Check genuine HMRC contact that uses more than one communication method
Source: gov.uk (2025-12-08)

Check recent contacts from HMRC to help you decide if a suspicious email, phone call, text or letter could be a scam.

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 you 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 (https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/hm-revenue-customs/contact/reporting-fraudulent-emails).

Agents, small and mid-sized business survey

From 14 July 2025 up to and including 31 March 2026, you may receive an email, letter or phone call from IFF Research.

HMRC is working with IFF Research to understand users’ perceptions and experiences of interacting with HMRC.

The research will help inform how HMRC engages with businesses in future.

You may be contacted by IFF Research if you are:
- a small business
- a mid-size business
- an agent
If you are contacted, you may be asked to:
- take part in a survey
- take part in an interview
- help test possible solutions
You will not need to provide any details about your tax affairs.

Taking part is voluntary. All information given will be:
- confidential
- used for research purposes only
Business investment and costs research

From 1 August 2025 up to and including 20 March 2026, you may receive a letter, phone call or email from Ipsos.

HMRC is working with the research agency Ipsos, to explore experiences of business investment and collect information about the costs involved with business investment projects.

If you’re invited, taking part in this research is voluntary. All responses and details given will be:
- confidential
- used for research purposes only
HMRC will not be able to identify participants.

Changes to your tax code

HMRC may contact you by email or text message.

If we believe you’ve been given an incorrect tax code after starting a new job, you may receive an email or text message explaining that your tax code will change.

You will not be asked for personal, business or financial information.

We may direct you to further support and guidance, including:
- guidance on changes to your tax code when you start a new job (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/changes-to-your-tax-code-when-you-start-a-new-job)
- how to check your tax code (https://www.gov.uk/check-income-tax-current-year)
Claims for overpaid VAT on gaming machine income — pub company tenant claims

HMRC may contact you by letter or phone call.

We are contacting tenants of pub companies who made claims on behalf of their tenants for overpaid VAT on gaming machine income.

If you are contacted, we will:

tell you which pub company made the claim on your behalf

ask you if you want to pursue your claim

If you want to make a claim we’ll ask you for your bank account details if you are no longer registered for VAT.

Data holder notice

HMRC may 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

HMRC may 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
Extra support when using HMRC services research

From 17 November 2025 up to and including 30 August 2026, you may receive an email or phone call from NatCen or their partner organisation Criteria.

HMRC is working with independent research agency NatCen and their partner organisation Criteria, to understand more about the support people need when using their services.

You may receive an email or phone call from NatCen or Criteria inviting you to take part in research.

The aim of this research is to improve the support people receive when engaging with HMRC.

Taking part is voluntary. All information given will be:
- anonymous
- confidential
- used for research purposes only
Guidelines for Compliance

From 19 November 2025 up to and including 31 January 2026, Walnut may contact you by email.

HMRC is working with Walnut to understand the impact and value of Guidelines for Compliance (https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/guidelines-for-compliance).

You may receive an email from Walnut inviting you to take part in research, with a follow-up telephone interview.

Taking part is voluntary. All information given will be:
- confidential
- used for research purposes only
If you need further information, contact details for Walnut will be in the email.

The emails will not ask for any financial information.

Help ensuring documents filed with HMRC are correct and complete

From 15 October 2025 up to and including 31 March 2026, HMRC may contact you by letter or email.

HMRC may send you a letter or email to invite you to take part in a short survey about Guidelines for Compliance 13.

The survey is to help HMRC understand:
- whether guidelines are clear
- if you have understood the guidelines
- whether you have been able to take any action as a result of using the guidelines
Taking part is voluntary. All information given will be:
- anonymous
- confidential
- used for research purposes only
Help to Save — request to update your bank details

HMRC may contact you by letter, email or phone call.

HMRC may contact you to tell you about funds in your Help to Save account that we cannot pay you as the bank details we hold are incorrect.

We will ask you to update your bank details in your Help to Save account (https://www.gov.uk/sign-in-help-to-save). Once your bank details are correct, we will automatically make any outstanding payments.

You can call the Help to Save helpline (https://www.gov.uk/find-hmrc-contacts/help-to-save-scheme-enquiries) to confirm the request to update your bank details is genuine.

High Income Child Benefit Charge — check if you need to pay the charge

From 22 September up to and including 31 December 2025, HMRC may contact you by letter, email or text message.

We’ll ask you to check if you need to pay the High Income Child Benefit Charge (https://www.gov.uk/child-benefit-tax-charge) for the tax years up to and including 2024 to 2025.

