wrans/answers2025-12-03 conversation_171
Source: hansard.parliament.uk (2025-12-03)

UK Parliament Hansard data: wrans/answers2025-12-03 conversation_171

Jim McMahon:To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what the total number of calls (a) answered (b) abandoned was for each public helpline number provided by her Department and its executive agencies for each year from 2015 to date. \p Dan Tomlinson: Every year, HMRC answers millions of calls. A call is recorded as ‘answered’ when a customer got through to an adviser after hearing the automated messages and choosing the option to speak to an adviser (this is also referred to as ‘adviser attempts handled’ (AAH) in HMRC published data).

A call is recorded as ‘abandoned’ when a customer hears the automated messages and chooses the option to speak to an adviser, but then hangs up before their call is answered.

Customers may hang up before their call is answered for a number of reasons. For example, they may have had their query answered by HMRC’s recorded messages, they may have found the information they require online or they may have decided to call back another time.

The below tables provide a breakdown of calls answered and calls abandoned over the past ten years for HMRC’s main helplines:

Calls answered

2015-16

2016-17

2017-18

2018-19

2019-20

2020-21

2021-22

2022-23

2023-24

2024-25

2025-26 YTD

Child Benefit

1,815,166

2,071,590

2,009,135

1,777,736

1,712,300

1,386,818

1,569,267

1,377,817

1,017,140

1,142,678

833,880

National Insurance

1,483,095

1,671,677

1,475,416

1,377,855

1,349,929

1,069,710

1,247,349

1,242,943

1,097,036

1,044,772

682,058

Tax Credits Helpline and Tax Credits Payment Helpline – combined figures

11,509,090

11,581,913

9,265,206

6,671,778

4,557,161

2,343,044

1,895,384

1,587,633

1,147,483

647,815

109,086

Corporation Tax

373,190

500,940

508,270

475,961

441,835

378,406

507,372

506,145

421,603

378,862

231,741

Stamp duty land tax

112,333

154,415

164,259

144,667

131,610

100,624

122,429

122,582

107,538

103,229

71,526

Agent Dedicated Line

1,707,224

1,851,753

1,432,405

1,360,234

1,374,380

705,308

968,925

1,041,355

640,405

503,105

289,091

Construction Industry Scheme Helpline

584,630

496,413

376,861

343,789

334,675

225,708

293,478

281,009

239,920

168,990

94,016

Employers Helpline

819,618

984,212

976,437

939,286

755,040

588,062

650,432

686,890

589,002

506,637

328,452

Online Services Helpline

675,158

1,073,270

982,535

730,981

635,733

548,319

688,575

780,038

978,228

932,393

611,680

PAYE

6,513,062

8,913,008

8,199,621

7,707,564

7,127,556

4,703,878

5,973,909

5,908,209

4,405,365

4,586,352

3,177,096

Self Assessment Helpline

2,389,400

3,094,058

3,444,452

3,219,552

3,236,719

2,560,862

2,602,917

2,643,691

1,441,380

1,904,363

1,113,666

VAT

-

282,301

644,072

585,882

771,572

500,095

623,494

657,205

486,335

395,747

277,184

Calls abandoned

2015-16

2016-17

2017-18

2018-19

2019-20

2020-21

2021-22

2022-23

2023-24

2024-25

2025-26 YTD

Child Benefit

653,242

190,353

147,771

171,017

224,611

194,436

267,186

410,792

332,543

256,223

146,160

National Insurance

891,375

126,759

118,987

156,762

132,920

109,035

196,346

415,222

336,696

277,058

84,032

Tax Credits Helpline and Tax Credits Payment Helpline – combined figures

2,295,327

596,654

726,769

599,007

539,088

360,618

565,334

420,411

334,029

208,923

10,735

Corporation Tax

99,498

37,064

51,406

45,763

63,957

35,267

78,894

89,900

68,084

56,574

35,108

Stamp duty land tax

16,518

9,969

12,634

13,924

16,321

6,208

10,556

17,648

10,108

8,384

5,989

Agent Dedicated Line

13,821

24,219

11,413

5,127

7,855

175,775

110,683

119,404

115,316

85,356

28,577

Construction Industry Scheme Helpline

72,500

31,310

37,289

39,095

33,566

29,732

36,743

49,250

37,574

19,087

10,167

Employers Helpline

226,890

50,288

63,019

66,163

62,852

63,135

86,365

138,787

122,053

125,470

81,521

Online Services Helpline

350,563

138,027

97,650

108,720

119,130

126,824

128,903

235,456

197,111

226,446

76,031

PAYE

2,755,469

401,321

840,726

917,232

1,067,304

1,427,842

1,303,284

1,769,338

1,765,227

1,248,174

628,559

Self Assessment Helpline

1,193,023

206,772

372,471

380,719

443,148

611,544

689,007

1,144,135

704,546

523,645

201,569

VAT

-

13,143

43,173

84,539

72,648

62,494

127,450

162,969

150,244

72,014

36,010

Further telephony data is published as part of HMRC’s quarterly performance reports: www.gov.uk/government/collections/hmrc-quarterly-performance-updates

And HMRC publishes a historical data series as part of its annual report and accounts: www.gov.uk/government/publications/hmrc-annual-report-and-accounts-2024-to-2025

Data covering VOA helplines:

Financial Year

Answered

Abandoned

2015-16

283711

49173

2016-17

327896

67348

2017-18

232687

56334

2018-19

225205

72898

2019-20

261216

97460

2020-21

106016

27554

2021-22

222467

38949

2022-23

218353

37896

2023-24

202043

52191

2024-25

201663

71225

2025-2026 (YTD)

129319

19618