large Business Customer Survey 2022 and temporary Customer Compliance Manager support has been added.

  43. Added translation

  44. Information on the customer experience of HMRC has been added.

  45. Information on the Mid-sized business customer survey has been added.

  46. Information for businesses who use CHIEF for import declarations has been added.

  47. Information on Making Tax Digital for Income Tax pilot and employer benefits in kind has been added.

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

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

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

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

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

  53. 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.

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

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

  56. 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.

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

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

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

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

  61. 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.

  62. Added information on repayments research.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

  76. 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.

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

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

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

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

  81. Added translation

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