If you are liable for the charge, you must file your tax return by the 31 January 2026.

If we contact you, we will not include, or ask for any:
- personal details
- financial information
High Income Child Benefit Charge — pay through PAYE

From 23 September 2025 HMRC may contact you by email, text message or both.

If you’ve signed up online to pay the High Income Child Benefit Charge through PAYE (Pay As You Earn) and selected to receive confirmation, HMRC will:
- send you a confirmation by email, text message, or both — depending on what you choose
- confirm your registration and explain what happens next
You do not need to do anything further and HMRC will not ask you for any personal or financial details.

HMRC compliance check survey

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

We 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.

HMRC individuals customer experience and perceptions survey

From 1 September 2025 up to and including 27 February 2026, you may receive an email, letter or phone call from Verian.

HMRC is working with Verian, an independent research agency, to survey individuals’ experiences and perceptions of dealing with HMRC.

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

If you complete the survey, you may also be asked to join a follow-up interview to help us understand the findings in more depth.

Taking part is voluntary. All responses and information given will be:
- confidential
- anonymous
- used for research purposes only
You will not be asked for financial information or details about your tax affairs.

Jointly Managed Engagement Team — HMRC payroll enquiry

HMRC may contact you by phone, letter or email

HMRC may contact employers or third parties to clarify payroll information submitted through Real Time Information (RTI).

If contacted by phone, you will be:
- told we have a payroll enquiry
- asked to complete standard security questions
- asked for a breakdown of pay and deductions for an individual
If contacted by email, you will be:
- told we have a payroll enquiry
- asked to contact HMRC by telephone
- asked for a breakdown of pay and deductions for an individual — if you are emailed after speaking on a telephone call
If contacted by letter, you will be:
- told we have a payroll enquiry
- asked for a breakdown of pay and deductions for an individual
Large Business Survey

From 6 August 2025 up to and including 26 March 2026, you may receive a letter, email or phone call from IFF Research.

HMRC is working with IFF Research an independent research agency, to explore large business customers’ experiences of interacting with HMRC.

The research will help HMRC understand the priorities and needs of large businesses and will be used to inform policy decisions.

If you are contacted, you may be asked to take part in:
- a survey
- an interview
Taking part is voluntary. All information given will be:
- confidential
- used for research purposes only
Limited liability partnership (LLP) research

From 29 September 2025 up to and including 6 February 2026, you may receive a letter or phone call from IFF Research.

HMRC is working with IFF, an independent research agency, to explore opinions and experiences of limited liability partnerships.

Taking part is voluntary. All information given will be:
- confidential
- used for research purposes only
Logging into your HMRC tax account

HMRC may contact you by text message or automated voice call.

Multi-factor authentication is an extra security feature which replaces 2-step verification. It helps prevent someone else from accessing your digital account, even if they know your 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 — Agents’ preparedness

From 30 October 2025 up to and including 13 March 2026, you may receive an email, letter or phone call from Verian.

HMRC is working with Verian, an independent research agency, to better understand agents’ preparedness for Making Tax Digital for Income Tax requirements.

If you are contacted, you may be asked to take part in a:
- survey
- follow-up interview
You will not be asked for information about your tax affairs.

Taking part is voluntary and if you do so, all information given will be:
- confidential
- used for research purposes only
National Minimum Wage and employment

HMRC may contact you by letter, email or phone call.

We may 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.

If you have received a letter, email, text or phone call from another HMRC office you can call the Income Tax general enquiry helpline (https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/hm-revenue-customs/contact/income-tax-enquiries-for-individuals-pensioners-and-employees) to check this contact is genuine.

National Minimum Wage common errors

HMRC may contact you by email or letter.

We 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.

We 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.

Online marketplace compliance check

From 30 June 2025 up to and including 30 December 2025, HMRC may contact you by letter, email or phone call.

We may contact online marketplaces by letter to check that you are:
- correctly collecting VAT for sales made by overseas sellers
- completing due diligence checks
You will be asked to:
- provide information
- complete a questionnaire
You will need to register your online marketplace for VAT if you have not already done so.

If you believe you are not an online marketplace, email or phone HMRC with an explanation.

If we do not hear from you we will contact you by letter, email or phone call.

Overseas businesses that sell digital services to UK consumers

HMRC may contact you by email and letter.

If you have an overseas business and sell digital services to UK consumers, we may contact you about your UK VAT obligations by email and letter.

The letter and email will explain why we are contacting you, and will ask you 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

HMRC may contact you by letter and email.

