HMRC fails to pick up phone for million calls

HMRC failed to answer almost a million calls in January as people desperately tried to file their self assessment tax returns.

The tax office said 841,945 calls were “not handled” in the first month of the year and that wait times hit a record high, in figures published yesterday.

The figures related to calls that HMRC disconnected automatically due to overwhelming demand, or where taxpayers hung up after deciding to go online, being told the service was limited or hearing the previous day’s lengthy waiting time.

Those who did manage to get through faced record wait times to speak to an adviser as they battled to meet the Jan 31 deadline and avoid a £100 fine.

The average wait time to speak to a tax adviser passed 25 minutes for the first time, with some waiting much longer.

A record 11.5 million taxpayers submitted tax returns for the 2022-23 tax year by midnight on Jan 31.

However, HMRC said that 1.1 million missed the deadline, landing them with an automatic £100 fine.

HMRC previously said it would turn people away from Dec 11 to Jan 31, adding that only “priority” callers and the “digitally excluded” would be able to speak to a tax adviser on the phone.

The tax office is working to improve customer service levels, which MPS say have fallen to the lowest on record. Harriett Baldwin MP, chair of the Treasury Select Committee, said the figures were “highly concerning” and an “early indication that many taxpayers were not able to access the support they needed” during the tax return season.

A spokesman for HMRC said: “A record-breaking 11.5 million people filed their tax returns on time this year, with self assessment customers successfully using our online services to quickly and easily get the help they needed.

“This freed up our expert advisors to help people with urgent and more complicated queries, as well as help the small number unable to access our online services.”