Check if an email you've received from HMRC is genuine

Annual Tax Summary

The HMRC Self Assessment team are sending email alerts to some customers to say that their Annual Tax Summary is available to view. The emails have the title ‘Your Annual Tax Summary is ready’.

The emails also explain what is in the annual summary and will never ask you for personal or financial information.

Businesses selling goods through online marketplaces in the UK

HMRC is contacting businesses who sell goods to customers in the UK through online marketplaces. The emails refer to VAT obligations in the UK. The first email will explain why HMRC is contacting you and ask you to get in touch.

Custom Intermediaries newsletter

From September 2021, HMRC will send a newsletter every 6 weeks by email to the intermediary sector for example, freight forwarders, customs brokers, and fast parcel operators. The emails will give the latest news affecting the intermediary sector.

These emails will never ask you for any personal or financial information.

EconomicEmployer Crime Supervision text messaging surveybulletins

OnHMRC thesends 12informational Septemberbulletins 2023,several HMRCtimes willa contactyear businessesto employers who have registered to get them. These emails never ask you for Anti-Moneypersonal Launderingor Supervisionfinancial information.

Emails issued by email.HMRC:

You

• may willhave bethe invitedtitle ‘Important information for employers’
• have links to takeHMRC partpages inon athe textGOV.UK messagingwebsite, survey.including Thisadvice surveyabout willonline takesecurity

Future place fromof theGift 12Aid

HMRC 2is minutescontacting tocharities complete.by Itemail willto askinvite youthem to givetake feedbackpart onin yourresearch experienceabout the future of theGift service.Aid.

WeParticipation encourageis youentirely tovoluntary. takeCharities partthat andparticipate helpwill HMRCbe improveasked our services.to:

Employer

• carry bulletins

HMRCout sendssome informationalshort bulletinsactivities

• may

  The haveemail thewill titlenot ‘Importantask information for employers’

• haveany linkspersonal toor HMRCfinancial pagesinformation. onAny theinformation GOV.UKyou website,give includingwill advicebe:
  • confidential
  • used aboutfor onlineresearch securitypurposes only

  Help and support

  HMRC sends emails to customers to offer help and support. The emails will sometimes have links to online digital products such as webinars, HMRC’s YouTube videos or online guides.

  These emails will never ask you for personal or financial information.

  Helping to improve the GOV.UK website

  Customers who sign up to help improve GOV.UK to make government services better will get emails from HMRC.

  The first email will have a link which you should follow to complete the signing up process.

  Once you have signed up, a second email will be sent that has a link to a research blog. You may then get other emails that have links to short surveys about research.

  These emails will never ask you for personal or financial information. They will also have a link to unsubscribe from future emails.

  ImpactImport ofand Maxingexport Taxcustoms Digitaldeclaration forresearch taxwith agentsbusinesses

  From 216 AugustJune 20232022 up to and including 258 SeptemberAugust 2023 People for Research may contact you by email.

  HMRC arewill be working with People for ResearchResearch, toan conductindependent research withagency, taxto:

  • find agentsout whothe representviews clientsof withbusinesses awho grossimport incomeand ofexport £50,000goods or more, to understandand howfrom theythe mayUK
  • understand bebusinesses’ affectedarrangements byfor themaking introductioncustoms ofdeclarations Makingnow Taxand Digital requirements in Aprilthe 2026.
    future

  PeopleYou formay Researchget mayan contactemail youfrom byPeople emailfor toResearch inviteinviting you to either take part inin:

  • a anresearch interview.focus Thisgroup
  • an interview willwith lastresearchers 60from minutes.
    HMRC

  ThisWe researchencourage willyou to take part and help improve how HMRC supports and engages with taxbusinesses.

  If agents.you do, your personal details will be held securely at all times in line with data protection law. They will not be shared outside of the research team without your explicit consent.

  Import and export data trade statistics

  HMRC’s Trade Statistics Unit regularly sends emails to business customers about import and export statistical data, and the related services accessed from HMRC’s trade statistics website.

  These have:

  • business alerts
  • service updates
  • deadline reminders
  • data quality reviews
  • survey requests

  These emails may have links to more information, educational or survey content.

  They will not ask for any personal, payment or tax related information.

  List of customs agents and fast parcel or express operators on GOV.UK

  From September 2021, HMRC will send a monthly email about a register of customs agents and fast parcel operators on GOV.UK.

  The register is a useful tool that helps to match customs intermediaries with traders looking for support with their import and export arrangements. It is a way to show the services your business offers.

  The email will ask you to either:

  • keep your details up-to-date
  • give your details to include in the register

  The email will have a link to the register of customs agents and fast parcel operators on GOV.UK. These emails will never ask you for personal or financial information.

