According to evidence presented to the Public Accounts Committee, HMRC is failing to answer 30% of all mail they receive within three working weeks and hundreds of thousands of people who ring HMRC every month to discuss their tax affairs are abandoning calls because of long waiting times.
In January this year, the average waiting time was 16 minutes and 49 seconds, compared with four minutes and four seconds in April last year. There has been press speculation that fines could be scrapped if calls were unanswered where the person calling was ringing for advice to ensure their tax return was correct. The suggestion comes after it emerged millions of people may have filled in their tax returns incorrectly because HMRC is failing to answer their calls.
HMRC has already written off late penalties for thousands who were able to provide a reasonable excuse for missing the self-assessment deadline. HMRC will work on a case-by-case basis when deciding whether to wave penalties but it is worth keeping a note of when you tried calling if you couldn’t get through so they can take it into account. You’ll need to be able to show that you’ve made strenuous efforts to get HMRC guidance, having phone records that show this does help.
Our team can help with HMRC tax disputes so get in touch today if you’d like our assistance – you don’t need to face HMRC alone.