If you are based overseas and trading on online marketplaces, we may contact you 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 you to pay your assessment by visiting www.gov.uk and searching ‘pay your VAT bill’
- contain a link to this webpage, so you can see that HMRC is using email for this purpose
PAYE reminder

From 30 October 2025 up to and including 31 December 2025, HMRC may contact you by email or text message.

HMRC may send you an email or text message to remind you that you should pay:

employers’ PAYE every month

your employer PAYE bill on time

Research and Development (R&D) tax relief claims support

From 1 October 2025 up to and including 28 February 2026, you may receive an email or phone call from HMRC.

HMRC may contact you by email or phone call to invite you to take part in a short feedback session. The session will ask you if the emails you received were helpful when you were making R&D claims.

Taking part is voluntary. All information given will be:
- anonymous
- used for research purposes only
Research with small businesses and tax agents — exploring their needs in relation to dealing with Corporation Tax requirements

From 13 October 2025 up to and including 20 February 2026 you may receive an email, letter or phone call from HMRC, the National Centre for Social Research (NatCen) or DJS Research.

HMRC is working with independent research agency NatCen, to explore the views and experiences of small businesses and tax agents when complying with Corporation Tax requirements.

You may receive a letter from NatCen or from HMRC, inviting you to take part in an interview with a NatCen researcher.

You may also receive a phone call or email from DJS Research (who work with NatCen), inviting you to take part in an interview with a NatCen researcher.

Taking part is entirely voluntary and if you do so, all responses and information given will be:
- kept anonymous and confidential
- used for research purposes only
Self Assessment — registration confirmation

From 13 November 2025 HMRC may contact you by email or text message.

HMRC will contact you if you’ve registered for Self Assessment online and chosen to receive confirmation.

If we email or text you, you’ll receive a message to confirm:
- you’ve registered for Self Assessment
- we’ve registered you for Self Assessment
You will not be asked for any personal or financial information.

Self Assessment — request to appeal a late payment or filing penalty

From 24 June 2025 HMRC may contact you by email or text message.

HMRC may contact you by email or text message when you submit an appeal against a late payment or filing penalty. These messages will:
- be sent automatically when you submit your appeal
- provide you with updates on the progress of your appeal
If we email you, the subject line will be one of the following:
- we’ve received your appeal against a Self Assessment penalty
- update on the Self Assessment penalty we charged you
- update on your penalty and request to leave Self Assessment
- we’ve cancelled your Self Assessment penalty
You will not be asked for any personal or financial information.

Self Assessment — request to leave

HMRC may contact you by email or text message.

HMRC may contact you by email or text message if you tell them:
- you want to leave Self Assessment
- you’re no longer self-employed
HMRC will contact you using the email address or phone number you have provided. The email will be titled ‘Your request to leave Self Assessment’.

You will not be asked for any personal or financial information.

Self Assessment — sole traders and landlords preparing for changes

From 28 October 2025 up to and including 28 May 2026, you may receive a letter, phone call, email or text message from Verian.

HMRC is working with Verian, an independent research agency, to understand how sole traders and landlords are preparing for changes to Self Assessment.

You may receive a letter, phone call, email or text message from Verian asking you to help test or take part in a survey.

Taking part is voluntary. All responses and information given will be:
- confidential
- used for research purposes only
You will not be asked for financial information or details about your tax affairs.

Statutory notices requesting information

HMRC may 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.

VAT register inactivity

HMRC may contact you by phone call or email.

We may contact you if we believe you no longer need to hold a VAT registration number, due to recent inactivity on your 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.

VAT reminder

From 30 October 2025 up to and including 31 December 2025, HMRC may contact you by email or text message.

HMRC may send you an email or text message to remind you that you should:

submit your VAT return each quarter

pay your VAT bill on time

VAT visits and inspections

HMRC may contact you by phone call, email or letter.

We may contact you to arrange VAT visits and inspections (https://www.gov.uk/vat-visits-inspections).

An email will tell you we’ve attempted to call you and ask you to call us back.

The phone call will:
- ask you to arrange a visit
- confirm what information we’ll want to see
A letter will:
- ask you to call us to arrange a visit
- confirm what information we’ll want to see
We’ll always attempt to contact you by phone first, if unsuccessful we’ll send a letter or email.

We’ll already have your name and your business’s name when we contact you. We will not ask you for any personal information, such as your bank details.

If you’re not sure if the call, email or letter is from HMRC you can contact the VAT helpline (https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/hm-revenue-customs/contact/vat-enquiries).