  Making Tax Digital for VAT

  HMRC will send an email to customers who have signed up for Making Tax Digital.

  HMRC will confirm you can submit VAT Returns within 72 hours using the email address you gave. The email will not ask you for any financial information.

  National Minimum Wage

  From 1 October 2022 HMRC will send emails to offer help and support with the National Minimum Wage. The email may have links to:

  • online guidance
  • digital forms
  • webinars

  The email may also ask about your views on the National Minimum Wage. If it does, it will have a:

  • link to take part in an online survey
  • reference to this page so you can check that the email is genuine

  These emails will never ask you for any personal or financial information without writing to you first.

  One-to-many Compliance Advisory Board (OCAB) survey

  From 23 June 2023 up to and including 14 July 2023 HMRC may contact you by email.

  Members of the One-to-Many Compliance Advisory Board (OCAB) may receive an email from HMRC inviting them to take part in a survey.

  Only board members who have previously volunteered to take part in the survey will receive this email.

   The email will include: 

  • a link to take part in the survey
  • a reference to this page so you can check that the email is genuine
  • a phone number to contact the research team if you have any concerns

  These emails will never ask you to provide personal or financial information.

  Paying into your Help to Save account

  HMRC may contact some customers by email who have opened Help to Save accounts. The emails will remind customers who have not paid any money into their account about the benefits of using this service.

  These emails will not ask for any personal or financial information.

  Pension scheme migration

  From 9 August 2023 up to and including 14 August 2023 HMRC may contact you by email.

  HMRC may contact customers who are registered as the administrator for at least one pension scheme on our system.

  The emails will notify the administrator that the pension scheme has not been migrated to the Managing Pension Schemes (MPS) service, and provide instructions on how to enrol on the MPS and migrate onto the MPS.

  The email will not ask for any personal or financial information.

  Personal tax account promotion

  Customers who contact HMRC helplines will be asked if they wish to sign up to a personal tax account. Customers who do not wish to sign up by telephone will be offered more information by email.

  If you agree to give an email address, you’ll be sent some information by email while you’re on the telephone. The email gives background information about the benefits of signing up to a personal tax account, and how to sign up.

  The email will not ask for any personal or financial information.

  Pre-filing conversation feedback

  From 5 June 2023 up to and including 1 September 2023 HMRC may send you an email.

  HMRC’s Customer Insight Delivery Team is carrying out research to understand customers’ experience of the pre-filing conversations that were carried out between April 2022 and January 2023.

  The email will ask you to give feedback on your experience of the service. We encourage you to take part and help HMRC improve our services.

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

  • will be anonymised
  • will be held securely in line with data protection law

  Research studies to improve government services

  If you have signed up to help make government services better, HMRC will send you an invite by email to take part in research studies.

  The email will be headed ‘Invitation to take part in research’. You’ll only get it if you meet the criteria for the research study.

  The email may have:

  • a link to take part in an online study
  • details about a face to face event

  The email will have a:

  • reference to this page so you can check that the email is genuine
  • phone number to contact the HMRC research team if you have any concerns

  Tax-Free Childcare account

  From 23 June 2023 up to and including 12 July 2023 HMRC may contact you.

  HMRC may email you, if you’ve opened a Tax-free Childcare account, to ask you to take part in a short survey.

  The research will explore motivations for signing up to Tax-Free Childcare. It will help HMRC understand how best to support working families.

  To ask for more information about the research use the contact details in the email.

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

  Tax-Free Childcare service

  HMRC’s Tax-Free Childcare service regularly send emails to advise parents that they could be missing out on government contributions towards childcare costs from the UK government.

  VAT debts reminders

  HMRC may send an email to customers who are overdue with VAT payments. HMRC will use email addresses that customers have already given and will recommend that customers pay online to avoid further action. These emails will never ask you for personal or financial information.

  VAT EU refund service failed validation

  Customers that use the VAT EU refunds service may get an email if their claim has failed validation. The email will give details explaining why the claim has failed.

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

  VAT registration

  HMRC will send an email to customers who have registered for VAT using HMRC online services. HMRC will use the email address customers have given to advise that they need to log into their online tax account in order to view a message in the secure messaging area.

  These emails will never ask you for personal or financial information.

  VAT Returns reminder

  HMRC will send an email to customers to remind them when their VAT Return is due if they’ve registered to get email reminders. The emails that have the title ‘Reminder to file your VAT return’, have links to a further information page and a link to the sign in page on the GOV.UK website.

  These emails will never ask you for personal or financial information.

  Other emails you should check

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